Comparing the Effects of Loneliness, Social Support, and Social Connection on Relationship Satisfaction in Seven Countries

In the present study, we tested whether three different functional aspects of relationships—loneliness, social support, and social connection—predicted relationship satisfaction using data from seven countries (N = 13,991). In each of the seven countries (United States, Egypt, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, France and India) the positive effects of social support and social connection were generally stronger predictors of relationship satisfaction than the negative effects of loneliness. Additionally, these relationships remained regardless of gender, age, or education status. Overall, our results suggest that social support, social connection, and loneliness are independently important predictors of relationship satisfaction and that the positive aspects of people’s social lives (e.g., social connection, social support) are generally more important than the negative ones (e.g., loneliness). Moreover, the results suggest the importance of the positive aspects of individuals' social lives are not simply limited to Western samples, but instead extend across cultural and national boundaries.