Are romantic relationships good for anything? A new study published in Evolutionary Psychology explored this question.
Human mating strategies have evolved to prioritize long-term partnerships due to the need for prolonged parental investment in offspring and the necessity for reliable support and protection to overcome survival challenges. This evolutionary background is reflected in modern human behavior, where long-term mating is the predominant strategy, evidenced by limited sexual dimorphism in humans compared to other species and the universal institution of marriage.
In this research, Menelaos Apostolou and colleagues examined what people perceive as the benefits of being in an intimate relationship.
Study 1 identified the perceived benefits of being in a long-term intimate relationship. The study was conducted online, using Google Forms, and targeted 221 Greek-speaking individuals. Participants were asked to list benefits of being in such relationships. Two graduate students then independently analyzed these responses, creating lists of benefits, which were later refined collaboratively. This process led to the identification of 82 distinct benefits of being in an intimate relationship.
Study 2 expanded on the first study by quantitatively analyzing the 82 benefits identified in Study 1. A total of 545 Greek-speaking participants rated the importance of each benefit on a five-point Likert scale. These benefits were classified into broader categories, resulting in ten factors; these included support, social acceptance, sexual satisfaction, company and shared activities, positive emotions, give and receive care, safe sex, love and passion, sharing expenses, and stability. These factors were further grouped into two domains, as intrinsic (e.g., love and passion) and extrinsic (e.g., social acceptance) to the relationship.
Significant differences were found based on sex, age, and relationship status for some of these factors. For example, women gave higher importance ratings for “love and passion”, “give and receive care,” and “social acceptance”, while older participants gave higher scores for “social acceptance” but lower for “positive emotions” and “give and receive care.” Relationship status was significant only for the “support” factor, with those in intimate relationships attributing greater importance than single participants.
Overall, this research highlights that people value both the emotional and practical aspects of intimate relationships, irrespective of their personal demographics.
A limitation the authors note is that these results pertain to the Greek cultural context and may not be generalizable to other cultures.
The study, “What are Romantic Relationships Good for? An Explorative Analysis of the Perceived Benefits of Being in a Relationship”, was authored by Menelaos Apostolou, Christoforos Christoforou, and Timo Juhani Lajunen.