Attachment style and conflict resolution skills predicting technology use in relationship dissolution Robert S. Weisskirch a,⇑ , Raquel Delevi b a California State University, Monterey Bay, United States b California State University, Los Angeles, United States article info Article history: Available online 7 July 2013 Keywords: Relationship dissolution Attachment styles Conflict resolution Technology abstract Differences in attachment styles and conflict resolution skills may exist for those who choose to initiate or who receive relationship dissolution mediated by technology. 304 college students (F = 178, M = 126) completed an online questionnaire about their demographics, relationship status, attachment styles, and conflict resolution skills. Text messaging was the most common form of technology to initiate or receive a breakup. Greater attachment anxiety predicted being the recipient of a technology-mediated dissolution. Positive attitudes towards conflict resolution predicted having initiated a breakup via technology. There were no significant differences in attachment styles or conflict resolution skills for those using text messaging to receive or initiate conflict resolution. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Nowadays, for many individuals, romantic relationships are innervated by technology. Individuals may initiate relationships using technology ranging from posting a message on an electronic bulletin board (e.g., Craigslist.org) seeking a ‘‘casual encounter’’ to accessing a dating website to text messaging a recently-met, po- tential partner to begin communication. Various forms of technol- ogy provide means for seeking romantic partners. Similarly, once relationships are formed, romantic partners use various forms of technology to maintain their relationships. Research indicates that romantic partners maintain their relationships by using email (e.g., Johnson, Haigh, Becker, Craig, & Wigley, 2008), chat/instant mes- saging (IM; Blais, Craig, Pepler, & Connolly, 2008; Ramirez & Bro- neck, 2009), text messaging (Pettigrew, 2009), and social networking sites (SNS; Tokunaga, 2011). The kinds of communica- tion that are mediated by technology may differ in acceptability of using technology to communicate. For example, Coyne, Stockdale, Busby, Iverson, and Grant (2011) found that unmarried, emerging adult romantic partners readily used technology to express affec- tion mostly, followed by discussing serious issues, and apologizing but not for confrontational subjects or to hurt their partners. Com- munication of relational assurance and messages of positivity are more prevalent in electronic communication between romantic partners than with other family members (Ramirez & Broneck, 2009). Although relationships are often initiated and maintained via various forms of technology, little research has emerged on relationship dissolution via technology. In general, romantic relationship dissolution is emotionally dif- ficult for individuals. In non-marital relationships, dissolution is associated with lower levels of well-being (Simon & Barrett, 2010), lower levels of life satisfaction (Rhoades, Kamp Dush, At- kins, Stanley, & Markman, 2011), and lingering anger and sadness (Sbarra & Emery, 2005). In marital relationships, dissolution (i.e., divorce) may have long-term psychological and health conse- quences (Sbarra, Law, & Portley, 2011). Breaking up is a complex process that may consist of verbal and non-verbal communication and behavioral acts that indicate dissolution is imminent. Although most individuals use direct communication with the partner to indicate the breakup, strategies may include dropping subtle hints, avoiding the partner, ceasing to do favors for the partner, and keep- ing conversations brief (Sprecher, Zimmerman, & Abrahams, 2010). The strategy of breaking up via technology may be indicative of what Sprecher et al. (2010) term avoidance via distant communica- tion, where individuals avert the emotional intensity of a break up by placing themselves distally. Breaking up via technology may not be a preferred strategy for relationship dissolution; however, re- search indicates that it is recognized by individuals as a potential means of breaking up (Gershon, 2010b; Sprecher et al., 2010). Deciding to breaking up via technology may vary by individuals based on such characteristics as communication skills, tolerance of partner’s emotional response, or experience with relationships. Starks (2007) noted that the emerging adults in her sample all indi- cated that using the Internet to dissolve a relationship was ‘‘extre- mely inappropriate’’ (p. 16). Many individuals may recognize that using technology to break up is less than ideal, but nonetheless, 0747-5632/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.06.027 ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: rweisskirch@csumb.edu (R.S. Weisskirch). Computers in Human Behavior 29 (2013) 2530–2534 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh