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Article published In:
Narrative Inquiry
Vol. 30:1 (2020) ► pp.18–40

Storying the heartbreak

The transformational processing of romantic breakups

| University of California, Riverside
| University of California, Riverside

We examined narratives of romantic breakups (i.e., breakup accounts) in relation to romantic attachment tendencies. In Study 1, participants provided accounts of difficult breakups and indicated who in the relationship initiated its dissolution. In Study 2, participants provided breakup accounts from the perspective of the initiator and the non-initiator. Breakup accounts were coded for levels of exploration (active reflection of the narrated experience) and resolution (emotional closure and a sense of resiliency). Across studies, levels of resolution were highest in self-initiated, when compared to other-initiated, breakup accounts. In Study 2, avoidant attachment correlated negatively with levels of resolution in self-initiated, but not other-initiated, breakup accounts. These results suggest that avoidantly attached individuals narrate self-initiated breakups in a less thoroughly processed manner than their secure peers, and that these differences in transformational processing may carry implications for romantic domain functioning.

Keywords: adult attachment styles, breakup accounts, exploratory narrative processing, coherent positive resolution, transformational processing
Article outline
  • Storying the heartbreak: The transformational processing of breakup accounts
    • Sense making: A story-based enterprise
    • Transformational processing
    • Storying the heartbreak
    • Asymmetry in the breakup experience
    • Functioning, by way of romantic attachment styles
    • Narrative identity, attachment styles, and relationalism
  • The present studies
  • Study 1
    • Method
      • Participants and procedure
      • Conceptual coding of breakup accounts
    • Results
      • Breakup role and transformational processing
      • Breakup accounts and adult romantic attachment styles
    • Discussion
  • Study 2
    • Participants and procedure
    • Results and discussion
  • General discussion
    • Transformational processing and breakup role
    • Breakup accounts and attachment styles
    • Limitations and future directions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 10 March 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.18064.har
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