Intimacy is a central component of romantic relationships. It combines feelings of trust, connectedness, and closeness with a partner, where the key components are open communication and a sense of security, expressed through self-disclosure. Egalitarian relationships are those in which partners equally share all benefits, burdens, and responsibilities, and in which wishes, needs, and concerns of both partners are equally taken into account. From this perspective, the feelings produced by experiencing equality in a relationship are intertwined with the feelings that build intimacy in a relationship. The aim of the present master's thesis was to study the differences in the experience of intimacy and satisfaction in romantic relationships in relation to the degree of equality, and to examine the differences in the experience of all three concepts according to the different sociodemographic characteristics of the participants. In the first part, the author presented the theoretical framework and findings of previous research on intimacy and equality in romantic relationships. In the second part, she presented the findings of the present study involving 320 participants, of whom 206 were women and 114 were men. The measuring tools used by the author were the Equity/Inequity Scale (E/I), the Intimacy Scale (IS), and the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS). The results showed statistically significant differences in the experience of intimacy and satisfaction in the romantic relationships in relation to the degree of equality. Individuals who viewed their relationship as equal sensed a higher level of intimacy and satisfaction than others. Moreover, differences were found in the experience of equality, intimacy, and satisfaction in the romantic relationships on the basis of some sociodemographic characteristics of the participants. It has been shown that individuals who share hobbies with their partners perceive the relationship as more intimate, equal, and experience a greater degree of satisfaction. Differences were also found in experiencing intimacy and satisfaction in relation to the duration of the relationship, time spent with the partner, and marital status. Individuals who have been in a relationship for a longer period of time, those who spend less time with their partner, and those who were no longer in a relationship and therefore evaluated their past relationship, experience a lower degree of intimacy and satisfaction. Intimacy in the relationship also differs depending on the age of the participants and the presence of children in the relationship. Younger individuals and those without children experience the relationship as more intimate. Differences in the level of equality between individuals with and without children are on the verge of statistical significance. Individuals who have children in their relationship exhibited a tendency to estimate that their partner has an advantage over them when it comes to the equality in the relationship. No gender differences were found in any of the three concepts.
This master's thesis shows the importance of equality for the quality of romantic relationships. Individuals who recognize a greater degree of equality in their relationship perceive it as more intimate and experience greater satisfaction. According to the research findings, it can be concluded that equality is one of the key factors that contribute to overall well-being of a romantic relationship.
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