Strategies for Coping With the End of a Desirable Intimate Relationship
An Exploratory Study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7154122 |
|---|---|
| Authors | M Apostolou (0000-0002-0685-1848, University of Nicosia), Maria Hadjiantoni (University of Nicosia), Timo Juhani Lajunen (Department of Psychology, Norwegean University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway), Timo Lajunen (0000-0001-5967-5254, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 14747049251368249-14747049251368249 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Evolutionary Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1474-7049 • E-ISSN: 1474-7049 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/14747049251368249 |
| PMID | 40785333 |
| OpenAlex | W4413101532 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 18 |
Frequently, people find themselves in a situation where an intimate relationship they wish to keep ends, creating emotional pain that requires coping strategies. The aim of the present study is to investigate the various strategies people employ for this purpose. Using a mixed-methods approach, we identified 84 distinct acts, which we classified into 16 strategies and subsequently classified into five main strategies for coping with the end of a desirable intimate relationship. The most likely to be used main strategy was “Transfer focus to different things,” including strategies such as “Focus on myself” and “Keep myself busy.” Other commonly chosen main strategies were “Seek support,” involving reliance on friends, family, and professionals, and “Social withdrawal,” characterized by isolation behaviors. Additionally, several participants indicated readiness to adopt the “Disassociation and positive reframing” main strategy, involving attempts to positively reframe the end of the relationship and disassociate from the former partner. The least frequently adopted main strategy was “Sex and substances,” involving substance use (such as alcohol) and casual sex encounters to cope with the end of a relationship. Furthermore, significant main effects of sex and age were observed for several of the identified strategies
Developmental psychology · Exploratory research · Sociology · Applied Psychology · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Clinical Psychology · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Psychology
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Sexual Hookups and Adverse Health Outcomes
How People React to the Termination of an Intimate Relationship
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |