On–Off Relationship Instability and Distress Over Time in Same‐ and Different‐Sex Relationships

• Published date: 01 April 2022
• Author: J. Kale Monk,Brian G. Ogolsky,Christopher Maniotes
• Date: 01 April 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12614

RESEARCH

On–Off Relationship Instability and Distress Over

Time in Same- and Different-Sex Relationships

J. Kale Monk

1

|Brian G. Ogolsky

2

|Christopher Maniotes

2

1

University of Missouri, Columbia,

Missouri, USA

2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,

Urbana, Illinois, USA

Correspondence

J. Kale Monk, Department of Human

Development and Family Science, University

of Missouri,104 Gwynn Hall, Columbia,

MO 65211, USA.

Email: monkj@missouri.edu

Funding information

U.S. Department of Agriculture/National

Institute of Food and Agriculture HATCH,

Grant/Award Number: ILLU-793-356

Abstract

Objective: We sought to test the association between on-

again/off-again relationship cycling and mental health

over time.

Background: Temporary distress following relationship

dissolution is normative, yet a prolonged history of ter-

minating a relationship and then reconciling (i.e., on–

off relationship cycling) may facilitate more pervasive

symptomology.

Method: We used data from 545 individuals in same- and

different-sex relationships to assess the association between

on–off cycling and symptoms of depression and anxiety

across 15 months.

Results: Relationship cycling was associated with psycho-

logical distress and change in distress over time.

Conclusion: This study supports existing theories of family

change and highlights the importance of focusing on rela-

tionship transitions and well-being over time.

Implications: Practitioners can help partners navigate

unpredictability during transitions by helping them make

deliberate decisions either to stay and stabilize their relation-

ships or permanently leave depending on the circumstances

underlying relationship cycling and the level of distress asso-

ciated with any lingering interpersonal turmoil.

Scholars have frequently called for more research to understand the social mechanisms that

facilitate psychopathology (e.g., Umberson & Montez, 2010). Dissolution of a romantic rela-

tionship is associated with distress for individuals (Rhoades et al., 2011). Yet this distress is con-

sidered normative and fleeting, with later reports of distress being less severe than reports

immediately after a breakup (e.g., Sprecher et al., 1998). It is likely, however, that patterns of

relationship upheaval are associated with more pervasive symptomology (Monk et al., 2018).

Therefore, we explored the association between on-again/off-again relationship instability

(i.e., “relationship cycling”) and psychological distress in the form of depression and anxiety

symptoms over time in individuals in same- and different-sex relationships.

Received: 2 April 2020Revised: 1 June 2021Accepted: 24 July 2021

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12614

© 2021 National Council on Family Relations.

630 Family Relations. 2022;71:630–643.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare