RESEARCH PAPER
Marital and love attitudes as predictors of Polish young adults’ relationship status
1
Faculty of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
Submission date: 2019-10-20
Final revision date: 2020-01-02
Acceptance date: 2020-01-03
Online publication date: 2019-12-30
Publication date: 2019-12-30
Current Issues in Personality Psychology 2019;7(4):298-312
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Background:
The purpose of this study was to longitudinally examine the predictive role of marital and love attitudes and of the love–marriage connection for young adults’ relationship status.
Participants and procedure:
The study was based on a sample of 117 Polish participants aged 20-33 who completed the Polish versions of the Love Atti-tudes Scale – Short Form and Marital Attitudes Scale and provided answers to the seven questions concerning love as a basis for marriage.
Results:
The performed analyses demonstrated that 1) single and partnered individuals reported similar levels of marital attitudes; 2) sin-gle individuals scored higher on the Eros love style than partnered individuals in the first assessment; 3) single individuals scored lower on the Mania love style than partnered individuals in the first and the second assessments; 4) single individuals scored higher in the first assessment on the Importance of love for entering marriage in comparison to partnered individuals. A binary logistic regression indicated that the Eros and Mania love styles in the first assessment were significant predictors of young adults’ relationships in the second assessment. The alternative model predicting marital and love attitudes and the love–marriage connection at Time 2 (T2) from young adults’ relationship status at Time 1 (T1) demonstrated that relationship status at T1 was predictive only of the Mania love style at T2.
Conclusions:
The Eros and Mania love styles were significant predictors of young adults’ relationships after a 12-month interval, and rela-tionship status was predictive of the Mania love style at 12 months after the first assessment.
The purpose of this study was to longitudinally examine the predictive role of marital and love attitudes and of the love–marriage connection for young adults’ relationship status.
Participants and procedure:
The study was based on a sample of 117 Polish participants aged 20-33 who completed the Polish versions of the Love Atti-tudes Scale – Short Form and Marital Attitudes Scale and provided answers to the seven questions concerning love as a basis for marriage.
Results:
The performed analyses demonstrated that 1) single and partnered individuals reported similar levels of marital attitudes; 2) sin-gle individuals scored higher on the Eros love style than partnered individuals in the first assessment; 3) single individuals scored lower on the Mania love style than partnered individuals in the first and the second assessments; 4) single individuals scored higher in the first assessment on the Importance of love for entering marriage in comparison to partnered individuals. A binary logistic regression indicated that the Eros and Mania love styles in the first assessment were significant predictors of young adults’ relationships in the second assessment. The alternative model predicting marital and love attitudes and the love–marriage connection at Time 2 (T2) from young adults’ relationship status at Time 1 (T1) demonstrated that relationship status at T1 was predictive only of the Mania love style at T2.
Conclusions:
The Eros and Mania love styles were significant predictors of young adults’ relationships after a 12-month interval, and rela-tionship status was predictive of the Mania love style at 12 months after the first assessment.
REFERENCES (60)
1.
Acevedo, B. P., & Aron, A. (2009). Does a long-term relationship kill romantic love? Review of General Psychol-ogy, 13, 59–65. https://doi.org/10.1037/a00142....
2.
Adamczyk, K. (2019). The Polish versions of the Love Attitudes Scale and Marital Attitudes Scale. Mendeley Data, v1. https://doi.org/10.17632/j6nj7....
3.
Adamczyk, K., & Hall, S. (2014). Exploring marital belief systems of single and partnered Polish young adults. In K. Adamczyk & M. Wysota (Eds.), Functioning of young adults in a changing world (pp. 127–143). Kra-ków: Wydawnictwo Libron – Filip Lohner.
4.
Bakiera, L. (2009). Wartość małżeństwa w rozwoju człowieka dorosłego [The value of marriage in adult deve-lopment]. In B. Harwas-Napierała (Ed.), Rodzina jako wartość w rozwoju człowieka [Family as a value in the human development] (pp. 25–57). Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM.
5.
Baranowska-Rataj, A., Matysiak, A., & Mynarska, M. (2013). Does lone motherhood decrease women’s happi-ness? Evidence from qualitative and quantitative research. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15, 1457–1477. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902....
6.
Barry, C. M., Madsen, S. D., Nelson, L. J., Carroll, J. S., & Badger, S. (2009). Friendship and romantic relation-ship qualities in emerging adulthood: Differential associations with identity development and achieved adulthood criteria. Journal of Adult Development, 16, 209–222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804....
7.
Braaten, E. B., & Rosén, L. A. (1998). Development and validation of the Marital Attitude Scale. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 29, 83–91. https://doi.org/10.1300/J087v2....
8.
Baucom, D., & Epstein, N. (1990). Cognitive-behavioral marital therapy. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
9.
Borchet, J., Lewandowska-Walter, A., & Rostowska, T. (2018). Performing developmental tasks in emerging adults with childhood parentification – insights from literature. Current Issues in Personality Psychology, 6, 242–251. https://doi.org/10.5114/cipp.2....
10.
