The Breakup of Romantic Relationships: Situational Predictors of Perception of Recovery (Report‪)‬

People usually experience a great deal of emotional pain when a romantic relationship ends. It is not uncommon for people to refer to 'scars' when discussing a breakup, as if the experience was so painful, and the healing process so difficult, that it left a lasting mark just as a physical injury does. Of course, some breakups are more painful than others. Occasionally, breakup from a romantic relationship causes no lasting heartache, and recovery is reported to be relatively painless and easy. Many factors likely influence the extent to which people suffer after a breakup, and researchers have uncovered a number of them. Much of the research on recovering from a breakup has focused on recovery after a divorce. Wang and Amato (2000), for example, found that adjusting to divorce was associated with being the person who initiated the divorce, having a favorable attitude toward divorce beforehand, having a higher income, and dating a new person steadily or remarrying. Interestingly, stress (as measured by income decline, loss of friends, moving, etc.) did not make adjusting to divorce more difficult, except among people who were unemployed.