EXPLORING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LOVE LANGUAGES AND RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION

Abstract

The fundamental concept of the five love languages theory and understanding is straightforward - individuals possess unique personalities and therefore express and perceive love in diverse ways. By gaining insight into these variances in both oneself and in significant others, a person can identify the underlying cause of conflicts, develop a more profound connection, and ultimately foster deeper relationships. For the present study I intend to look more specifically into the relationship between love language and relationship satisfaction and explore do the people that speak specific love language tend to be more satisfied in their relationships. For this purpose, we assessed the love languages using love languages profile written by Chapman and relationship assessment scale to assess the relationship satisfaction. The online survey was completed by 108 participants, all women, ranging in age from 20 to 68, who were in committed relationships with a permanent partner. The participants' average age was 38.47 years. The duration of the relationships varied among the participants, with the majority (43.5%) having been together for over ten years, followed by 20.4% in relationships for less than ten years, 19.4% for less than one year, and 16.7% for less than five years. In terms of education, the majority (56.5%) had an undergraduate degree, while 23.1% held a master's degree, 9.3% had a doctorate, and 11.1% had completed high school. All participants identified as Macedonian and practiced the Orthodox religion. Results of the the study found that most participants (84.3%) favored quality time as their preferred love language. This preference was significantly higher than the other love languages, with acts of service being preferred by 7.4% of participants and physical touch being preferred by 4.6%. Words of affirmation and receiving gifts had the lowest levels of preference, each being preferred by only 1.9% of participants. The statistical analysis conducted in this study revealed that participants who preferred quality time as their love language reported the highest levels of relationship satisfaction, followed by those who favored receiving gifts, physical touch, words of affirmation, and acts of service. Despite these findings, we concluded that the association between love language and relationship satisfaction was not statistically significant, which led us to reject our hypothesis that there is a relationship between the two. To enhance comprehension of the correlation between love language and relationship satisfaction, conducting further research is necessary. The significance of expanding knowledge in this area lies in the potential outcomes of this study, including resolving relationship and marriage conflicts, offering tools to articulate desires and requirements to one's partner, facilitating improved communication of needs, and providing applications to couples therapy and marriage counseling. Furthermore, it may provide resources for expressing the partner's wishes and needs, and addressing potential problems in relationships and marriages.