Franklin, Alicia Eu
Description
The development and maintenance of romantic relationships has
been a central focus of psychological research over the past few
decades, whilst the dissolution of such relationships has
received significantly less attention. This is of growing
concern, as sociological changes indicate that the number of
individuals experiencing non-marital relationship breakups is on
the rise. Whilst previous research suggests that the dissolution
of such relationships is...[Show more] likely to end in heartache, recent
studies indicate that some individuals bounce back and exhibit
positive adjustment. To date, little is known about how and why
some individuals fare better than others. Furthermore, available
research has primarily focused on trait-like factors that predict
post-breakup distress, offering little opportunity for
intervention. This raises two important questions: What
individual characteristics and coping strategies are related to
positive post-breakup adjustment? And, can we identify trainable
factors that offer opportunity for intervention? This thesis
sought to explore these questions in two research studies and a
research practicum.
Study one aimed to identify positive psychological factors (e.g.
mindfulness, optimism, hope, self-esteem and self-compassion)
associated with adjustment following the breakdown of a
non-marital relationship. Findings indicated that positive
psychological factors were strongly related on post-breakup
adjustment, over and above the circumstances of a relationship
breakup. Further, the factors related to poor adjustment (lower
mindfulness, self-esteem and optimism) differed somewhat from
those related to positive adjustment (greater mindfulness, hope
and self-compassion). These findings suggest that clinicians
could usefully focus on building dual pathways to post-breakup
resilience.
Based on the findings of study one, an experimental single case
design study was conducted to investigate the therapeutic
benefits of a brief online self-compassion intervention designed
to help people cope with relationship breakups. Findings
indicated that a majority of participants reported improvements
in self-compassion, breakup distress, affect and wellbeing after
the intervention. These findings offer preliminary evidence that
self-compassion may be a useful clinical tool for supporting
individuals after the breakdown of a romantic relationship.
Study two qualitatively explored the range and helpfulness of
coping strategies employed by males and females after a
relationship breakup. The main findings of the study indicated
(i) a general consensus in the coping strategies reported most
frequently by males and females, (ii) females tended to rate
active forms of coping as more helpful, whilst males rated more
avoidant forms of coping as more helpful, (iii) females and males
who rated the helpfulness of coping strategies in this way, also
tended to report greater wellbeing following the breakup. These
surprising results are interpreted and discussed through the lens
of role constraint theory.
Taken together, these studies indicate that clinical
interventions developed to assist individuals in the aftermath of
a relationship breakup should consider the role of individual
characteristics, social roles and coping strategies, and should
seek to not only reduce distress but also build wellbeing and
positive adaptation.
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