Interparental Relationships and ‘Mirroring’: How they can Affect the Child’s Choice of Romantic Partner

Pages: 264-271
Shreya Subbannavar and Sadhana Natu (Department of Psychology, Modern College Ganeshkhind, Pune, Maharashtra)

This paper attempts to theorize about how the interparental relationship and ‘mirroring’ affects the child’s choice of a romantic partner. Four dimensions were identified and a questionnaire was constructed to gauge subjective parental identification of couples in long-term relationships. Further in-depth interviews were conducted with a few participants to get more detailed accounts. In the global North, research shows that 50% of all marriages result in divorce but the same cannot be said about the Global South where getting a divorce still has a taboo attached to it. In the Indian context, only 1% of all married couples decide to end their marriage but this statistic isn’t for the lack of unhappy marriages in the country. This study attempts to predict the quality of life for the future married population by ascertaining their awareness of their parent’s relationship and whether they replicate the same patterns and power
dynamics.