ROMANTIC BREAK-UPS IN YOUNG ADULTHOOD: THE CONNOTATIONS, PREDICTORS, AND COMMON REASONS

Download

Hilal Terzi - Doktora Tezi.pdf

Date

2022-8-29

Author

Terzi, Hilal

Metadata

Show full item record

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

Item Usage Stats

1141
views

1331
downloads

This doctoral thesis aims to understand romantic break-ups in young adulthood by seeking answers to three research questions: What is romantic break-up? (RQ1), what are the factors affecting responses to dissatisfying situations? (RQ2), and what are the reasons for break-ups? (RQ3). Two studies, one quantitative study and one qualitative study (18 focus group sessions), were conducted to find answers to these three research questions. Qualitative data were collected from 131 participants. Participants were asked to define what comes to mind when they hear the word “break-up”. Participants expressed mostly negative connotations, with a few exceptions. The connotations were categorized under five dimensions: beliefs about break-ups, emotions, (re)adjustment of self and time, grief, and expectations for the future. A total of 329 university students participated in the quantitative study. The results revealed that attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, dissatisfied basic psychological needs, and relationship-contingent self-esteem were positively related to exit behaviors, and thwarted basic psychological needs was negatively associated with exit behaviors. In 18-focus group sessions, participants were asked to list common reasons for break-ups and they would end their romantic relationships based on the reasons they wrote down. The break-up reasons revealed 21 categories. Among these, breach of trust, incompatibility, emotional distance, and lack of validation were the most common reasons. The findings showed that when it comes to ending their romantic relationship, some reasons were not sufficient enough to end their romantic relationships. The findings of qualitative and quantitative studies were discussed with the current literature.

Subject Keywords

romantic break-ups, attachment orientation, basic psychological needs, relationship contingent self-esteem, young adulthood

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/98614

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

Breakup Adjustment in Young Adulthood Barutçu Yıldırım, Kadriye Funda; Demir, Ayhan Gürbüz (2015-01-01) The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of young adults to adjust to the breakup of a romantic relationship by examining the possible predictors. The sample comprised 140 women and 143 men. Simultaneous regression analysis indicated that initiator status, existence of a new partner, certainty of the reasons for the breakup, and perceived social support were significant predictors and accounted for 18% of the variance in the measure of adjustment to breakup.
INVESTIGATING RELATIONSHIP MAINTENANCE FROM THE INVESTMENT MODEL AND SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES AMONG DATING YOUNG ADULTS Güngör, Elis; Öner Özkan, Bengi; Sümer, Nebi; Department of Psychology (2021-10-11) The purpose of the present study was to explore three relational outcomes: relationship maintenance behaviors, shared leisure time activities, and the marriage intention of dating young adults. The investment model was used as a theoretical framework, and the socio-ecological perspective was taken into account, specifically examining the role of relational mobility (RM). Firstly, a qualitative pilot study was conducted with 42 dating young adults to develop Shared Leisure Time Activity Scale. Their shared t...
INSECURE ATTACHMENT AND RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION: TESTING THE BUFFERING ROLES OF MINDFULNESS, SELF-COMPASSION, AND COGNITIVE DEFUSION Taşkesen, Nureda; Barutçu Yıldırım, Kadriye Funda; Department of Educational Sciences (2022-7) This study aims to test a multiple-mediation model which examines mindfulness, relationship mindfulness, self-compassion, and cognitive defusion as possible mediators of the relationship between attachment insecurity and romantic relationship satisfaction. The sample consisted of 521 emerging adults in a romantic relationship for at least one month (70% female, 27% male, and 3% non-binary). Their ages ranged from 19 to 29 years old (M = 22.52, SD = 2.45). In data collection, Relationship Assessment Scale, E...
Understanding Change in Romantic Relationship Expectations of International Female Students from Turkey Delevi, Raquel; Bugay, Aslı (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2010-7-27) In the light of grounded theory, the authors explored change in romantic relationship expectations of international students. Twelve female graduate students from Turkey were interviewed and several themes were identified explaining the presence and absence of change in participants' attitudes toward romantic relationships. The findings are discussed in relation to acculturation and direction for future research is presented.
Romantic relationship satisfaction in emerging adulthood Barutçu Yıldırım, Kadriye Funda; Sancak-Aydın, Gökçe (2021-10-01) The aim of the study was to explore the extent to which the length, status and importance of current romantic relationship, the number of previous romantic relationship, as well as individual factors, such as levels of self-compassion, and anxiety about social appearance, are predictors of the romantic relationship satisfaction of young adults. The study included 284 university students but 34 of them were removed for several reasons and analysis was carried out with 250 participants (59.6% female, 40.4% ma...

Citation Formats

H. Terzi, “ROMANTIC BREAK-UPS IN YOUNG ADULTHOOD: THE CONNOTATIONS, PREDICTORS, AND COMMON REASONS,” Ph.D. - Doctoral Program, Middle East Technical University, 2022.