Brzezińska, A. I., Kaczan, R., Piotrowski, K., & Rękosiewicz, M. (2011). Odroczona dorosłość: fakt czy arte-fakt? [Postponed adulthood: fact or artefact?]. Nauka, 4, 67–107.
11.
Carroll, J. S., Badger, S., Willoughby, B. J., Nelson, L. J., Madsen, S. D., & Barry, C. M. (2009). Ready or not? Criteria for marriage readiness among emerging adults. Journal of Adolescent Research, 24, 349–375. https://doi.org/10.1177/074355....
12.
Carroll, J. S., Willoughby, B., Badger, S., Nelson, L. J., Barry, C. M., & Madsen, S. D. (2007). So close, yet so far away: The impact of varying marital horizons on emerging adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22, 219–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/074355....
13.
Clarkberg, M., Stolzenberg, R. M., & Waite, L. J. (1995). Attitudes, values, and entrance into cohabitational ver-sus marital unions. Social Forces, 74, 609–632. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/74.....
14.
Cramer, K., Marcus, J., Pomerleau, C., & Gillard, K. (2015). Gender invariance in the Love Attitudes Scale based on Lee’s color theory of love. Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 22, 403–413. https://doi.org/10.4473/TPM22.....
15.
Czernecka, J. (2008). Polski singiel: obraz w mediach a autowizerunek [The Polish single: image in the media and self-image]. In E. Malinowska (Ed.), Stereotypy a rzeczywistość [Stereotypes and reality] (pp. 110–137). Łódź: Oficyna Wydawnicza Tercja.
16.
DePaulo, B., & Morris, W. (2005). Singles in society and science. Psychological Inquiry, 16, 57–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/104784....
17.
Dion, K. L., & Dion, K. K. (1991). Psychological individualism and romantic love. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6, 17–33.
18.
Dion, K. L., & Dion, K. K. (1993). Gender and ethnocultural comparisons in styles of love. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 17, 463–473. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471....
19.
Donnelly, D., & Burgess, E. (2008). The decision to remain in an involuntarily celibate relationship. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70, 519–535. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741....
20.
Fitzpatrick, J., Blazek, M., Kazmierczak, M., Lewandowska-Walter, A., Pastwa-Wojciechowska, B., & Blazek, W. (2013). Lifestyle and close relationship trends among young adults in Poland. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 31, 928–937. https://doi.org/10.1177/026540....
21.
Fowers, B. J., Lyons, E., Montel, K. H., & Shaked, N. (2001). Positive illusions about marriage among married and single individuals. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 95–109. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3....
22.
Glenn, N. D., & Kramer, K. B. (1987). The marriages and divorces of children of divorce. Journal of Marriage & Family, 49, 811–825. https://doi.org/10.2307/351974.
23.
Goodboy, A. K., Myers, S. A., & Members of Investigating Communication (2010). Relational quality indicators and love styles as predictors of negative relational maintenance behaviors in romantic relationships. Commu-nication Reports, 23, 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/089342....
24.
Hahn, J., & Blass, T. (1997). Dating partner preferences: a function of similarity of love styles. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 12, 595–610.
25.
Hall, S. S. (2006). Marital meaning exploring young adults’ belief systems about marriage. Journal of Family Issues, 27, 1437–1458. https://doi.org/10.1177/019251....
26.
Hammock, G., & Richardson, D. S. (2011). Love attitudes and relationship experience. The Journal of Social Psychology, 151, 608–624. https://doi.org/10.1080/002245....
27.
Hendrick, S. S., & Hendrick, C. (1986). A theory and method of love. Journal of Personality and Social Psy-chology, 50, 392–402. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3....
28.
Hendrick, C., & Hendrick, S. (1995). Gender differences and similarities in sex and love. Personal Relationships, 2, 55–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475....
29.
Hendrick, C., Hendrick, S. S., & Dicke, A. (1998). The Love Attitude Scale: Short Form. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15, 147–159. https://doi.org/10.1177/026540....
30.
Hendrick, S. S., & Hendrick, C. (2002). Linking romantic love with sex: Development of the Perception of Love and Sex Scale. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 19, 361–378. https://doi.org/10.1177/026540....
31.
Kaiser, Ch. R., & Kashy, D. A. (2005). The contextual nature and function of singlism. Psychological Inquiry, 16, 122–126.
32.
Kapusta, N. D., Jankowski, K. S., Wolf, V., Chéron-Le Guludec, M., Lopatka, M., Hammerer, C., Schnieder, A., Kealy, D., Ogrodniczuk, J. S., & Blüml, V. (2018). Measuring the capacity to love: Development of the CTL-Inventory. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1115. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.....
33.
Kephart, W. (1967). Some correlates of romantic love. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 29, 470–474. https://doi.org/10.2307/349585.
34.
Lee, J. A. (1973). The colors of love: an exploration of the ways of loving. Toronto: New Press.
35.
Lehmann, V., Tuinman, M. A., Braeken, J., Vingerhoets, Ad. J. J. M., Sanderman, R., & Hagedoorn, M. (2015). Satisfaction with relationship status: Development of a new scale and the role in predicting well-being. Jour-nal of Happiness Studies, 16, 169–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902....
