Coming Out and Getting Back In: Relationship Cycling and Distress in Same‐ and Different‐Sex Relationships
| Author | Ramona F. Oswald,J. Kale Monk,Brian G. Ogolsky |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12336 |
| Date | 01 October 2018 |
| Published date | 01 October 2018 |
J. K M University of Missouri
B G. O R F. O University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Coming Out and Getting Back In: Relationship
Cycling and Distress in Same- and Different-Sex
Relationships
Objective: To examine the role of on–off rela-
tionship cycling in psychological distress
for individuals in same- and different-sex
relationships.
Background: Relationship processes have a
robust effect on individual well-being, and
dissolution is associated with psychologi-
cal distress that is normative and typically
short-lived. A prolonged history of terminating
a relationship and then reconciling (i.e., on–off
cycling), however,may facilitate more pervasive
symptomology. Moreover, researchers have
indicated that instability is similar for individu-
als in same- and different-sex relationships, but
cycling in same-sex relationships has yet to be
studied despite existing disparities for sexual
minorities.
Method: Data from 545 individuals in same-sex
(n=279) and different-sex (n=266) rela-
tionships were used to assess the association
between on–off cycling and symptoms of depres-
sion and anxiety.
Results: The occurrence of cycling was sim-
ilar across relationship types, but a greater
frequency emerged in male–male relationships
Department of Human Development and Family Science,
University of Missouri, 314 Gentry Hall, Columbia MO,
65211 (monkj@missouri.edu).
KeyWords:C ouple relationships,mental health, relationship
cycling, relationship instability.
compared with female–female and different-sex
relationships. Regardless of relationship type,
we found a positive association between rela-
tionship cycling and distress while controlling
for known correlates of mental health.
Conclusion: Patterns of breakup and renewal
were linked to increased symptoms of psycho-
logical distress, indicating the accumulation of
relationship transitions can create added tur-
moil for individuals.
Implications: Due to the potential distress asso-
ciated with this relational pattern, practitioners
should assess for on–off instability. We also pro-
vide suggestions for encouraging individuals in
distressed on–off relationshipsto make informed
decisions about stabilizing or safely terminating
their partnerships.
Anxiety and depressive symptoms are
widespread, with lifetime prevalence esti-
mates of 28.8% and 20.8% for anxiety and
mood disorders, respectively, in the United
States (Kessler et al., 2005). These prevalence
rates are alarming due to the debilitating nature
of the symptoms. For example, symptoms of
major depressive disorder include irritability,
exhaustion, chronic pain, enduring sadness, and
diminished pleasure in activities; symptoms of
generalized anxiety disorder include excessive
worry, restlessness, sleep disturbances, and
difculty concentrating (American Psychiatric
Family Relations 67 (October 2018): 523–538 523
DOI:10.1111/fare.12336
524 Family Relations
Association, 2013). Moreover, impairments in
mental health differentially affect marginalized
groups, including sexual minorities, due to
the stigma-related stressors these individuals
experience (see Hatzenbuehler, 2009).
Scholars have frequently called for more
research to understand the mechanisms that
facilitate psychopathology (e.g., Umberson
& Montez, 2010). Romantic relationships are
proposed to be robust mechanisms for inu-
encing mental health due to the link between
relationship processes and well-being (Proulx,
Helms, & Buehler, 2007), yet little is known
about the specic factors that facilitate this asso-
ciation. Relationship dissolution, for example,
has been found to create distress for individuals
(e.g., Rhoades, Kamp Dush, Atkins, Stanley, &
Markman, 2011). This effect, however, is likely
temporary, with initial reports of distress being
more intense following a breakup than later
reports (e.g., Sprecher, Felmlee, Metts, Fehr,
& Vanni, 1998). Cumulative relationship dete-
rioration processes may have more persistent
effects on mental health than dissolution as a
more discrete event.
One salient form of chronic relationship tur-
moil is the experience of dramatic uctuations
in relationship status, termed on-again/off-again
relationships, relationship cycling (Dailey, P-
ester, Jin, Beck, & Clark, 2009), or relationship
churning (Halpern-Meekin, Manning, Girdano,
& Longmore, 2013a). This on–off cycling
refers to relationships that are terminated and
subsequently reconciled (Dailey et al., 2009)
and is associated with notable impairments for
partners (Dailey, 2016). Due to the relational
distress created by on–off cycling, scholars have
called for more research to expand the de-
nition and measurement of instability beyond
the dichotomous categorization of whether a
relationship has been dissolved (Dailey et al.,
2009). In fact, dening relationships that are
currently intact as stable may misclassify cou-
ples who have experienced chronic instability
but have not permanently dissolved. Therefore,
it is important to understand how instability,
such as on–off cycling, operates in partnerships
given that a breakup is often not the end of a
relationship (Agnew & VanderDrift, 2015).
Although research is emerging about on–off
relationships for different-sex couples (e.g., Dai-
ley et al., 2009; Vennum, Lindstrom, Monk, &
Adams, 2014), there is virtually no insight about
this phenomenon in same-sex relationships.
Clarity in this area is vital because same-sex
couples have higher dissolution rates than
different-sex couples in some studies (Kurdek,
1998; Peplau & Fingerhut, 2007). The higher
rates of break-up in same-sex couples might
level off with the introduction of same-sex
marriage and its attendant structural, social, and
moral barriers to leaving (Herek, 2006; Kurdek,
2005). Even with legal marriage, however,
same-sex couples may still experience stigma
and a lack of social support that may contribute
to relationship cycling. In the present study, we
sought to address the gap in research by investi-
gating the effect of cycling and mental health for
those in same- and different-sex relationships.
O-A/O-A R
On–off cycling describes the termination of a
relationship and a subsequent renewal as part-
ners get back together. It is estimated that 30%
to 50% of young adult daters have cycled in
a current relationship (e.g., Dailey et al., 2009;
Halpern-Meekin et al., 2013a), with more than
61% having broken up and renewed with the
same partner in their dating history (Dailey et al.,
2009). More than one third of cohabiting cou-
ples also reported breaking up and later recon-
ciling at some point in their relationship (Ven-
num et al., 2014). Similarly, one quarter of mar-
ried young adults reported reconciling after a
separation (Binstock & Thorton, 2003). These
rates of marital cycling tend to be lower in more
age-representative samples (see Vennum et al.,
2014), but about 12% of marital disruptions
reported in the National Longitudinal Study of
Youth,for example, were reconciled 3 years after
separation (Tumin, Han, & Qian, 2015).
Compared with those without a history of
cycling, on–off relationships are associated
with higher rates of violence and verbal abuse,
poorer communication, as well as lower levels
of satisfaction and commitment (see Dailey,
2016; Dailey et al., 2009; Halpern-Meekin
et al., 2013b). Individuals in on–off unions are
also plagued with uncertainty about the future
of their relationships and invest less into these
partnerships, which results in lower levels of
relationship maintenance aimed at preserving
long-term commitment (Dailey, Hampel, &
Roberts, 2010). In addition, those with a history
of on–off transitions are prone to future insta-
bility due to a greater likelihood for continued
cycling. For example, compared with those
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