Types of love as a function of satisfaction and age

Research studies on love have focused on the study of typologies, among which Sternberg's triangular theory of love and the typology of Hendrick and Hendrick deriving from that of Sternberg have been the most common and empirically verified. Love types have been linked to all types of sociodemographic and psychological variables. However, these studies possess shortcomings: When the data are analyzed according to age, only a few ranges are studied; with respect to other variables such as satisfaction, typically only two levels are studied, and no continuous study is conducted. This study attempts to overcome these limitations. It analyzes types of love according to the two systems noted earlier and based on two variables: age and satisfaction. For satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) by Diener et al. was used, and 439 subjects aged 15 to 89 years participated in the study. The results show that both of the variables-age and satisfaction-explain that love types occur in varying degrees; however, satisfaction is more predictive than is age. Possibilities for future research are discussed.