The triangular theory of love 40 years later exploring the importance of intimacy, passion and commitment in today's couple relationships
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Objective: This study explores the current applicability of the three components of love according to Sternberg's Triangular Theory (1989), analysing the importance that men and women of different ages attribute to intimacy, passion, and commitment in intimate relationships. The main objective was to identify possible similarities and differences in each component based on sex and age. Methods: A non-probabilistic sample of 652 participants between the ages of 18 and 86, distributed across three age groups, completed an online form consisting of an ad hoc reformulation of the items from the Spanish version of the ETAS-R scale (Ventura-León et al., 2020). Results: After verifying the psychometric adequacy of the instrument used, in terms of both factorial structure and internal consistency, the MANOVA results indicate that, concerning passion, men showed significantly higher ratings than women did. Greater importance was also attributed to commitment in the two older age groups compared to the younger one. However, no significant differences were found in the appraisal of intimacy based on the variables analysed, this being the most homogeneous and stable component across sexes and ages. Conclusions: These preliminary findings provide certain clues regarding the experience of love, opening up lines of study and areas of interest that may contribute to higher
relational and personal satisfaction in contemporary couple relationships.
Article Details
How to Cite
References
Ahmetoglu, G., Swami, V., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2009). The relationship between dimensions of love, personality, and relationship length. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39(5), 1181-1190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-009-9515-5
Almeida Eleno, A. (2013). Las ideas del amor de R.J. Sternberg: la teoría triangular y la teoría narrativa del amor. Familia: Revista de Ciencias y Orientación Familiar, 46, 57-86. https://doi.org/10.36576/summa.31322
American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education. (2018). Estándares para pruebas educativas y psicológicas (4ª ed.). American Educational Research Association.
Ato, M., López, J. J., & Benavente, A. (2013). Un sistema de clasificación de los diseños de investigación en psicología. Anales de Psicología, 29(3), 1038-1059. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.29.3.178511
Bode, A., & Kushnick, G. (2021). Proximate and ultimate perspectives on romantic love. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. Article 573123.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.573123
Bonilla-Algovia, E., & Rivas-Rivero, E. (2020). Diseño y validación de la Escala de Mitos del Amor Romántico. Revista Iberoamericana de Diagnóstico y Evaluación, 57(4), 119-136. https://doi.org/10.21865/RIDEP57.4.09
Bracht, G. H., & Glass, G. V. (1968). The external validity of experiments. American Educational Research Journal, 5(4), 437-474.
https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312005004437
Carswell, K. L., & Impett, E. A. (2021). What fuels passion? An integrative review of competing theories of romantic passion. Social & Personality Psychology Compass, 15(8), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12629
Cassepp-Borges, V., & Martins Teodoro, M. L. (2009). Versión reducida de la Escala Triangular del Amor: Características del sentimiento en Brasil. Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 43(1), 30-38. https://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext
&pid=S0034-96902009000100004&lng=pt&tlng=es
Clemente, M., Gandoy-Crego, M., Bugallo-Carrera, C., Reig-Botella, A., & GómezCantorna, C. (2020). Types of love as a function of satisfaction and age. PsyCh
Journal, 9(3), 402-413. https://doi.org/10.1002/pchj.338
Cudicio, P., & Cudicio, C. (2001). La pareja y la comunicación. Desclée De Brouwer.
De Andrade, A. L., Wachelke, J. F. R., & Howat-Rodrigues, A. B. C. (2015). Relationship satisfaction in young adults: Gender and love dimensions. Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships, 9(1), 19-31. https://doi.org/10.5964/ijpr.v9i1.157
Del Campo Urbano, S., & Rodríguez-Brioso Pérez, M. (2002). La gran transformación de la familia española durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX. REIS: Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas, 100, 103-165. https://doi.org/10.2307/40184425
Delgado, C. (2014). Viajando a Ítaca por mares cuantitativos. Amarú.
Feliu, M. H., & Güell, M. A. (1992). Relación de pareja. Técnicas para la convivencia. Ediciones Martínez Roca.
