Separation in Close (Partner) Relationships and Coping with it: Cognitive Assessment and Socio-Psychological Correlates

The study is devoted to the study of the stress of separation situations in close (partner) relationships in connection with their qualitative characteristics (attachment and trust), cognitive assessment and coping behavior of partners. An attempt is made to comprehend separation as a situational context of close relationships through the prism of the psychology of social stress and coping with it, which reflects the novelty of the study. The relevance and relevance of studying the phenomenology of separation in close relationships is substantiated, especially in the context of possible dynamics of relationships in separation and after it. Separation is considered as a specific phenomenon of close relationships (there is no in a non-close relationship), a significant life event requiring the actualization of resources for experiencing and coping. It is noted that the variability of separation is important - short-term or long-term; unexpected or predictable; the obviousness or non-obviousness of the reunion of partners after it. The purpose of this empirical study is to study the specifics of the relationship between the components of attachment and trust with the cognitive assessment of the situation of separation and coping with it in men and women with different status of close relationships (marriage, cohabitation, romantic relationships). The study was conducted in a nomothetic approach using standardized psychodiagnostic techniques. The study sample consisted of 120 people living with separation from their partner (age M = 23.8, SD = 6.8), 78 women and 42 men. The situation of separation in a close relationship potentially carries a stressful load. At the same time, in men, the perception and cognitive assessment of the situation of separation from a partner is quite constant, associated with existential trust in people in general (without taking into account the context of specific relationships). In women, on the contrary, the perception of separation is associated with a relationship with a specific partner and can be variable depending on the quality of the actual relationship. The intensity of the stress load of a separation situation is related to its predictability - the more objectively predictable it is, the more controlled and less threatening this situation is perceived. The qualitative characteristics of attachment have a direct connection with the perception of separation as stress - anxious attachment is associated with the fear of losing a partner, an orientation towards active coping, focused on establishing control. The status of a close relationship is not directly related to the perception and cognitive assessment of separation, the key is the degree of trust in the partner.