Figure 2 - uploaded by Leah E. LeFebvre
Content may be subject to copyright.
Indirect ghosting disengagement strategies.
Source publication
The purpose of this study is to examine relational dissolution using the technique of ghosting. This qualitative study explores the emerging adults’ dissolution strategies leading up to and through enactment of disengagement through mediated contexts. Participants (N = 99) completed questionnaires about their ghosting familiarity and participation...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... concentrate on two new indirect dimensions that combine to form four ghosting disengagement strategy categories (see Figure 2). The new x-axis repre- sents permanency (short term to long term) indicating the degree or time period in which dissolution exists. ...
Context 2
... instance, noninitiators may perceive the communication progressing toward a relationship. Again Figure 2 begins to offer initial distinctions between the types of ghosting. From these distinctions, this figure could determine how the level of distress may vary for initiator and noninitiator. ...
Similar publications
Work attitude of teachers greatly influences the success of an education, which is influenced by several factors such as organizational culture, job satisfaction, job involvement, compensation, work comfort and interpersonal communication. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of organizational culture and interpersonal communicat...
After Facebook started prioritizing posts from family and friends on its newsfeed at the beginning of 2018, news consumption on social media increasingly migrated to other mobile applications such as WhatsApp. This has put pressure on media organizations to establish channels on the platform in an attempt to compensate for the decline in audience f...
Despite the positive relationship between anthocyanin-rich foods and cognitive health, a dietary deficit exists in older adults. Effective interventions require an understanding of people’s dietary behaviors situated in social and cultural contexts. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore older adults’ perceptions about increasing their con...
La investigación analizó cómo la pandemia de la COVID-19, influyó en las representaciones sociales, el interaccionismo simbólico y la comunicación interpersonal en los visitantes de un comercio móvil de la Ciudad de México. En la investigación cuantitativa longitudinal se aplicó un cuestionario a una muestra por conveniencia de 100 visitantes en 20...
Today’s generation of schoolchildren is heavily influenced by modern technology and communicates extensively with their friends online. Compared with older generations, the quality and observation of direct interpersonal communication have changed noticeably, and children are less naturally developing their communication skills. Because of the fact...
Citations
... El ghosting, o efecto fantasma, se puede definir como la estrategia para terminar una relación (ya sea de amistad o de tipo romántica) de manera unilateral, sin dar explicaciones e ignorando cualquier intento de comunicación por parte de la otra persona, para evitar discutir el estado de la relación y la confrontación directa (LeFebvre, 2017;LeFebvre et al., 2019). Es una práctica que se da tanto de forma online, por ejemplo, a través de ignorar llamadas telefónicas, no responder mensajes, dejar de seguir o bloquear al otro en redes sociales, como de manera presencial (Navarro et al., 2020;Pancani et al., 2021). ...
En la actualidad, las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC), así como las redes sociales, son parte importante del día a día de las y los adolescentes y adultos jóvenes, pues permiten el desarrollo de una gran parte de la vida social de las personas a través de la comunicación e interacción fácil e inmediata entre familiares, amigos y la pareja, con la finalidad de compartir ideas, intereses, gustos, etcétera, a través de datos en formato de voz, imágenes, fotografías, videos, entre otros. En ese sentido, la versatilidad de los diferentes dispositivos de comunicación como los teléfonos móviles, las tabletas y/o laptops han generado el auge de las redes sociales, el cual ha influido de manera significativa, pues tiene repercusiones en las relaciones interpersonales, desde las que son de carácter lúdico hasta las relaciones afectivas. Sin embargo, el mal uso de estos medios de comunicación ha favorecido el desarrollo de la ciberviolencia, principalmente en las relaciones de pareja, es por ello que en el siguiente capítulo se abordarán las principales características de las TIC y redes sociales, y su relación con la violencia. En ese orden de ideas, es importante considerar que la ciberviolencia ha generado interés no solo por las consecuencias hacia sus víctimas, sino que una de sus características es que se puede ejercer en cualquier momento y lugar a través de Facebook, WhatsApp u otras redes sociales, y que su difusión y perpetración se realiza de una forma rápida debido a su fácil acceso, sin olvidar su alta prevalencia tanto en varones como en mujeres, además que este tipo de
violencia se puede ejercer de manera bidireccional.
Finalmente, es importante considerar otras manifestaciones de violencia que se ejercen a través de las TIC
y redes sociales, tales como el ciberacoso, el sexting, la pornovenganza, la sextorsión, el ciberbullying, el grooming y el ghosting, que si bien, pueden estar relacionadas entre sí, cada una de estas implica características que las hacen diferentes; hacer una correcta distinción de cada concepto permitiría su fácil identificación y creación de programas de prevención e intervención.
