TO EXPLORE THE EXPERIENCE OF MACAU YOUNG PEOPLE PERCEPTION OF USING FOUL LANGUAGE

ABSTRACT

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXPLORE THE CORRELATION BETWEEN EMPATHY, LOVE MAINTENANCE BEHAVIORS, RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION IN A CONVENIENCE SAMPLE OF YOUNG ADULT LOVERS IN MACAU. PARTICIPANTS WERE N = 183 (84 MALES, 99 FEMALES) RECRUITED FROM THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM (E.G. INSTAGRAM, WECHAT, FACEBOOK). FIRSTLY, YOUNG ADULT LOVERS WHO TENDED TO HAVE HIGH RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND EMPATHY ARE TENDED TO USE POSITIVE LOVE MAINTENANCE BEHAVIORS BUT LESS LIKELY TO USE NEGATIVE LOVE MAINTENANCE BEHAVIORS. BESIDES, THERE WERE DIFFERENCES FOUND BY GENDER IN EMPATHY (AFFECTIVE EMPATHY & TOTAL EMPATHY), SOME DIMENSIONS OF POSITIVE LOVE MAINTENANCE BEHAVIORS (OPENNESS & ADVICE), AND NEGATIVE LOVE MAINTENANCE BEHAVIORS (CAUSING JEALOUSY, DESTRUCTIVE CONFLICT & NEGATIVE LOVE MAINTENANCE BEHAVIORS IN GENERAL). LASTLY, THE FINDINGS IN THIS STUDY SUPPORTED THE HYPOTHESES THAT LOVE MAINTENANCE BEHAVIORS MEDIATED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND EMPATHY AMONG YOUNG ADULT LOVERS IN MACAU. IT WAS REVEALED THAT THERE WAS HIGHER SATISFACTION IN YOUNGER ADULT LOVERS IN YOUNGER GROUP (18-24 YEARS) COMPARED TO OLDER GROUPS (32-40 YEARS). FOR EMPATHY, IT CORRELATED POSITIVELY WITH RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND MOST POSITIVE LOVE MAINTENANCE BEHAVIORS, BUT ALSO WITH CERTAIN NEGATIVE LOVE MAINTENANCE BEHAVIORS. POSITIVE LOVE MAINTENANCE BEHAVIORS MEDIATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND EMPATHY, HIGHLIGHTING THEIR CRITICAL ROLE IN MAINTAINING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS