People in on-again, off-again relationships experience more psychological distress

By Emily Reynolds

Some romantic relationships slot into place easily: we meet, we get together, and we stay together, at least for a while. Others are far more tumultuous, as we break up and get back together over and over again — often to the frustration and annoyance of those we confide in.

It’s no surprise that such relationships can cause us distress, and this is the subject of a new study, published in Family Relations. It looks at the impact of on-off relationships, finding not only short-term harm but longer-term implications too.

The team gathered data from 545 participants of various sexualities over the course of 15 months, all of whom were in romantic relationships. In the first wave of the study, participants indicated whether or not they had broken up and got back together with their current partner — and, if so, how many times. At all four waves, participants also reported symptoms of anxiety and depression, and at one or more points completed measures of physical violence within the relationship, how satisfied they were in their relationship, and the extent to which they experienced feelings of uncertainty within the relationship.

Breaking up and getting back together was fairly common: 33.6% of participants reported having done so in their current relationship. Those who experienced more frequent break-ups and reconciliations reported more psychological distress at the start of the study — and a greater increase in distress across the...

Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - February 24, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Mental health Relationships Source Type: blogs