36.
Levine, T. R., Strzyzewski-Aune, K., & Park, H. S. (2006). Love styles and communication in relationships: Part-ner preferences, initiation, and intensification. Communication Quarterly, 54, 465–486. https://doi.org/10.1080/014633....
37.
Mandal, E., & Latusek, A. (2018). Love attitudes, psychological femininity and masculinity, Machiavellianism, narcissism, and emotional intelligence of rejectors in close relationships. Current Issues in Personality Psy-chology, 6, 188–199. https://doi.org/10.5114/cipp.2....
38.
Medora, N. P., Larson, J. H., Hortaçsu, N., & Dave, P. (2002). Perceived attitudes towards romanticism: A cross-cultural study of American, Asian-Indian, and Turkish young adults. Journal of Comparative Family Stud-ies, 33, 155–178. https://doi.org/10.3138/jcfs.3....
39.
Murray, S. L., & Holmes, J. G. (1997). A leap of faith? Positive illusions in romantic relationships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 586–604. https://doi.org/10.1177/014616....
40.
Ochnik, D., & Mandal, E. (2016). Do Polish never-married singles feel stigmatized? In K. Adamczyk (Ed.), Sin-glehood from individual and social perspectives (pp. 163–191). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Libron – Filip Loh-ner.
41.
Palus, K. (2010). Wybrane psychologiczne uwarunkowania braku partnera życiowego w okresie wczes-.
42.
nej dorosłości [Selected psychological factors of the lack of a lifetime partner in young adulthood].
44.
Regan, P. C. (2008). General theories of love. In P. Regan (Ed.), The mating game: a primer on love, sex, and marriage (pp. 119–137). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
45.
Rostowski, J. (2009). Współczesne przemiany rozumienia związku małżeńskiego [Contemporary changes in understanding marriage]. In T. Rostowska (Ed.), Psychologia rodziny. Małżeństwo i rodzina wobec współ-czesnych wyzwań [Psychology of family. Marriage and family towards contemporary challenges] (pp. 15–46). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Difin.
46.
Rydz, E. (2011). Important life decisions of young people. In E. Rzechowska, S. Steuden, D. Musiał, E. Rydz, & M. Tatala (Eds.), Contemporary interpretations and applications of the theory of positive disintegration (pp. 25–43). Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL.
47.
Sassler, S., & Schoen, R. (1999). The effect of attitudes and economic activity of marriage. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 147–159. https://doi.org/10.2307/353890.
48.
Schachner, D. A., Shaver, P. R., & Gillath, O. (2008). Attachment style and long-term singlehood. Personal Rela-tionships, 15, 479–491. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475....
49.
Shurts, W. M., & Myers, J. E. (2008). An examination of liking, love styles, and wellness among emerging adults: Implications for social wellness and development. Adultspan Journal, 7, 51–68. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161....
50.
Simon, R. W., & Barrett, A. E. (2010). Nonmarital romantic relationships and mental health in early adulthood: Does the association differ for women and men? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51, 168–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214....
51.
Simpson, J. A., Campbell, B., & Berscheid, E. (1986). The association between romantic love and marriage: Kephart (1967) twice revisited. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 12, 363–372. https://doi.org/10.1177/014616....
52.
Sorrell, E. (2005). Romantic love and marriage: an analysis of the concept and functionality of romantic love as a marital stabilizing agent. Nebraska Anthropologist, 9, 16–25.
53.
Spielmann, S. S., MacDonald, G., Maxwell, J. A., Joel, S., Peragine, D., Muise, A., & Impett, E. A. (2013). Settling for less out of fear of being single. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 1049–1073. https://doi.org/10.1037/a00346....
54.
Sprecher, S., & Toro-Morn, M. (2002). A study of men and women from different sides of the earth to determine if men are from Mars and women are from Venus in their beliefs about love and romantic relationships. Sex Roles, 46, 131–147. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019....
55.
Such-Pyrgiel, M. (2014). The lifestyles of single people in Poland. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 109, 198–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbsp....
56.
Willoughby, B. J. (2014). Using marital attitudes in late adolescence to predict later union transitions. Youth & Society, 46, 425–440. https://doi.org/10.1177/004411....
57.
Willoughby, B. J., Hall, S. S., & Luczak, H. P. (2013). Marital paradigms: a conceptual framework for marital attitudes, values, and beliefs. Journal of Family Issues, 36, 188–211. https://doi.org/10.1177/.
59.
Willoughby, B. J., Medaris, M., James, S., & Bartholomew, K. (2015). Changes in marital beliefs among emerg-ing adults: Examining marital paradigms over time. Emerging Adulthood, 3, 219–228. https://doi.org/10.1177/216769....
60.
Żurek, A. (2008). Single. Żyjąc w pojedynkę [Singles. Going it alone]. Poznań: Wydawnictwo UAM.
Copyright: © Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk This is an Open Access journal, all articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
| eISSN: | 2353-561X |
| ISSN: | 2353-4192 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
