Who am i without you? the influence of romantic breakup on the self-concept

Romantic relationships alter the selves of the individuals within them. partners develop shared friends and activities and even overlapping self-concepts. this intertwining of selves may leave individuals' self-concepts vulnerable to change if the relationship ends. the current research examines several different types of self-concept change that could occur after a breakup and their relation to emotional distress. across three studies,using varied methodologies,the authors examined change in both the content (study 1a and 1b) and the structure of the self-concept,specifically,reduced self-concept clarity (studies 1 through 3). as predicted,individuals experienced self-concept content change and reduced self-concept clarity post-breakup. additionally,reduced clarity uniquely predicted post-breakup emotional distress. © 2010 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.