Gender and Ethnocultural Comparisons in Styles of Love

Abstract

Ethnocultural background and gender were investigated as correlates of love styles in an ethnically diverse sample of university students in Toronto. Women viewed love as more friendship oriented, more pragmatic, but less permissive than did men, findings consistent with previous research with American college students. Ethnocultural differences or Gender x Ethnocultural Background interactions were also found. In line with an expected contrast between Asian and Western cultural traditions regarding love, Chinese and other Asian respondents of both sexes were more friendship oriented in their love relationships than were respondents of Anglo‐Celtic or European ethnocultural backgrounds. Expectations of greater gender role differentiation among Asians were partly supported by finding that women from Asian ethnocultural backgrounds other than Chinese were less likely to view “love as a game” than were either their female or male counterparts. Women from Asian ethnocultural backgrounds other than Chinese also expressed a more altruistic view of love than did Anglo‐Celtic women.

Agape Love in Couple Relationships

“…Gender differences and their associations with Lee's love styles have been studied extensively. Some research reported no gender differences with regards to Agape (Dion & Dion, 1993;Montgomery & Sorell, 1997). A number of studies reported that women favored the style of Agape more than men (e.g., Davies, 2001;Schultz et al, 2001).…”

Perceived support and relational conflict as mediators linking attachment orientations with depressive symptoms: A comparison of dating individuals from Hong Kong and the United States

“…In the Hong Kong Chinese culture with more marriageage men than women, according to sex ratios theory (Pedersen, 1991), dating individuals prefer long-term, monogamous dating relationships and have stronger commitment to dating relationships (Schmitt, 2005). Furthermore, given the cultural norms of interdependence (Markus, & Kitayama, 1991), Chinese dating individuals were expected to preserve harmonious relationships with the partner and his/her family members (Dion, & Dion, 1993). Thus, Chinese with high attachment avoidance, who violate the norm of interdependence (Friedman et al, 2010), may experience more relational conflict and in turn invite more psychological distress.…”

Exploring Expressions of Marital Love Prototype among Married Urban Malays

“…Sex (Dion & Dion, 1993;Fehr & Broughton, 2001), age (Neto, 2001;Yancey & Eastman, 1995) and level of education (Hoelter, Axinn, & Ghimire, 2004) play a role in determining how love is viewed, expressed and experienced within marriage. Relationship factors such as time together with the partner (Grote & Friez, 1998), total number of children (Montgomery & Sorell, 1997), may also influence marital satisfaction and the well-being of the person.…”