Perception of romanticism and the ideal spouse among Chinese youth

Abstract

This exploratory study investigated perception of romanticism and the ideal spouse among Chinese youth. Along with demographic and media exposure variables, a number of scales were adopted and designed to measure participants’ degree of individualism–collectivism, perception of the ideal spouse and perception of romantic love. Results suggest that gender was a strong predictor of romanticism and the ideal spouse. However, television exposure did not appear to influence these perceptions. But the individualism/collectivism index, when used on the individual, proved to be a reliable predictor of many of the outcome variables. Implications are discussed.