... El ghosting, o efecto fantasma, se puede definir como la estrategia para terminar una relación (ya sea de amistad o de tipo romántica) de manera unilateral, sin dar explicaciones e ignorando cualquier intento de comunicación por parte de la otra persona, para evitar discutir el estado de la relación y la confrontación directa (LeFebvre, 2017;LeFebvre et al., 2019). Es una práctica que se da tanto de forma online, por ejemplo, a través de ignorar llamadas telefónicas, no responder mensajes, dejar de seguir o bloquear al otro en redes sociales, como de manera presencial (Navarro et al., 2020;Pancani et al., 2021). ...
... El ghosting, o efecto fantasma, se puede definir como la estrategia para terminar una relación (ya sea de amistad o de tipo romántica) de manera unilateral, sin dar explicaciones e ignorando cualquier intento de comunicación por parte de la otra persona, para evitar discutir el estado de la relación y la confrontación directa (LeFebvre, 2017;LeFebvre et al., 2019). Es una práctica que se da tanto de forma online, por ejemplo, a través de ignorar llamadas telefónicas, no responder mensajes, dejar de seguir o bloquear al otro en redes sociales, como de manera presencial (Navarro et al., 2020;Pancani et al., 2021). ...
RESUMEN
El presente libro ha sido generado en el seno del Grupo de Investigación: “Análisis de Relaciones Interpersonales: Pareja, Familia y Organización” (Facultad de Psicología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla) y el Centro de Psicología Integral (Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla) el cual aborda un fenómeno con gran prevalencia y numerosos estragos, la problemática social de la violencia que se ejerce hacia mujeres y hombres en las parejas de jóvenes. Es así como a lo largo de sus trece capítulos se presenta: 1) la contextualización de la adolescencia y adultez emergente, 2) la caracterización de la pareja, 3) las principales características de la violencia en las relaciones de pareja, 4) las principales teorías explicativas del fenómeno, 5) las diferentes tipologías de la violencia, 6) la ciber violencia de la pareja, 7) los principales factores de riesgo, 8) así como los principales factores de protección en la violencia de pareja, 9) el fenómeno de la violencia de pareja en la comunidad LGBT+, 10) la prevalencia de la violencia en las relaciones de noviazgo, 11) algunas dificultades conceptuales y metodológicas asociadas a su estudio, 12) la prevención de la violencia de pareja en estas edades y, finalmente, 13) algunas consideraciones científicas y prácticas en el abordaje de esta problemática. Alejado de apasionamientos ideológicos o intereses personales o de grupo, cada capítulo ha sido revisado (sistema peer review) por al menos cuatro especialistas contribuyendo así a elevar su rigurosidad académica,teórica, técnica y científica brindando así al lector interesado en la materia una obra confiable para su consulta; ojalá que cumpla con su cometido.
Palabras Clave: Violencia en el noviazgo, revisión sistemática, prevención, intervención, adolescente, joven, mexicano.
ABSTRACT
This book has been generated within the Research Group: «Analysis of Interpersonal Relationships: Couple, Family and Organization» (Department of Psychology, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla) and the Integral Psychology Center (Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla) and addresses a phenomenon with great prevalence and numerous ravages, the social problem of violence against women and men in young couples. Thus, throughout its thirteen chapters it presents: 1) the contextualization of adolescence and emerging adulthood, 2) the characterization of the couple, 3) the main characteristics of violence in couple relationships, 4) the main explanatory theories of the phenomenon, 5) the different typologies of violence, 6) the cyber violence of the couple, 7) the main risk factors, 8) as well as the main protective factors in couple violence, 9) the phenomenon of intimate partner violence in the LGBT+ community, 10) the prevalence of violence in dating relationships, 11) some conceptual and methodological difficulties associated with its study, 12) the prevention of intimate partner violence in these ages and, finally, 13) some scientific and practical considerations in addressing this issue. Far from ideological passions or personal or group interests, each chapter has been reviewed (peer review system) by at least four specialists, thus contributing to increase its academic, theoretical, technical and scientific rigor, thus providing the reader interested in the subject with a reliable work for consultation; hopefully it will fulfill its purpose.
Key Words: Dating Violence, Systematic Review, Prevention, Intervention, Adolescent, Youth, Mexican
... Ghosting is a unilateral digital strategy to terminate relationships. It consists of quitting all communication with a person without explanation (LeFebvre et al., 2019). Ghosting is enacted through technologically mediated platforms and usually perpetrated in the context of romantic relationships (LeFebvre et al., 2019). ...
