Summary: More specifically, the five main factors that predict the quality of a romantic relationship are: perceived partner's commitment (for example, thinking that your partner wants the relationship to last forever), gratification (feeling, that is, very lucky to have your partner next to you), sexual satisfaction, partner's fulfillment (believing that the relationship makes your partner happy) and conflicts (ie, how often you argue).

At the start of relationships, for example, relationship characteristics are likely to affect the quality of a relationship by about 45%, while a partner's personality and individual characteristics can only account for about 20% of relationship satisfactions.

Using artificial intelligence, a team of researchers analyzed 11,000 romantic relationships, suggesting that the person we choose is not as important as the relationship one builds. The study on Pnas
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How many times have you used a dating app and spent your time reading someone's bio in hopes of finding the right person for you? All wasted time: character, personality, age and experience, in fact, are all characteristics that, according to a team of researchers from Western University (Canada), would not be so important. What really matters, however, is the relationship you decide to build. In their study, just published in the scientific journal PNAS, the researchers have indeed shown that there is something much more important than our personality or that of our partner when it comes to cultivating happy and satisfying relationships.

To understand this, the researchers reviewed 43 studies, involving a total of over 11,000 couples. They then used a machine learning system to analyze and compare all the single ingredients that come into play in sentimental relationships, grouping them into two macro categories: the individual characteristics (of each partner) and the relational ones, such as the effect that is perceived and sexual fulfillment. In every relationship, the researchers point out, both categories mix, but not all single variables will have the same influence. From the analyzes, in fact, it emerged that what make the real difference in the quality of a relationship are the characteristics of the relationship itself.

More specifically, the five main factors that predict the quality of a romantic relationship are: the commitment of the perceived partner (for example, thinking that one's partner wants the relationship to last forever), gratification (feeling, that is, very lucky having your partner next to you), sexual satisfaction, partner's fulfillment (believing the relationship makes your partner happy) and conflicts (i.e., how often you argue). At the start of relationships, for example, relationship characteristics are likely to affect the quality of a relationship by about 45%, while a partner's personality and individual characteristics can only account for about 20% of relationship satisfactions.

Over time, the researchers say, these estimates become smaller, but the hierarchy remains the same: the characteristics of the relationship prevail over the individual ones. As we read in the study, in fact, individual variables such as feelings of anxiety or insecure attachment to the partner are certainly risk factors for relationships. But if you still manage to establish a relationship characterized by gratification, sexual satisfaction, and absence of conflict, those individual risk factors may be of little importance. Our study suggests that the person we choose isn't as important as the relationship we build, study author Samantha Joel comments to Inverse. Having a quality relationship does not mean finding the perfect partner or changing the current one, but rather establishing those conditions that will allow the relationship to grow and improve.

From Wired