Researchers of love are increasingly focusing on identifying the various factors and positive behaviors that contribute to satisfying and lasting relationships. Recent neurological research shows that long-term romantic love can occur in long-term relationships but is calmer than romantic love at the beginning of the relationship and does not include an obsessive element (Acevedo et al., 2012). I conducted individual interviews with 20 individuals (10 couples) involved in long-term relationships, with the aim of gaining in-depth insight into their perceptions of love and the occurrence and form of romantic love in long-term relationships. Interview was based on new Quadrangular Love Theory, which combines the most important and latest findings about love (Karandashev and Evans, 2019). Interview questions also focused on identifying positive behaviors and habits of long-term couples that could contribute to the longevity of their relationships. On the basis of grounded theory I used combination of deductive and inductive method of analysis. I identified 11 categories and 43 subcategories of love in long-term relationships. The categorization offered a rounded, transparent and in-depth insight into the love of long-term couples and their concrete experiences of living together. Three of the categories also provided insight into the presence and form of long-term romantic love, the characteristics of which could be identified in most couples. The research findings offer numerous opportunities for further, including quantitative, research into long-term relationships and the meaning of long-term romantic love.
|