Romantic relationships across generations: a psychological perspective on generations X, Y, and Z

Introduction: Sternberg’s (1988) theory of love identifies passion, intimacy, and commitment as central components of romantic relationship quality. However, contemporary research highlights additional psychological factors influencing relationship satisfaction, such as empathy, openness, sexual satisfaction, communication, financial stability, health, career development, and overall quality of life. The present study aimed to examine generational differences in psychological determinants of romantic relationship quality among individuals from Generations X, Y, and Z. Method: The study was self-report, quantitative and longitudinal. Four standardized instruments with strong psychometric properties were used: the Affective Communication Index (Floyd & Morman, 1998), the Forgiveness Scale (Toussaint et al., 2001), the Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire (Nomejko & Dolińska-Zygmunt, 2011), and the Interpersonal Commitment Questionnaire (Stanley & Markman, 1992), along with a demographic survey. Results: Generation X respondents demonstrated higher quality affective communication, a capacity for forgiveness, and interpersonal commitment. Generation Z respondents, in turn, reported statistically significantly higher sexual satisfaction than Generation X and Y respondents. Conclusions: These findings offer practical implications for couple therapy, particularly in tailoring interventions to the emotional and communicative needs of different age groups. The observed intergenerational differences underscore the importance of flexible, age-sensitive therapeutic approaches aimed at enhancing relationship quality.