Sex Differences in Romantic Love Attitudes among College Students

Abstract

Previous research, using factor analysis, derived seven dimensions of romantic love. We sought to address whether these dimensions differed in importance for women and men. Specifically, it was hypothesized that women would consider Marriage and Family, Traditional Romantic Behavior, Routine Activities, and Religion, and men would consider Sexual Behavior, Aberrant Sex, and Drugs as more romantic. These specific predictions were seen as consistent with the 'double standard' regarding sex, i.e., it should be more important for men, and with an earlier theory we developed in which it was argued that in addition to the 'double standard' for sex, security-related stimuli should be more important for women. The results were entirely consistent with our predictions.