Love has been a recurrent topic throughout history, and especially, literature. Moreover, there is generalized agreement about its relevance for health emotional well-being, and quality of life. This study was carried out with a sample of 376 persons with ID. The goals of the work were to analyze a theoretical model of love in people with intellectual disabilities by means of the methodology of structural equations, and to analyze their perception of love and of amorous relations with regard to other aspects such as amorous satisfaction, perceived satisfaction, absence of family interference, self-determination, and emotional well-being. The results revealed that (a) the construct under study has three factors: Commitment, stability, and idealization, Passion and physiological excitement, and Intimacy and romanticism; (b) the perception of love in this collective is, in general, idealized and affected by the context; and (c) self-determination and the lack of family interference are relevant variables to explain both love and emotional well-being.El amor ha sido un tema de estudio recurrente a través de la historia y, especialmente, en la literatura. Además, existe un acuerdo generalizado sobre su relevancia para la salud, el bienestar emocional y la calidad de vida. Este estudio se llevó a cabo con una muestra de 376 personas con discapacidad intelectual. Los objetivos del trabajo fueron analizar un modelo teórico del amor en personas con discapacidad intelectual por medio de la metodología de ecuaciones estructurales, y analizar su percepción del amor y de las relaciones amorosas en relación con otros aspectos tales como la satisfacción amorosa, la satisfacción percibida, la ausencia de intromisión familiar, la autodeterminación y el bienestar emocional. Los resultados pusieron de manifiesto que (a) el constructo estudiado comprende tres factores: Compromiso, estabilidad e idealización, Pasión y excitación fisiológica e Intimidad y romanticismo; (b) la percepción del amor en este colectivo está, en general, idealizado e influenciado por el contexto, y (c) la autodeterminación y la falta de intromisión familiar son variables relevantes para explicar tanto el amor como el bienestar emocional. Palabras clave: amor, personas con discapacidad intelectual, bienestar emocional, modelos de ecuaciones estructurales

Love has been a recurring theme through history and literature, and its relevance to health, well‐being and quality of life has been widely acknowledged. However, the scientific study of love has not yet reached people with learning disabilities. The study reported here was based on research with 376 people with learning disabilities in Spain, and aimed to analyse their appraisal of love, loving relationships and related issues (global evaluation, satisfaction, role of the family and self‐determination). A Likert‐type measure was developed, and the outcomes indicate that the measures have satisfactory psychometric characteristics. It is also evident that the theoretical model of love for people without disabilities can be applied to individuals with disabilities, and includes three key factors (‘commitment, stability and idealisation’, ‘passion and physiological arousal’ and ‘intimacy and romanticism’). It also indicates that the perceptions of love in people with learning disabilities are relatively idealised and influenced by context, and interference from family and self‐determination are key issues.