The triangular theory of love 40 years later: exploring the importance of intimacy, passion and commitment in today’s couple relationships

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.