Digital matrimonial markets structural mismatches and psychological distress among never married Pakistani aged 25-45: A mixed – methods test of the mismatch triad model

Abstract

This research is to develop and test the novel theoretical framework called the Mismatch Triad Model (MTM) based on three distinct structural mismatches (age, financial and expectation mismatch) with a view to provide an explanation to correlates of marriage search failure and psychological distress among the never-married population aged 25-45 in the context of Pakistan. Mixed methods study used survey data from 421 never-married citizens in Pakistan (50.8% female, median age = 32.7, standard deviation = 3.9; 55.6% urban) from five matrimonial platforms. Reliability was good for PHQ-2 (alpha=.83), GAD-2 (alpha=.81), and MTI (alpha=.78). The qualitative data of 89 open-ended narratives were triangulated with quantitative data and analyzed thematically. The morbidities of probable depression and anxiety were significantly higher as compared to population's baselines in Pakistan (47.7%, n=201 and 38.7%, n=163 respectively). MTI significantly predicted search failure (OR=0.71, 95% CI [0.58, 0.87], p=.001). MTI-anxiety pathway was mediated by fraud exposure by 55.6% (β=.25, p<.001) and buffered by social support by 61%, whereas the pathway of MTI-distress was mediated by 62% (β=.62, p<.001). The MTM is the first empirically supported model that identifies digital matrimonial barriers and their relationship to psychological distress in a Muslim-majority south Asian context. Results of the findings suggest that the legal void, lack of financial resources and mental health issues indicate the need for a National Marriage Facilitation Authority (NMFA) as an evidence-based institutional approach to solve the challenges.