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Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 25, No. 1, 23-50 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0265407507086804

The ex-files: Trajectories, turning points, and adjustment in the development of post-dissolutional relationships

Jody Koenig Kellas

University of Nebraska-Lincoln, jkellas2{at}unl.edu

Dawn Bean

San Francisco State University

Cherakah Cunningham

San Francisco State University

Ka Yun Cheng

San Francisco State University

Relational scholars often focus on relational life cycles, including the ways in which relationships come apart. The idea that relationships end at a particular stage, however, suggests that former partners no longer communicate. The current study extends the relationship life cycle literature by examining nonmarital post-dissolutional romantic relationships (PDRs). Participants (N = 174) completed written questionnaires gathering PDR turning point descriptions and graphs using a modified Retrospective Interview Technique. Turning point graphs revealed four different trajectory types: Linear Process, Relational Decline, Upward Relational Progression, and Turbulent Relational Progression, which were characterized by 10 categories of turning points. Those with linear trajectories reported the least amount of difficulty adjusting, and those with upward relational progress trajectories reported the highest quality PDRs.

Key Words: break-up adjustment • communication studies • post-dissolutional communication • post-dissolutional relationships • relationship development • relationship dissolution • turning points and trajectories


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