... It consists of quitting all communication with a person without explanation (LeFebvre et al., 2019). Ghosting is enacted through technologically mediated platforms and usually perpetrated in the context of romantic relationships (LeFebvre et al., 2019). Hence, victims of ghosting are forced to cope with an ambiguous experience of interpersonal rejection and sense of loss (LeFebvre et al., 2019). ...
... Ghosting is enacted through technologically mediated platforms and usually perpetrated in the context of romantic relationships (LeFebvre et al., 2019). Hence, victims of ghosting are forced to cope with an ambiguous experience of interpersonal rejection and sense of loss (LeFebvre et al., 2019). On the contrary, a direct breakup entails explicit communication to terminate a relationship (LeFebvre et al., 2019). ...
Ghosting is a type of interpersonal rejection involving a unilateral communication interruption without explanation, using technological channels. Vulnerable narcissism and borderline traits can increase sensitivity to interpersonal rejection and reduce tolerance to ambiguity, whereas grandiose narcissism is related to low rejection sensitivity. Yet, the influence of narcissism and borderline on responses to ghosting is unexplored. We examined the influence of pathological personality traits on psychological reactions to direct breakup and ghosting (i.e., ambiguous breakup) in a sample of 604 young adults (mean age = 22.4 ± 2.74). After measuring borderline and narcissistic traits (grandiose and vulnerable), participants were randomly assigned to one of two scenario-based conditions: direct breakup or ghosting events. Negative emotions and state paranoia were assessed after the experimental manipulation. Participants experienced greater negative emotions and state paranoia in the ghosting condition compared to direct breakup. Individuals high in vulnerable narcissism and borderline traits anticipated higher negative emotions and state paranoia. Grandiose narcissism was unrelated to such reactions. Unexpectedly, pathological personality traits did not moderate the effect of breakup ambiguity on individuals' psychological reactions. Findings suggest that the impact of pathological personality traits is reduced in front of such a socially painful stimulus as an ambiguous rejection.
... Researchers have attempted to refine LeFebvre et al.'s (2019) definition of ghosting, some choosing to narrow the definition, and others choosing to broaden the definition. Based on their qualitative online survey of MTurkers who had experienced a romantic breakup in the past 5 years, Koessler et al. (2019a, p. 33) concluded that ghosting specifically occurs within a romantic relationship: ...
... Other researchers have disagreed. Kay and Courtice (2022) argue that both LeFebvre et al.'s (2019) and Koessler et al.'s (2019a) definitions suffer from major weaknesses. Both include jargon that requires "27 years of schooling" according to the Flesch Kincaid Readability Test (p. ...
... 392), which is problematic when asking participants to self-report their experiences with ghosting. LeFebvre et al. (2019) used snowball sampling, a biased recruitment method, for the study through which they developed their definition. Koessler et al.'s (2019a) study was biased towards romantic relationships and their definition accordingly required ghosting to occur within a romantic context. ...
Ghosting has become commonplace beyond romantic relationships. Therefore, we aimed to broadly understand ghosters' (i.e., people who ghost others) experiences including the process of ghosting, reasons and attributions for ghosting, feelings and behaviors associated with ghosting, and attitudes toward ghosting. Thirty‐four undergraduates (65% Latinx, 15% Asian, 12% Black, 8% Other ethnicity) who had ghosted another person were interviewed in‐person about their ghosting attitudes, ghosting behaviors, and a memorable ghosting experience. Inductive thematic analyses informed by grounded theory yielded eight themes: A Clear Cause, Avoidance of Confrontation, Short‐term Orientation, Ghostees as Socially Inferior, Ignoring then Blocking, Attempts by Ghostee to Reach Out, Mixed and Evolving Feelings, and Recognition of Harm. Our findings indicate that psychological consequences for ghosters should be further examined.
... RRDs, albeit not homogenous in nature (Belu et al., 2016), may be experienced as severely distressing among university students (Fang et al., 2018;Pérez-Rojas et al., 2017;LeFebvre et al., 2019;Norona et al., 2017). Indeed, research indicates that an RRD is a risk factor for suicidality (see Kazan et al., 2016 for review). ...
