Why are depression symptoms scores greater in people experiencing romantic love?

Abstract

This article presents a model to explain why individuals experiencing romantic love have greater depression symptoms scores. We start by defining romantic love and providing a narrative review of studies investigating depression symptoms in people experiencing romantic love. We then present data from Finnish adolescents which shows higher depression symptoms scores in groups experiencing romantic love. Some tests indicate a small effect of romantic love on depression symptoms scores. We outline biological mechanisms that may play a role in generating depression symptoms in people experiencing romantic love before proposing a hypothetical model to explain the association. This article concludes with a discussion that provides further information about the causes and functions of depression symptoms in adolescents experiencing romantic love.