Psychology

Falling in love is an experience that is highly sought after and valued in the West. The idea of romantic love is pervasively considered as the most important ground for marriage and relationship satisfaction (Hendrick and Hendrick 2000135). Romantic love is often characterised as an intense yearning for and need to be with another who is passionately desired (Montgomery and Sorell 199755) and urgent and intense feelings that attract and hold adults in relationships (Pistole 199415). What we observe about relationships at present, adds several questions on love as a concept and how people sustain their relationships and their marriage. There are normative perceptions on relationships, such as the ages that are most suitable for an enduring partnership. Generally, the average age gap in UK marriages is over two years and women marry men who are older (BBC News 2008). But what about those considered taboo relationships, such as age-gap relationships, or relationships characterised by a substantial age difference among its partners Will the age difference greatly affect the sustainability and satisfaction derived out of the relationship
The popular notion that love is blind supports the view that as long as such highly passionate feelings exists among couples, the relationship or marriage will work. Emphasis on love as a feeling is often high to the extent that the absence of such passion often merits a questioning of the success of a relationship. However, research reveals that there is more to relationship satisfaction than the presence of romantic love (Hendrick and Hendrick 1986). The intensity of romantic love experienced by couples seldom endures and seems to sustain the relationship only for a few months or years and eventually break up but some couples have succeeding in sustaining their intimate relationships.

Most writers now support the idea that people experience different types of love across time (Sternberg and Hojjat 1997). Consequently, people change their attitudes and beliefs about love as they and their relationships mature. Perhaps the most influential theorist who pursued the study of love across the developmental stages is John Lee (1973), who came up with the Colours of Love theory which eventually became the basis for the questionnaire called the Love Attitudes Scale (LAS) constructed by Hendrick and Hendrick (1986). Lee viewed love as having six typologies Eros (romantic love) Ludus  (game-playing love) Storge (friendship-based love) Pragma (practical love) Mania (obsessive love) and Agape (altruistic, selfless love) (Hendrick and Hendrick 1986393). Building on Lees theory and with the use of LAS, several studies on love, relationships, and relationship satisfaction emerged. These studies found that certain variables could explain for the differences in the love styles people experience, age being one of them.

Some writers concluded that peoples experience on loving evolves over time (Walster and Walster 1978 and Sternberg 1987). Almost all couples begin with passionate love in a relationship which gradually develops into companionate love. As couples become more familiar with each other, their notions on intimacy change from love dependent on physical attraction, passion, or emotional intensity to one that is grounded on affection (Walster and Walster 19789). Sternberg (1987) predicted that factors such as passion, intimacy, and commitment that a couple experience would evolve as the relationship matures  with passion and intimacy decreasing and commitment increasing, before gradually levelling off. Another study by Josselson (cited in Montgomery and Sorell 1997) showed that relationships eventually develop from one heavily focused on emotion and fantasy to one which centralises on cooperation and companionship.

If studies have noted changes across time on how people experience loving (from intimate to committed or from passionate to companionate), differences in attitudinal beliefs toward love have also been observed across different stages of adulthood. Hendrick and Hendrick (1986) suggested that over the course of a persons life span, there is a developmental sequence in love attitudes. People undergo a modal developmental sequence of love styles in the following manner adolescents are characterised by Manic love early adulthood is characterised by a preference toward Eros  during the middle and late years of adulthood, the love styles eventually evolve into Pragma or Storge. Research studies have also pinpointed preferences of love styles among younger and older partners involved in close relationships. For instance, younger partners are more inclined to perceive Eros (game-playing) or Mania (obsessive love) as positive predictors of love while older partners look at game-playing negatively (Grote and Frieze 1994, Frazier and Esterly 1990, and Butler et al. 1990). Other studies also indicate that older partners valued Agape (altruistic love), commitment, and loyalty to a greater extent than younger partners (Montgomery and Sorell 1997 and Gall et al. 2002).

The beliefs and attitudes that people attribute to love have a significant impact on relationship satisfaction (Hendrick, Hendrick, and Adler 1988). Several studies using the LAS as instrument have concluded that relationship satisfaction was greater among people who score high on Eros and Agape while satisfaction was significantly lower for those who scored high on Ludus (Frazier and Esterly 1990). Similarly, the strongest predictor of relationship satisfaction was Eros or passionate love (Contreras et al. 1996 and Inman-Amos, Hendrick and Hendrick 1994). Ludus predicted less satisfaction in the intimate relationship, while the same conclusion was limited only to men (Hendrick, Hendrick, and Adler 1988). Other researchers also revealed that more erotic partners were more satisfied with their relationships while the more ludic partners were less satisfied (Davis and Latty-Mann 1987 and Hendrick, Hendrick,  and Adler 1988).

Studies that examined the impact of age with relationship satisfaction have come up with mixed results. Some studies found that perceptions on satisfaction across age groups could be generalised. Reedy, Birren, and Schaie (1981) suggest that older couples equate satisfaction with commitment, mutual dependability, and loyalty, while younger generations of couples value commitment less and require honest and open communication. Moreover, the emphasis on erotic love is said to decline with age, and older partners in a relationship attribute satisfaction to companionship and cooperation rather than sexual desire (Hendrick and Hendrick 1995). Some studies have also shown that the age of partners in a relationship has minimal or no impact on reported levels of satisfaction (Schmitt, Kliegel, and Shapiro 2007).

These contradictory findings merit further investigation on the question What is the impact of age gap or age difference in reported levels of satisfaction among couples Hence, the present study.

Research Problem
This research aims to examine how age gap or age difference present in relationships can influence attitudes and beliefs on love and in consequence, relationship satisfaction. In its investigation, two instruments will be used  the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier 1976) and the Relationship Assessment Scale (Hendrick 1988).

The main focus of this research is to determine the impact of age differences in reported levels of relationship satisfaction among couples. Specifically, the study proposes to answer the following research questions, to wit

What are the attitudinal beliefs on love and relationship reported by the respondents
What is the level of relationship satisfaction reported
Do age differences have an impact in reported levels of relationship satisfaction

Research Importance
There has been increasing interest on relationship research as a field of study into human associations and relationships. Although there have been many studies that looked into relationship beliefs and relationship satisfaction, there has not been much emphasis on the role of the age gap or age difference in explaining possible variations in attitudinal beliefs on love among couples. Not only will this study be a welcome addition to the existing database of relationship research, it will also provide fresh insight into how differences in age among couples could impact their perceptions on love as well as their level of relationship satisfaction.

Research Objectives
In the conduct of this investigation, several research objectives are considered
To explain the importance of relationship beliefs in reported levels of relationship satisfaction. A primary objective of this study is to present the beliefs and perceptions couples have vis-a-vis their close relationships and how these beliefs may be influential in their judgments of how satisfied they are with their current relationships. In so doing, this research will be able to generate possible areas of implication for subsequent relationship studies and future research.

To examine the impact of differences in relationship beliefs and consequent agreement or disagreement on levels of reported satisfaction. This study will bring to light the different factors that may be the cause in differing levels of satisfaction reported between couples. Determining these factors will be crucial in exploring the impact they may have on future relationship longevity andor satisfaction.

To determine possible factors affecting reported relationship satisfaction. In the course of the research, factors including perceptions on love, sexual attitudes, level of relationship commitment, and self-admission may account for the variations of reported level of satisfaction among the respondents. Consequently, these factors may highlight an important area for future research that could build on the present literature.