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(255) Capacity to Love, Love Addiction and Intimacy in Long-distance and Geographically Close Relationships
Long-distance relationships (LDRs) are increasingly common among young adults, as mobility and digital communication have redefined how intimacy is maintained across distance. The literature that has compared LDRs and geographically close relationships (GCRs) to date has examined satisfaction, communication quality, and attachment dynamics, demonstrating that the quality of relationships in LDRs can be comparable to or even superior to that of GCRs. Research on attachment, capacity to love, and love addiction has highlighted their role in shaping emotional regulation and well-being within romantic bonds. In studies of the general population, CTL has been linked to mental health, and emotional dependency has typically been described as a maladaptive relational style associated with insecure attachment. However, few studies have explored how these constructs interact in the specific context of long-distance relationships. This study aimed to compare individuals in LDRs and GCRs regarding attachment, Capacity to Love, and affective dependence, and to examine whether these relational dimensions are associated with psychological well-being. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted on 979 young Italian adults (aged 18-30; 72% women; GCR: 49.3% - LDR: 50.7%) involved in romantic relationships. Participants completed a psychometric self-assessment protocol that evaluated attachment style, capacity for love, love addiction, jealousy, pornography use, motivations for sexting, global well-being, and indices of psychopathological distress. Comparisons between groups (LDR vs. GCR) were made using Mann-Whitney U tests with effect sizes (r). Compared to GCR participants, LDR individuals reported higher total CTL scores (U = 103,491, p < .001, r = .14) and subscales: Interest in partner's life project (U = 109,407, p = .017, r = .09), Basic Trust (U = 108,171, p = .008, r = .10), Gratitude (U = 102,588, p < .001, r = .14), and Lasting Sexual Passion (U = 106,795, p = .003, r = .11). They also showed greater affective dependence: Relevance (U = 101,084, p < 0.001, r = 0.16), Abstinence (U = 99,156, p < 0.001, r = 0.17), Tolerance (U = 85,711, p < 0.001, r = 0.28), and mood change (U = 104,173, p < 0.001, r = 0.13), as well as greater sexual motivation (U = 98,898, p < 0.001, r = 0.17). No significant differences emerged between the groups in terms of psychological well-being (p = 0.764), psychopathological symptoms (p = 0.465), and pornography use (p = 0.243). The results suggest that emotional dependency, commonly considered pathological, may acquire an adaptive regulatory function in long-distance relationships. The coexistence of high CTL and high dependency, without differences in psychological well-being, may reflect a plastic configuration of love, which temporarily sustains object constancy and emotional investment when physical presence is limited. From a clinical perspective, these findings call for a context-sensitive understanding of dependence: in some relational contexts, understanding how dependence and the capacity to love coexist in maintaining intimacy may provide useful information for psychotherapeutic approaches that address separation, autonomy, and emotional regulation in couples. No
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