Longing for Ex-Partners out of Fear of Being Single.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Prospective longitudinal daily diary cohort and cross-sectional study
PubMed 26328520 · doi:10.1111/jopy.12222
What was done
Data were evaluated across two studies: a cross-sectional study (N = 209, 64% women, mean age 30 years) and a 1-month daily experience diary study of individuals who recently experienced a romantic breakup (N = 117, 44% women, mean age 27 years). The studies assessed fear of being single, longing for ex-partners, relationship renewal attempts, pre-to-post-breakup changes, and lagged-day temporal associations.
What was found
Stronger fear of being single was associated with greater longing for ex-partners in both studies. Fear of being single increased following a breakup regardless of initiator status. Daily analyses indicated that longing and relationship renewal attempts were higher on days with stronger fear of being single. Lagged-day analyses showed that fear of being single predicted subsequent longing and renewal attempts, but longing and renewal attempts did not predict later fear of being single. Exact numerical estimates, effect sizes, and p-values were not provided in the abstract.
Why it matters
This study identifies fear of being single as a prospective psychological factor that drives longing and relationship renewal attempts after a breakup, clarifying mechanisms of romantic detachment.
Limits
The abstract reports no numeric values, effect sizes, or confidence intervals. Follow-up in the daily experience study was limited to 1 month in a relatively small sample (N = 117), relying entirely on self-report measures.