Testing the predictions of Chapman's five love languages theory: Does speaking a partner's primary love language predict relationship quality?

  • Flicker, S. M., & Sancier-Barbosa, F. (2025). Testing the predictions of Chapman’s five love languages theory: Does speaking a partner’s primary love language predict relationship quality? Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 51(1), Article e12747. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12747
  • This study tested Chapman’s five love languages theory, which posits that an individual is more satisfied in their romantic relationship when their partner demonstrates love in ways that align with their primary love language (i.e., quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, physical touch, or gifts). 696 civilian adults in a romantic relationship rated how loved a variety of actions would make them feel to determine their primary love language (i.e., the love language subscale with the highest score). They also reported how satisfied they were with their partner’s demonstration of each love language, their relationship satisfaction, and how loved they felt by their partner in general. Overall, participants generally reported similar scores for 2 or more love languages (rather than having 1 single love language). In general, satisfaction with their partners’ demonstration of any of the 5 love languages was associated with higher relationship satisfaction.

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Research summaries convey terminology used by the scientists who authored the original research article; some terminology may not align with the federal government's mandated language for certain constructs.

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