The Philippines ranks second in Asia in terms of fulfilling relationships

Christine Joyce S. Castañeda, Senior Researcher

The Philippines was in the top three of nine countries in terms of meeting needs and expectations in their relationships, according to a study by Prudential Corp. Asia.

The Philippines’ average Prudential Relationship Index (PRI) score — a measure of how satisfied people are with their primary relationships with partners, children, family and friends — is 79/100 In 2017 against a PRI average score of 71/100 among the nine Asian economies being surveyed.

This means that, on average, people’s primary relationships fulfill 79% of their desired needs. Compared to its peers, the Philippines is tied with Vietnam at second place, only behind Cambodia (86/100).

Rounding up the nine Asian markets in the survey are the following:

Indonesia (75/100)
Thailand (70/100)
Malaysia (68/100)
Hong Kong (66/100)
Singapore (64/100)
China (54/100)

In terms of average relationship scores that people have with their partners, the Philippines scored 75/100, the third highest in the region and was above the 67/100 average score for the nine countries. Put it another way, those in relationships have approximately 75% of their relationship needs provided for by their partners.

“Expressions of love are important in some markets in Asia but not others. People in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia are highly likely to value this, but expressions of love are not as influential in relationships in Cambodia or Hong Kong,” the report read.
Also noted in the study is the Filipinos’ high preference of making their partners laugh: “Filipinos are the most likely to think it important that partners make them laugh (83%) and they are also the most likely in the region to laugh at least once a week with their partners (90%).”

For Shiela May T. Julianda, sociologist at the University of the Philippines: “Filipinos are social beings that culturally and naturally are happy people. Compared to other countries, we have a high tolerance to problems.”

The sociologist professor also noted the Filipinos’ tendency to “being a collectivist” and being family-oriented that contributed to this high score of relationship satisfaction.

“If we’re going to base the article’s result on Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and use the social exchange framework as basis for our explanation, we can say that Filipinos are fulfilled with their relationships because both their physiological needs, safety and security and love and belongingness needs are all met by their loved ones.”

Ms. Julianda hypothesized that the changes in the economic conditions may have played a role: “We can say that our economy may be becoming better and that more Filipinos have occupations and that their salaries are higher that they provide their needs…”

On the other hand, she also noted the changing dynamics in relationships given the improving economic conditions and digital literacy: “[I]f we are going to compare our society today than before, hindi na tayo masyado sa [We are not more into] face-to-face interactions. With all the gadgets and applications found in our mobile phones and the internet, we can already build a relationship with a stranger or a relationship out of convenience.”

“[W]ith the development in our technology and other innovations and influence brought by other countries, nagbago na ito [this has changed]… [S]ome relationships become shallow – one week in love na or one week sila na agad.”

The study also noted that across Asia, technology can be a disruption to relationships with “spending too much time on the phone or computer” being the fourth-highest reason for arguments. The Philippines (37%) have the highest recorded proportion among respondents citing this reason as well as saying that mealtimes would be improved if phones were turned off (90%).

Going forward, most of the respondents believe that their relationships will improve in the future.

In Asia, 56% said that their love life will improve within the next five years. Respondents from Indonesia and Philippines were the most optimistic, with 72% or 7 out of 10 saying that they believe their love life will get better in five years’ time.