Perceptions of Love and Infidelity by Polish Youth

AbstractThe article presents results of research on academic youth attitudes on love, intimacy, and infidelity in Poland. The research goal was to determine how modern adolescents define a relationship, what role is played in this regard by the sociocultural understanding of love they adopted, and how their ideas about relationship and love translate into faithfulness in the relationship. The research was conducted using quantitative methods with computer assisted (aided) web interviews on an Internet channel supervised by Lime-Survey system. The study was of an exploratory character; it used N = 621 of full questionnaires. Factor analysis enabled distinguishing three analytic areas: relationship, infidelity and causes of infidelity. Within every definitional range, the number of variables extracted from the question pool was reduced to two dimensions. In each case, the definitional variants clearly fit into a distinct dualism of cultural forms of love, which distinguished between romantic love and pure relationship. Young people’s attitudes towards love and infidelity are full of contradictions and paradoxes. On the one hand, they look for romantic love, on the other, one can observe a need of sexual experiences and pleasures. Adolescents define infidelity in corporal terms, but they do not forget about its emotional aspect. Their opinions about infidelity point to a rather elusive nature of traditionally applying norms and prohibitions. What is crucial in this regard is the way the relationship is perceived and the strength of emotional involvement and ties binding the couple.