Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Graham, Steven

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

Being highly sensitive to rejection has been linked to a number of negative outcomes for oneself and their interactions with others, including an increased tendency for self-directed hostile thoughts and greater difficulty initiating and maintaining romantic relationships. Building on prior research, the present study investigated correlations between rejection sensitivity and a number of other concepts shown to affect relationships - namely, social anxiety, partner conflict, depression, self-esteem, attachment style, and relationship satisfaction. Additionally, this study looked at possible relationships between rejection sensitivity and participants’ experience with serious romantic relationships as well as their most commonly experienced relationship type. A total of 213 adult participants completed an online questionnaire about their attitudes towards, and behaviors within, their close relationships. Analyses supported the first three hypotheses regarding the correlations among rejection sensitivity, gender, and the other relationship concepts. The last three hypotheses regarding the relationships between rejection sensitivity, serious romantic relationships, and most common relationship types were not supported. These findings expand our knowledge about the impact that rejection has on our ability to cultivate satisfying intimate relationships.

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