When it comes to love, arranged marriages rate the same

July 13, 2012 - PRLog -- Researchers from California State University, Los Angeles have found that Indian couples in the U.S. whose marriages were arranged were no different from couples in traditional marriages when it came to measures, such as romance, love, satisfaction and commitment.

The findings—which were published in the journal, Psychological Reports—offer insight into a little-studied type of marriage. The study’s authors included Psychology Professor Pamela C. Regan and her students Saloni Lakhanpal and Carlos Anguiano.

The sample included 58 individuals living in a large city who had been married an average of 10 years; while all were of Indian descent, the majority were Hindu.

“Regardless of the nature of their marriage (i.e., whether the spouse had been selected by family members or matchmakers, or was personally and freely chosen), the participants in this study were extremely—and equally—happy with their relationships,” the researchers wrote in the study.

The study included an additional surprise: men reported significantly higher passionate and companion-centered love for their spouses, and more commitment to their marriages than did women.

Called upon frequently by media as an expert on “love” and “dating,” Regan’s research interests focus on the areas of close relationships and sexuality, specifically sexual attraction, passionate love, and mate preference.

John Holmes, a leading relationships scholar, described Regan’s book, The Psychology of Interpersonal Relationships, as “a simply superb text.” Often utilized as resources by psychologists, therapists, and health professionals, Regan’s other books are The Mating Game: A Primer on Love, Sex, and Marriage and Lust: What We Know about Human Desire. Her latest book, Close Relationships, was published by Routledge in 2011.  

A Cal State L.A. faculty member since 1996, Regan graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Williams College, and received her Ph.D. in psychology and Ph.D. minor in statistics from the University of Minnesota. She resides in Redondo Beach.

Psychological Reports, established in 1955, is an independent, peer-reviewed, bimonthly journal which specializes in empirical, theoretical, mainstream, and alternative views on issues
in psychology.

A summary of the study can be found here: http://www.amsciepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/21.02.07.PR0.110....

For more information, contact Dr. Stephanie Isbell, editor, Psychological Reports (Perceptual and Motor Skills), at sai@ammonsscientific.com or (406) 728-1702.