In the report, women respondents generally said they want to marry men older than them, but the anticipated age difference between men and women has narrowed in recent years.
In 2005, the average age difference accepted by women was 4.14 to 12.58 years, while in 2010 it was 1.1 to 8.47 years. Men accepted women 5.24 years younger to 0.99 years older than them in 2010.
The report was jointly conducted by the institute and the online dating website Baihe.com. More than 35,000 randomly selected users participated in the survey, and the analysis was based on 31,435 respondents between the ages of 18 and 40.
"People's criteria in choosing a partner is related to the way they behave in marriage, and thus has an influence on social issues such as the divorce rate. Since online dating is so popular among the younger generation, we chose to study the psychology of online dating website users to reflect trends in love and marriage," Zhang said.
Han Shuang, 30, who met her husband through the online dating website Jiayuan.com, said she does not care much about her spouse's income.
"I have a job that pays well, so when I chose a husband I did not care how much he earned. My only requirement was that I expected him to have a stable job, so that the family income would be secure," Han said.
"I know some women may want to marry men who are really good at making money, but I think most of these women have lower incomes themselves, so they hope to find a solution through marriage.
"In my case, my husband and I enjoy more financial equality in our marriage."
According to a research report recently published by Jiayuan.com, women are becoming more financially independent. Thirty-nine percent of women refuse to become housewives after getting married, and 98 percent said they would not ask their husbands to hand over their wages.
Wang Siran, a relationship adviser for Jiayuan.com, said the changing attitude toward marriage is part of a bigger change in society.
"In the 1970s, intellectual elites had a higher social status, so educational background was given more importance in choosing a spouse. A priority was placed on income from the 1980s to the 1990s amid the fast economic growth.
"The new trend shows the awakening of female self-consciousness. More men and more women believe that women can play a larger role in family economics."
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