Relationship Dissolution

Relationship dissolution, or a breakup, is a common event rife with emotional and psychological consequences, and as such has increasingly become the subject of academic inquiry. Through an interdisciplinary approach encompassing empirical studies, theoretical models, and real-world implications, this chapter aims to offer a multifaceted understanding of breakup. To start, we will focus on defining breakups, considering that they are concepualized through various lenses: as a distressing life event, as a calculated decision, as a gradual process, and as an outcome metric for evaluating other relational constructs. Next, we will describe the most robust predictors of breakup, including characteristics of the partners, about the structure of the relationship, and about how the partners interact. We will next detail the process by which relationships end, how former partners cope with breakup, and what predicts post-breakup outcomes. Collectively, this chapter provides a sweeping review of the science surrounding relationship dissolution.