LOVE IN THE DIGITAL AGE - The comparison of traits in romantic relationships depending on the fact if they were started and are developing online and/or in-person

Kada je riječ o suvremenim partnerskim odnosima, nužno je prepoznati sve veću ulogu koju digitalne tehnologije imaju u upoznavanju partnera i razvoju partnerskih veza, te akceptirati neke specifičnosti partnerskih odnosa ovisno o tome održavaju li se u potpunosti ili djelomice online ili uživo. Cilj ovog istraživanja je usporediti obilježja partnerskih odnosa kod mladih odraslih osoba koji su svoju vezu započeli uživo ili online te koji održavaju svoju vezu većinski uživo ili online. Istraživanje se bazira na neeksperimentalnom korelacijskom nacrtu. Provedeno je online anketnim upitnikom na prigodnom uzorku od 226 mladih odraslih osoba koje su u ljubavnoj vezi (69% žena i 31% muškaraca od 18 do 30 godina) te koje koriste različite Facebook grupe namijenjene mladim odraslim osobama. U istraživanju su primijenjeni sljedeći mjerni instrumenti: Couple Communication Satisfaction Scale (Jones i Morris, 2019), Couples Satisfaction Index (Funk i Rogge, 2007) te Relationship Assessment Scale (Hendrick, 1988., prema Hendrick, Hendrick i Adler, 1988). Rezultati su pokazali da osobe koje su svoje ljubavne veze započele uživo te koje većinu komunikacije u vezi održavaju online (osobe u vezama na daljinu) imaju lošiju razinu zadovoljstva komunikacijom od osoba u klasičnim vezama te procjenjuju svoju vezu općenito manje kvalitetnom u odnosu na osobe u klasičnim vezama. Također, osobe u vezama na daljinu izražavaju u procjeku niže zadovoljstvo na subskali slaganja o važnim aspektima veze. S druge strane, utvrđeno je da nema značajnih razlika u procjenama na subskali generalnog zadovoljstva u vezi kao i na subskali osjećaja o vezi ovisno o različitoj ulozi tehnologije u partnerskoj vezi sudionika istraživanja. Zaključno, u radu je istaknuta važnost provođenja različitih oblika psihosocijalne podrške i usluga u online okruženju, posebice za parove koji su primorani održavati svoju vezu na daljinu. Predstavljene su prednosti i nedostaci ovakvih oblika profesionalnog rada u online okuženju.It is crucial to recognize the great role technology has in the formation and maintenance of relationships and to acknowledge novelties that come with technology’s role in relationships. The research goal is to examine the traits in romantic relationships in young adults which were either formed online or in-person and are mostly maintained online or in-person. This nonexperimental research was made using an online questionnaire on the sample of 226 young adults in relationships (69% females and 31% males in the ages 18-30) and which are members of multiple Facebook groups for young adults. The following questionnaires were used: Couple Communication Satisfaction Scale (Jones & Morris, 2019), Couples Satisfaction Index (Funk & Rogge, 2007) and Relationship Assessment Scale (Hendrick, 1988.; Hendrick, Hendrick & Adler, 1988). The results showed that partners which met in-person, but maintained their relationship online (people in long-distance relationships) have a worse level of communication satisfaction than couples in ''classic'' relationships, as well as having lower scores on the relationship assessment scale, meaning that they perceive their relationship as lower quality compared to people in ''classic'' relationships. All participants achieve approximately the same scores on the scale of general degree of satisfaction, but people in long distance relationships have lower scores on the scale of agreeing on relevant aspects of the relationship, meaning they agree less on important issues in relation to people in ''classic'' relationships. All participants scored similar results on the scale of relationship feelings. The conclusion focuses on the positive and negative aspects of online psychosocial counselling and marital counselling while pointing out the significance of designing such services to fit the needs of the contemporary young adults in contemporary relationships, such as long-distance relationships