Romantic break-ups whittle down sense of identity

WASHINGTON - A romantic break-up can whittle down one’s sense of identity or “self concept”, says new research.

Self-concept is defined as a person’s sense of “me”. Romantic partners develop shared friends, activities and even overlapping self-concepts.

Using three studies, the researchers examined identity changes that can occur after a break-up. They found that individuals are confused after a break-up.

This reduced clarity can contribute to emotional distress. The loss of the relationship has multiple psychological consequences, including the tendency for individuals to change the content of their selves and the feeling that their selves are subjectively less clear.

“Not only may couples come to complete each others’ sentences, they may actually come to complete each others’ selves,” write study authors Erica B.Slotter, Wendi L. Gardner, and Eli J.Finkel.

“When the relationship ends, individuals experience not only pain over the loss of the partner, but also changes in their selves,” add the study authors.

These findings were published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.