Internalization of the Romantic Love Myths as a Risk Factor for Gender Violence: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Introduction Violence against women is a global health problem, and gender violence is a multifactorial phenomenon generally attributed to the fact of living in a patriarchal culture setting. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis conducted in the following databases: PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, LILACS, MEDES, Web of Science, CUIDEN, ENFISPO, IBECS, Dialnet and Cuidatge. Inclusion criteria: quantitative design, Spanish population, Spanish, English, Portuguese and/or French language, no time restriction and use of the Myths about Love Scale. Data was collected and analysed from July to October 2020. A total of 146 records were identified, of which, after applying the eligibility criteria, 12 studies were included, and 6 met the criteria for the meta-analysis. The descriptive and prevalence analysis was performed by means of StatsDirect. In all the analyses, statistical significance was considered at p < 0.05 and the CIs, at 95%. Results The most accepted myths were those related to love idealization: the eternal passion, marriage, omnipotence and perfect match myths. The least accepted myths were those of the couple, jealousy and love-maltreatment link. Men and women accepted the myths in a similar manner, although the former showed more participation in jealousy and in love-maltreatment link. Conclusions The study contributes a current perspective about the beliefs regarding the love myths that can be a conditioning factor in love relationships and a risk factor for gender violence. The bet is on preventive education and socialization at all levels, as well as on the deconstruction of the concept of romantic love and its myths to foster healthy and egalitarian relationships.

The scale of myths of romantic love: Psychometric properties and gender differences in Spanish adolescents

“…Romantic love could influence the legitimization of gender-based violence to the extent that it reinforces patriarchal ideologies that favor inequality (Lelaurain et al, 2021). At the same time, the conception of love that emerges from romantic myths is related to dynamics of abuse and inequality in the couple environment (Ariza et al, 2022; Jiménez-Picón et al, 2023). Then, taking into account that romantic love myths could reinforce sexism and gender asymmetry in intimate relationships (Bisquert-Bover et al, 2019; Fernández et al, 2021; Marcos et al, 2020; Nava-Reyes et al, 2018; Rivas-Rivero & Bonilla-Algovia, 2021), the negative correlation between SMRL and pro-gender equality attitudes (García et al, 2010) indicates discriminant validity in adolescents, as participants with egalitarian values are more likely to reject romantic myths.…”

“…The analysis of the differences between boys and girls helps to understand the impact of differential gender socialization on the assumption of romantic love as an ideology (Bosch et al, 2013; Jiménez-Picón et al, 2023; Ruiz-Palomino et al, 2021a). In relation to the second hypothesis, although the results show that this ideology is present in adolescence, mean comparisons indicated that boys are significantly more accepting of romantic myths than girls.…”

“…The model of idealization, distortion, and mythification that encompasses romantic love could result in toxic and abusive relationships within the context of gender-based violence (Jiménez-Picón et al, 2023). In this respect, Lelaurain et al (2021) found that patriarchal ideologies, including sexism, are related to romantic love and serve as mediators between such love and the legitimization of gender-based violence, so that romantic love would be supported by beliefs that entrench inequality.…”

Amor, romance y mitos románticos en la música en un grupo de mujeres de la ciudad de La Paz, Bolivia

“…Es importante mencionar que, si bien las participantes reconocen diferentes mitos románticos en las canciones, también la mayoría de ellas reconocen los riesgos asociados a la misma como formas de dependencia, sacrificio y pérdida de la individualidad. Esto se replica con la investigación realizada por Gómez et al ( 2019) donde se evidencia un ciclo de la violencia contra las mujeres en la música popular de España o en la revisión sistemática de Jimenez-Picon et al (2022).…”

Self-Concept, Family Roles, Knowledge and Information Resource on Dating Violence Prevention Behaviors: A Cross-sectional Study using Smart PLS Software

“…The understanding of adolescents in general is not so broad, and so many teenagers know this. Even among them, there are those who think that what they experience is not a form of violence but a form of affection for their partners, and this is considered natural in dating relationships (Jiménez-Picón et al, 2023).…”