Mate selection in China : causes and consequences in the search for a spouse / authored by Sampson Lee Blair (The State University of New York, USA), Timothy J. Madigan (Mansfield University, USA), Fang Fang (University of Pittsburg, USA).

Includes index.

Chapter 1. History of family dynamics and mate selection in China -- Chapter 2. Economic, political, and social change in China -- Chapter 3. The one-child policy and demographic transitions -- Chapter 4. Contemporary dating and mate selection: Parents, peers, and sexual intimacy -- Chapter 5. Cohabitation and divorce -- Chapter 6. Fertility and mate selection -- Chapter 7. Sheng nü - the 'leftover women' -- Chapter 8. 'Bare branches': Involuntary bachelorhood in China in the 21st century -- Chapter 9. Aging parents and familial support -- Chapter 10. Criminal consequences: Prostitution and human trafficking -- Chapter 11. The future of mate selection.

In the context of dramatically changing contemporary patterns of mate selection in China, Mate Selection in China focuses upon both the causes and consequences the societal changes which have resulted in a considerable shift in the ways in which young adults go about finding a spouse. Tracking a period of change, from a long history of patriarchal families and arranged marriages, into an environment wherein individuals are relatively free to choose their intimate partners, Blair, Madison and Fang demonstrate and analyse how recent shifts in divorce, cohabitation, and pre-marital sex have altered young adults' perceptions of marriage. Delving into demographic factors, such as the skewed sex ratio among young adults which have resulted in an overabundance of young males, cultural factors, such as increasingly individualistic forms of dating, and social and economic change which has resulted an increasingly materialistic middle-class, this book highlights that while traditional influence of parents in the selection of partners for their children has been overtaken, mate selection choices are not entirely made by the individuals themselves. Providing a comprehensive examination of mate selection within an ever-changing context, this book is a fascinating read for scholars interested in the impact of culture of family and marriage.