Dating relationship quality in the U.S. and Taiwan: Does similarity or parental approval matter?

This study investigated how personality or value similarity between the members of a couple (an influential factor in Western people’s close relationships) and parental approval (a unique characteristic in close relationships of Chinese people) affect dating relationship satisfaction and commitment (relationship quality) of Americans and of Taiwanese. Data were collected from 269 Americans and 237 Taiwanese undergraduate students, and culturally sensitive scales were used to estimate people’s personality and values. Our results indicate that, perceived personality similarity plays a more influential role in relationship quality for Americans than for Taiwanese. Perceived value similarity, however, plays an important role for both American and Taiwanese relationship quality. Furthermore, secondary control moderated the association between perceived personality or value similarity and relationship satisfaction for Americans. For those Americans who highly value the importance of adjusting themselves to fit the needs or expectations of their partners, they may receive positive reinforcement from their partner and become close to their partner, regardless of the level of personality or value similarity within the couple. Finally, for both Americans and Taiwanese, when they perceived high levels of parental approval for their dating decisions, they reported higher relationship quality.