Compassionate love: Theory, measurement, and application

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v16i2.5599

Abstract

We review research on the conceptualization and measurement of compassionate love, generally defined as giving of oneself for the good of another. We begin by summarizing an existing model of compassionate love (Underwood, 2002, 2009) that outlines the antecedents, components, and consequences of this kind of love. Next, we discuss measurement, focusing on the most widely used scale, the Compassionate Love Scale (Sprecher & Fehr, 2005) and its derivatives. This scale can be used to assess compassionate love for strangers/humanity, close others, or a specific close other. We then present research on the antecedents or precursors of compassionate love, followed by a review of research on correlates of compassionate love (e.g., empathy, compassion) that could be either causes, outcomes, or reciprocally causal. The focus then shifts to the link between compassionate love and well-being. Finally, we discuss compassionate interventions and end with a call for further research on the epidemiology of compassionate love.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2026-03-04

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 2 (2026): Towards an Epidemiology of Compassion

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Beverley Fehr, Susan Sprecher

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. The license prevents others from using the work for profit without the express consent of the author(s). The license also prevents the creation of derivative works without the express consent of the author(s). Note that derivative works are very similar in nature to the original. Merely quoting (and appropriately referencing) a passage of a work is not making a derivative of it.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).