Are love styles related to sexual styles?

• Published in: The Journal of sex research Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 265 - 271
• Main Authors: Frey, Kurt, Hojjat, Mahzad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Taylor & Francis Group 01.08.1998; Society for the Scientific Study of Sex; Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
• Subjects: Agape; Attitudes; Bipolar disorder; Gender differences; Gender roles; Human sexual behavior; Humans; Love; Men; Psychological tests; Questionnaires; Relationship; Sexual behavior; Sexual behaviour; Sexual partners; Styles
• ISSN: 0022-4499; 1559-8519
• DOI: 10.1080/00224499809551942

We examined the relationships between love attitudes (eros, ludus, storge, pragma, mania, and agape) and preferences for various sexual scripts (role enactment, sexual trance, and partner engagement). Participants completed Hendrick and Hendrick's (1986) Love Attitudes Scale and Mosher's (1988) Sexual Path Preferences Inventory. None of the love attitudes were related to preferences for role enactment or sexual trance. However, eros, storge, pragma, mania, and agape were all positively correlated with preferences for partner engagement, whereas ludus was negatively correlated with preferences for partner engagement (only the relationships involving mania, storge, and agape were significant after we accounted for the effects of gender and number of sexual partners). Furthermore, preferences for role enactment were positively related, and preferences for partner engagement were negatively related, to number of sexual partners. Finally, we found gender differences in sexual styles, the relationships between sexual styles and love styles, and the relationships between sexual styles and number of sexual partners. We discuss these results in evolutionary terms.