Fernandes, M. I., Sousa, C., Conde, A. R., Silva, F., & Ferreira, M. J. (2024). Exploring the relationship between capacity to love and well-being: A comparative study of emerging adults and middle-aged adults. Sexuality & Culture, 28, 1424-1445. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-023-10184-x
Flake, J. K., Pek, J., & Hehman, E. (2017). Construct validation in social and personality research: Current practice and recommendations. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8(4), 370-378. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617693063
Gómez-López, M., Viejo, C., & Orteza-Ruíz, R. (2019). Well-being and romantic relationships - A systematic review in adolescence and emerging adulthood. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(13), 2415. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16132415
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C, Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Prentice Hall.
Hatfield, E., & Rapson, R. (2008). Passionate love and sexual desire: Multicultural perspectives. In J. P. Forgas & J. Fitness (Eds.), Social relationships: Cognitive, affective, and motivational processes (pp. 21-38). Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203888124
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
Instituto de Política Familiar. (2023). Informe de evolución de la familia en España 2023. Indicadores sociales. http://www.ipfe.org/Espa%C3%B1a/Documentos/IPF
Lemieux, R., & Hale, J. L. (2002). Cross-sectional analysis of intimacy, passion, and commitment: Testing the assumptions of the triangular theory of love. Psychological Reports, 90(3), 1009-1014. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.2002.90.3.1009
Mengzhen, L., Berezina, E., & Benjamin, J. (2023). Insights into young adults’ views on long-term and short-term romantic relationships in the United Kingdom. Sexuality & Culture, 28(4), 1407-1423. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-023-10183-y
Montero, I., & León, O. (2007). A guide for naming research studies in psychology. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 7(3), 847-862. https://www.aepc.es/ijchp/articulos.php?coid=Espa%EF%BF%BDol&id=256
Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research, 8(2), 23-74. https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.12784
Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasiexperimental designs for generalized causal inference. Houghton Mifflin.
Sorokowski, P., Sorokowska, A., Karwowski, M., Groyecka, A., Aavik, T., Akello, G., Alm, C., Amjad, N., Anjum, A., Asao, K., Atama, C. S., Atamtürk Duyar, D., Ayebare, R., Batres, C., Bendixen, M., Bensafia, A., Bizumic, B., Boussena, M., Buss, D. M.,
Butovskaya, M., … Sternberg, R. J. (2021). Universality of the triangular theory of love: Adaptation and psychometric properties of the Triangular Love Scale in 25 countries. Journal of Sex Research, 58(1), 106-115. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2020.178731
Stange-Espinola, I., Ortega Cambranisa, A., Moreno Salazara, M., & Gambea Esteves, C. (2017). Aproximación al concepto de pareja. Psicología para América Latina, 29, 07-22.
Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological Review, 93(2), 119-135. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.93.2.119
Sternberg, R. J. (1989). El triángulo del amor: Intimidad, amor y compromiso. Paidós.
Sternberg, R. J. (1997). Construct validation of a triangular love scale. European Journal of Social Psychology, 27, 313-335.
https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199705)27:3<313::AIDEJSP824>3.0.CO;2-4
Sumter, S. R., Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2013). Perceptions of love across the lifespan: Differences in passion, intimacy, and commitment. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 37(5), 417-427. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025413492486
Ventura-León, J.L., & Caycho-Rodríguez, T. (2016). Análisis exploratorio de la escala de amor de Sternberg en estudiantes universitarios peruanos. Acta de Investigación Psicológica, 6(2), 2430-2439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aipprr.2016.06.006
Ventura-León, J., Caycho-Rodríguez, T., Jara-Avalos, S., Yañez, J., Icochea, K., & Rodas, N. (2020). Evidence of validity and factorial invariance of the Sternberg Love Scale Brief Spanish version. Acta Colombiana de Psicología, 23(2), 98-110. http://www.doi.org/10.14718/ACP.2020.23.2.5