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- Title
Trait Self-Esteem Moderates the Effect of Initiator Status on Emotional and Cognitive Responses to Romantic Relationship Dissolution.
- Authors
Waller, Katherine L.; MacDonald, Tara K.
- Abstract
We hypothesized that the effect of initiator status on post breakup distress would vary as a function of trait self-esteem, such that individuals with low self-esteem would experience more distress after being rejected by their partners, whereas, among individuals with high self-esteem, initiator status would not predict distress. We used a prospective design in which university students ( N=66) were assessed for emotional responses following the dissolution of their real-life romantic relationships, as well as a laboratory design in which students ( N=190) imagined breaking up with their partners. As predicted, participants with lower trait self-esteem exhibited greater distress after experiencing or imagining a romantic rejection than after ending or imagining themselves ending their relationships. Conversely, distress experienced by those with high trait self-esteem did not differ as a function of who ended the relationship. Implications for understanding self-esteem processes and the effects of romantic rejection are discussed.
- Subjects
SELF-esteem; SELF-perception; PERSONALITY; EMOTIONS; COGNITION; MAN-woman relationships; EMOTIONAL conditioning; PSYCHOLOGICAL distress; INTERPERSONAL relations
- Publication
Journal of Personality, 2010, Vol 78, Issue 4, p1271
- ISSN
0022-3506
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00650.x