Attitudes Related to Mate Selection: the Roles of Perfectionism and Early Maladaptive Schemas

ABSTRACT This study aims at investigating the roles of ‘perfectionism’ and ‘early maladaptive schemas’ in predicting attitudes towards mate selection among university and seminary students in Qum city, Iran. This was a descriptive and correlational study: 163 students were selected at universities (government and non-government) and seminaries of Qom city through available random sampling. They all completed three questionnaires: ‘Attitudes about Romance and Mate Selection Scale’ ( ( ARMSS), Hill’s (2004) ‘The Perfectionism Inventory’, and ‘The Young Schema Questionnaire–Short Form’ ( ( YSQ-SF). Data were analyzed using correlation coefficients and stepwise regression analyses. The findings indicated that ‘attitudes about mate selection’ had significant correlations with domains of ‘Disconnection/rejection’, ‘Impairedautonomy’ ‘Impaired performance’, ‘Otherdirectedness’, and ‘Impaired limits’, and components of ‘Striving for excellence’, ‘Need for approval’, and ‘Perceived parental pressure’. The results of stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that the domain of ‘Disconnection/rejection’ in early maladaptive schemas’ domains, and the components of ‘perceived parental pressure’, ‘Rumination’, and ‘Striving for excellence’ from perfectionism’s components are among the most important predictors of ‘attitudes towards mate selection’. These findings reveal the important roles of perfectionism and early maladaptive schemas in shaping attitudes about mate selection. Thus, for reinforcing logical believes and attitudes in mate selection in people, it appears necessary to design educational preventing programs for them, considering these variables.