Would you like your partner to share your interests? Vocational ideal-partner standards of singles and couples

Abstract

To explore how vocational self-concepts align with ideal partner preferences, we collected data from two Croatian heterosexual samples: 271 couples and 335 single participants. Using the same inventory, participants rated their own vocational interests and those desired in an ideal partner. We assessed trait-level and profile-level similarities between self and ideal-partner interests in both samples. In couples, we additionally examined actual partner congruence (similarity between one’s own and partner’s self-reported interests), ideals agreement (similarity between partners’ ideal-partner preferences), and partner–ideal congruence (the match between an individual’s ideal and their partner’s actual vocational interests). Results revealed both assortative (similar-to-self) and aspirational (higher-than-self) ideal-partner preferences. Gendered preferences followed a complementary pattern, aligned with established gender differences in vocational interests, most pronounced in women’s preferences for partners high in Realistic and Conventional interests, and in men’s preferences for partners high in Social and Artistic interests. Among couples, partner–ideal congruence showed a strong normative component, while its distinctive (couple-specific) component modestly predicted men’s relationship satisfaction. These findings suggest that vocational interests meaningfully inform partner preferences among single and coupled individuals and contribute to relationship dynamics.

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