New research in China indicates that couples who met spontaneously and without intermediaries such as friends, family or dating apps have higher levels of marital happiness.
According to a new study based on a decade of data from China, people who meet their spouses on their own tend to be more satisfied in their marriages than those presented by family, friends or marriage agencies.
The research, published in the journal Critical Humanistic Social Theory, suggests that the way couples get to know each other is closely linked to happiness that they feel later in their relationships.
The study analyzed data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), a large-scale longitudinal survey conducted between 2010 and 2020 that tracks social, economic and family conditions across the country. The dataset included responses from 12,883 individuals residing in 25 provincial-level regions, making it one of the most comprehensive studies on partner choice and marital satisfaction in contemporary China.
The main author, Xueshen Dingexamined whether marital satisfaction varied depending on whether the relationship began through a “self-initiated acquaintance” or a “third-party acquaintance.” Spontaneously initiated relationships were defined as those formed through organic interactionssuch as meeting at school, work or through non-marriage-oriented social activities and online platforms.
Relationships not initiated spontaneously included presentations made by parentsrelatives or friends, as well as connections made through formal dating channels such as dating apps, marriage-oriented websites, relationship television shows and large-scale dating events, explains .
The results indicate that individuals who met their partners independently reported higher levels of satisfaction with your marriage or stable union. In contrast, those whose relationships began through introductions made by third parties tended to report lower satisfaction. Among couples not initiated spontaneously, those introduced by family members demonstrated less satisfaction than those introduced by friends.
Differences also emerged in relation to online meetings. Participants who met their partners through non-dating-oriented online platforms reported lower satisfaction with the relationship than those who met offline through spontaneously initiated interactions.
Although the study highlights significant associations, the author warns that it does not establish causality. Relationship satisfaction is shaped primarily by the characteristics of the partner and the quality of ongoing interactions. As a result, how couples know each other may reflect broader relationship styles and personal traits rather than directly determining long-term happiness.
