Abstract
Compassionate love has received research attention over the last decade, but it is as yet unclear how it is experienced over a lifetime. The purpose of this study was to investigate compassionate love for a romantic partner throughout the adult life span, exploring individual differences in the propensity to experience compassionate love in regard to age, gender, religion, love status, love styles, and subjective well-being. The results showed that religion and love status display significant effects on compassionate love. Believers experienced greater compassionate love than nonbelievers, and individuals in love presented greater compassionate love than those who were not in love. Love styles and subjective well-being were found to be related to compassionate love. These findings corroborate studies that indicate that individuals who experience higher compassionate love for a romantic partner are more likely to report Eros, Agape, and subjective well-being.
Highlights
Compassionate love has received research attention over the last decade, but it is as yet unclear how it is experienced over a lifetime
Neto & Wilks empirical study was conducted in Portugal focusing on the relationship between compassionate love (CL) for a romantic partner and age, gender, religion, love status, love styles, and subjective well-being through time
The participants were classified into three age groups in accordance with Erikson (1963)’s psychosocial stages: young adults (26-30 years old, N = 149), adults (31-59 years old, N = 315) and the elderly (60-90 years old, N = 150)
Summary
Compassionate love has received research attention over the last decade, but it is as yet unclear how it is experienced over a lifetime. The purpose of this study was to investigate compassionate love for a romantic partner throughout the adult life span, exploring individual differences in the propensity to experience compassionate love in regard to age, gender, religion, love status, love styles, and subjective well-being. The current study responds to calls for further investigation of CL (e.g., Berscheid, 2010; Fehr et al, 2014), aiming at extending research on CL for a romantic partner throughout the adult life span, and exploring individual differences in propensity to experience CL. Neto & Wilks empirical study was conducted in Portugal focusing on the relationship between CL for a romantic partner and age, gender, religion, love status, love styles, and subjective well-being through time
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