Abstract

SANCHEZ CAPETILLO, Monserrat  and  GALAN JIMENEZ, Jaime Sebastián F.. Commitment, Intimacy, Romance, Love and Satisfaction in Virtual and Physical Mexican Couples During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Psicumex [online]. 2022, vol.12, e479.  Epub Jan 20, 2023. ISSN 2007-5936.  https://doi.org/10.36793/psicumex.v12i1.479.

The present research aims to examine the effect of virtuality on the dynamics and characteristics of couples during the pandemic, with specific emphasis on the differences between exclusively virtual couples and those with a physical relationship (face to face). It starts with the hypothesis that the love components romanticism, love, intimacy, commitment, and satisfaction, would be greater in virtual couples. Method: we employed a cross-sectional analytical design with a sample of 353 participants with a mean of 29.8 years (SD 7.1). We distributed a survey using Google Forms applying the Commitment, Intimacy and Romance Scale, and the Couple Satisfaction Scale. Results: results demonstrate that there are only significant differences in commitment, with the highest score in physical partners; men scored lower in the love component measure. Finally, we discarded our initial hypothesis. Although intimacy, romance, love and satisfaction do not appear impacted by couple presence, commitment appears to differ significantly, identifying a potentially key element for future analysis of partner relationships.

Keywords : couples; virtual contexts; satisfaction; pandemic; love.