Abstract
Event onset modeling was used to investigate the time course of breakup-related affective processes. Daily emotion data were collected for 4 weeks from 58 young adults who recently experienced the dissolution of a serious romantic relationship. Using baseline data obtained from individuals in intact dating relationships, sadness and anger recovery were defined as points in time and then modeled as a function of theoretically relevant predictors using Cox's survival analysis. Acceptance of relationship termination mediated the association between attachment security and sadness recovery. Greater levels of love, anger, and attachment preoccupation were associated with a decreased probability of sadness recovery during the study period. Attachment security was associated with an increased probability of anger recovery, whereas ongoing sadness decreased the probability of this event. Discussion centers on the differential functioning of sadness and anger as well as the need to consider emotional change as a multicomponent process.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 298-312 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Personality and social psychology bulletin |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2006 |
Keywords
- Analysis of change
- Attachment
- Breakups
- Emotion
- Survival analysis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology