The Influence of Father Involvement on The Preferences in Selecting A Life Partner in Early Adult Women

Abstract

Mate selection is one of the developmental tasks in early adulthood. In this process, women tend to consider various factors when determining the criteria for an ideal partner. One factor that is assumed to influence mate selection preferences is father involvement. Father involvement refers to a father's positive participation in a child's life through various forms of direct involvement. This involvement includes providing emotional warmth, monitoring and controlling the child's activities, and taking responsibility for meeting the child's needs. This study aimed to examine the effect of father involvement on mate selection preferences among early adult women. This research employed a quantitative approach with simple linear regression as the data analysis technique. The participants consisted of 405 unmarried women aged 18 to 25 years who had biological fathers involved in their upbringing. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. The instruments used in this study were the Father Involvement Scale and the Nine Mate Selection Question Scale. The results indicated that father involvement had a significant effect on mate selection preferences (p < 0.05). However, the contribution of this effect is relatively small, with an R² value of 0.0263 or 2.63%. These findings suggest that father involvement plays a role in shaping mate selection preferences among early adult women, but it is not the only determining factor.