| Popis: |
Mate choice is one of the most important choices in life, affecting satisfaction, health, and well- being of an individual. One of the specifics of human mate choice is the fact that aside from the individual, their relatives are frequently involved. But other close people can influence their relationship as well, for example friends. Our study's aim was to map the influence of friends on mate choice and subsequently on the quality and stability of the romantic relationship. We have conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with 10 men and 10 women in long-term romantic relationships. Using thematic analysis, we have found that while the individuals shared about their relationships more frequently with their friends rather than family, they assessed the importance of friends' and parents' opinion on average as comparable. The interviewees valued their family members' opinion more in matters of family, practical topics, and future plans. However, they preferred their friends' opinion in matters of relationship dynamics, problems in the relationship and emotional and sexual aspects of the relationship. Concerning differences between genders, we have found that men have shared about their romantic relationships significantly less with their family members but have shared about them more often with their... |
