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. 2021 Jan;58(1):106-115.
doi: 10.1080/00224499.2020.1787318. Epub 2020 Aug 12.

Universality of the Triangular Theory of Love: Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Triangular Love Scale in 25 Countries

Piotr Sorokowski  1 Agnieszka Sorokowska  1 Maciej Karwowski  1 Agata Groyecka  1 Toivo Aavik  2 Grace Akello  3 Charlotte Alm  4 Naumana Amjad  5 Afifa Anjum  5 Kelly Asao  6 Chiemezie S Atama  7 Derya Atamtürk Duyar  8 Richard Ayebare  9 Carlota Batres  10 Mons Bendixen  11 Aicha Bensafia  12 Boris Bizumic  13 Mahmoud Boussena  12 David M Buss  14 Marina Butovskaya  15 Seda Can  16 Katarzyna Cantarero  17 Antonin Carrier  18 Hakan Çetinkaya  16 Dominika Chabin  19 Daniel Conroy-Beam  20 Ilona Croy  21 Rosa María Cueto  22 Marcin Czub  1 Daria Dronova  15 Seda Dural  16 Izzet Duyar  8 Berna Ertugrul  23 Agustín Espinosa  22 Ignacio Estevan  24 Carla Sofia Esteves  25 Tomasz Frackowiak  1 Jorge Contreras Graduño  26 Farida Guemaz  27 Tran Ha Thu  28 Mária Haľamová  29 Iskra Herak  18 Marina Horvat  30 Ivana Hromatko  31 Chin-Ming Hui  32 Jas Laile Jaafar  33 Feng Jiang  34 Konstantinos Kafetsios  35 Tina Kavcic  36 Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair  11 Nicolas Kervyn  18 Nils C Köbis  37 Aleksandra Kostic  38 Anna Krasnodębska  39 András Láng  40 Georgina R Lennard  13 Ernesto León  22 Torun Lindholm  4 Gulia Lopez  41 Mohammad Madallh Alhabahba  42 Alvaro Mailhos  24 Zoi Manesi  43 Rocio Martinez  44 Mario Sainz Martinez  44 Sarah L McKerchar  13 Norbert Meskó  40 Girishwar Misra  45 Conal Monaghan  13 Emanuel C Mora  46 Alba Moya-Garófano  44 Bojan Musil  30 Jean Carlos Natividade  47 George Nizharadze  48 Elisabeth Oberzaucher  49 Anna Oleszkiewicz  1 Mohd Sofian Omar Fauzee  50 Ike E Onyishi  7 Baris Özener  8 Ariela Francesca Pagani  41 Vilmante Pakalniskiene  51 Miriam Parise  41 Bogusław Pawłowski  1 Farid Pazhoohi  52 Marija Pejičić  38 Annette Pisanski  46 Katarzyna Pisanski  1 Nejc Plohl  30 Edna Ponciano  53 Camelia Popa  54 Pavol Prokop  55 Aneta Przepiórka  56 Truong Quang Lam  28 Muhammad Rizwan  57 Joanna Różycka-Tran  58 Svjetlana Salkičević  31 Ruta Sargautyte  51 Ivan Sarmany-Schuller  59 Susanne Schmehl  49 Anam Shahid  5 Rizwana Shaikh  60 Shivantika Sharad  61 Franco Simonetti  62 Meri Tadinac  31 Truong Thi Khanh Ha  28 Karina Ugalde González  63 Christin-Melanie Vauclair  25 Luis Diego Vega  63 Dwi Ajeng Widarini  64 Bogdan Wojciszke  28 Gyesook Yoo  65 Zainab Fotowwat Zadeh  66 Marta Zaťková  29 Maja Zupančič  67 Robert J Sternberg  68
Affiliations

Universality of the Triangular Theory of Love: Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Triangular Love Scale in 25 Countries

Piotr Sorokowski et al. J Sex Res. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

The Triangular Theory of Love (measured with Sternberg's Triangular Love Scale - STLS) is a prominent theoretical concept in empirical research on love. To expand the culturally homogeneous body of previous psychometric research regarding the STLS, we conducted a large-scale cross-cultural study with the use of this scale. In total, we examined more than 11,000 respondents, but as a result of applied exclusion criteria, the final analyses were based on a sample of 7332 participants from 25 countries (from all inhabited continents). We tested configural invariance, metric invariance, and scalar invariance, all of which confirmed the cultural universality of the theoretical construct of love analyzed in our study. We also observed that levels of love components differ depending on relationship duration, following the dynamics suggested in the Triangular Theory of Love. Supplementary files with all our data, including results on love intensity across different countries along with STLS versions adapted in a few dozen languages, will further enable more extensive research on the Triangular Theory of Love.

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