Coping and Unwanted Pursuit Behaviours Following Breakups in Young Adulthood

Unwanted pursuit behaviours (UPBs) comprise repeated and unwanted efforts to establish intimate contact in the form of harassing, tracking, and monitoring. These are common among young adults following the breakup of a romantic relationship, typically by the rejected partner. The relational goal pursuit theory (RGPT) proposes that UPB users overestimate the importance of a relationship to higher-order goals. This study assessed how well a new coping-based approach and the RGPT model predicted UPB frequency and scope. Two hundred participants (50% female; aged 19–24) completed an anonymous online survey. Ruminating was linked to both greater frequency and scope of UPB use. Higher levels of emotion-focused coping and perceived self-efficacy to re-establish intimacy were linked to the use of a wider scope of unwanted pursuit behaviours. Insights gained from UPB users are necessary for understanding mechanisms associated with the turbulent and distressing aftermath of a romantic breakup.

Distress Tolerance as a Mediator of the Association Between Borderline Personality Symptoms and Obsessive Relational Intrusion: An Exploratory Analysis

Obsessive relational intrusion (ORI) is the process by which a pursuer makes multiple attempts at establishing an unwanted, intimate relationship with an individual. It encompasses the more widely known behavior, stalking, which is a widespread problem, particularly among college-aged young adults. However, research on the underlying psychological processes involved in ORI and stalking perpetration is still in its infancy. Using relational goal pursuit theory and the emotional cascade model as guides to explore these processes, we investigated whether distress tolerance mediated the association between borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms and ORI, among a college student sample. Participants ( N = 224; 62.5% female; Mage = 19.6 years) were recruited from an online survey panel and through the psychology research pool at a small, Northeastern university. Consistent with our hypotheses, path modeling showed that distress tolerance was a significant partial mediator between BPD symptoms and frequency of ORI perpetration. These results seem to provide new insight into the established link between BPD symptoms and ORI, and thus may contribute to our understanding of the underlying psychology of people who engage in unwanted pursuit. Future research should look toward replicating the current findings, testing potential gender differences in the model, and exploring other predictors of both the frequency and initiation of ORI behaviors.