Editorial: The psychology of love

Abstract

Understanding romantic love has been among the central Research Topics in psychology since the 1950s, given its benefits for individual health and wellbeing. In one of the earliest studies in this field, Rubin (1970) developed a scale to assess romantic love and distinguish it from liking and argued that romantic love includes three main components—attachment, caring, and intimacy (Rubin, 1973). This seminal work was crucial to inform the development of theoretical framework widely used (for a review, see Sternberg, 2018). Despite the many difficulties in objectively assessing love (Hendrick and Hendrick, 2019), researchers continue to examine how people experience love, its personal, relational, and contextual correlates, and its implications for functioning. For example, some researchers recently proposed new theories to explain the meaning and experience of love (e.g., Tobore, 2020), whereas others tested the generalizability of established scales (e.g., Triangular Love Scale; Sorokowski et al., 2021). Likewise, some studies have shown that emotional support and involvement in stable romantic relationships can reduce stress reactivity and have positive effects on health (e.g., Coan et al., 2006). Other studies have shown that romantic relationships perceived as valuable by both partners are associated with significant improvements in mental health, including decreased depression, anxiety, and loneliness (e.g., Proulx et al., 2007). Some of these associations have been replicated in longitudinal studies. For example, individuals in stable, high-quality romantic relationships tend to live longer and exhibit lower mortality rates, compared to those who are single or divorced (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010; Bouchard et al., 2023; Sheng et al., 2023).