关键词: 生命史理论, 父亲投资理论, 母亲社会化假说, 自感配偶价值, 短期择偶策略

Abstract: Drawing on Life History Theory and Paternal Investment Theory, it can be inferred that childhood environments, which include harshness, unpredictability, and parent-offspring relationships, can predict offspring’s reproductive strategies as adults. Moreover, according to Parental Investment Theory, it is generally observed that males prefer short-term mating strategies while females opt for long-term mating strategies. However, in practice, some women still choose or have romantic partners who exhibit a preference for short-term mating strategy. An intriguing question arising from this observation is whether it can be predicted from childhood environments how some women eventually have romantic partners with a higher level of short-term mating strategy. To date, few existing literatures have explored this topic.
This research aims to explore the aforementioned question based on Life History Theory and its derivative, Paternal Investment Theory. In Study 1, questionnaires were collected online from 250 female participants (M_age = 22.75, SD = 2.50) who had romantic experiences. Data were analyzed using SPSS v22.0 and PROCESS 21.5 (Model 10). Results indicated that childhood unpredictability significantly moderated the relationship between childhood father-daughter relationships and adult females’ perceived mate value. Additionally, females’ perceived mate value mediated the relationship between the father-daughter relationship in childhood and their romantic partners’ short-term mating preferences, but only under conditions of stability (low levels of childhood unpredictability regardless of childhood harshness) or severe adversity (high levels of both unpredictability and harshness).
In Study 2, experimental priming of the childhood father-daughter relationship was employed with 169 unmarried female participants (M_age = 21.43, SD = 2.04). The variable of childhood harshness was excluded due to its insignificant main and interactive effects observed in Study 1. Results (PROCESS 21.5, Model 8) from Study 2 demonstrated that childhood unpredictability moderated the relationship between the childhood father-daughter relationship and females’ perceived mate value, corroborating the findings from Study 1. Furthermore, results supported the mediating role of females’ perceived mate value in the relationship between childhood father-daughter relationships and participants’ tolerance of their romantic partners’ short-term mating preferences, but only under conditions where the level of childhood unpredictability ranged from low to moderate.
Conclusion: The childhood father-daughter relationship and childhood unpredictability can predict adult females’ perceived mate value interactively. Additionally, females’ childhood father-daughter relationship can predict their romantic partners’ short-term mating preferences through the mediating role of women’s perceived mate value, albeit under restricted conditions. Based on these findings, the “Daughter’s Conditional Sensitivity to Paternal Investment Hypothesis” and the “Childhood Environments Socialization Hypothesis” are proposed to explain how childhood experiences socialize individuals’ life history strategies.

Key words: life history theory, paternal investment theory, maternal socialization hypothesis, perceived mate value, short-term mating preference