Why some parents think your partner isn’t good enough

It is common for parents to influence mate choice - from arranged marriages to more subtle forms of persuasion - but they often disagree with their children about what makes a suitable partner. A new study has found an evolutionary explanation for why some parents try to control who their children pair up with. The study, involving a University of Bristol researcher and published today in the journal Evolution & Human Behavior , shows that this conflict over mate choice may be rooted in an evolutionary conflict over resources. Dr Tim Fawcett , a research fellow in Bristol's School of Biological Sciences , teamed up with scientists at the University of Groningen to investigate how the mate preferences of parents and children co-evolve. They found that parents tend to give more resources to children whose partners provide less support, and that this leads to a conflict over mate choice. The team built a computer model to simulate the evolution of parental behaviour when their daughter is searching for a partner. The model shows that, typically, parents should prefer a son-in-law who is more caring and supportive than their daughter would otherwise choose.