Background: Non-marital romantic relationship dissolutions (RRDs) are common among emerging adult students (EAS) and may result in severe distress and suicidality. However, studies on RRDs in youth are limited to mental health sequelae of depression and prolonged grief. Little is known about the association between RRDs and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and how this compares to posttraumatic stress symptoms following a traumatogenic event.Objective: We aimed to determine the association between RRDs and PTSS in an EAS sample; and how this compared to the association between posttraumatic stress symptoms and a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th edition (DSM-5) traumatic event.Method: University students (N = 2,022; female = 71.1%; 18-25 years) completed a demographic and relationship questionnaire, the Life Events Checklist, the Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire, and the Posttraumatic Stress Checklist (PCL). We compared EAS with an RRD (n = 886) or a DSM-5 criterion A traumatic event (n = 592) against a control group (n = 544) exposed to a non-traumatic stressful life event. Utilising ANOVAs and Pearson's correlations we determined demographic and clinical variables associated with PTSS. ANCOVA and stepwise hierarchical regression analyses were used to determine between-group differences in PTSS.Results: Total trauma exposure and adverse childhood experiences, sex, monthly income, sexual orientation, and attachment style were significantly associated with PTSS. The RRD group had significantly higher PCL scores compared to the DSM and control groups. The mean PCL scores for both the RRD and DSM groups were above the cut-off score of 33, consistent with a probable posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis. Significantly more RRD participants (72.9%) scored above the cut-off score of 33 than DSM-5 Trauma Group participants (55.4%).Conclusion: An RRD is a potentially traumatic event and is significantly associated with PTSS, similar to a posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis.
... It means a practice of breaking up a romantic relationship without any explanations and communication. The person who chooses this form of ending a relationship without notice disappears from the life of their partner just like a ghost (LeFebvre, 2017;LeFebvre et al., 2019). This kind of parting is facilitated by new technologies. ...
The digitization of life turned out to be both necessary and salutary for maintaining the continuity of functioning of societies and individuals during the pandemic. Meetings with people were mostly held remotely, as were medical and legal consultations or shopping. And although tools for online communication were known before 2020, their heyday and widespread use fell on the years of the pandemic crisis. Today, digitization is largely associated with all spheres of human life, including those that relate to the creation of close interpersonal relationships. The aim of the article is to present the conclusions of scientific considerations on the psychological aspects of interpersonal communication in romantic relationships in the context of the digitization of life. Models and dimensions of communication in romantic relationships and their importance for human functioning are presented. Some psychological aspects of interpersonal communication at three stages of a romantic relationship are discussed, i.e. creating a new, close relationship in the network, duration of the relationship in the digital reality and ending the romantic relationship.
... After removing duplicates and irrelevant papers, eight useable items were obtained. The main emerging themes at this stage were: 1) Abruptly stopping communication with the other person [4,17]. 2) Not returning a call or message from the other person without providing a reason [4,17,18]. ...
... The main emerging themes at this stage were: 1) Abruptly stopping communication with the other person [4,17]. 2) Not returning a call or message from the other person without providing a reason [4,17,18]. 3) Abruptly change plans without a valid justification [19]. 4) Lying about being unavailable or busy to avoid spending time with someone [5,10]. ...
... A questionnaire to assess ghosting was developed for several reasons: First, ghosting is a new phenomenon that is still not completely understood. Researchers can gain a better understanding of the prevalence, causes, and effects of ghosting on people and relationships by creating a tool to measure it [13,17]. Second, a questionnaire to quantify ghosting can assist healthcare providers in evaluating patients who are suffering distress linked to ghosting as ghosting can have major detrimental effects on health and well-being [3,19,66]. ...
The topic of “ghosting” as a method of terminating a relationship has been discussed in both popular media and academic circles. Although research on this issue is scarce, the concept has acquired popularity and gained scholarly attention. A reliable and valid measure of this phenomenon does not, however, exist. GHOST (The Ghosting Questionnaire) was designed and psychometrically tested to explore ghostee experiences. A total of 811 adults participated in an online survey to test this instrument. It was developed based on a thorough analysis of research on the topic of ghosting using a phenomenological qualitative method to identify ghosting domains and generate questionnaire items. In terms of content validity and construct validity, the final version of the measure was found to be satisfactory. GHOST was found to have adequate internal consistency - scores of 0.74, 0.74, and 0.80, indicating acceptable Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, and ordinal's alpha coefficients, respectively. Factor analyses found the GHOST questionnaire to be a valid and reliable instrument that can be used for screening ghosting experiences and for designing community-based distress prevention and intervention programs. A dynamic fit index (DFI) cutoffs approach was also used and showed robust fitting.
... Ghosting can be defined as "unilaterally ceasing communication (temporarily or permanently) in an effort to withdraw access to individual(s) prompting relationship dissolution (suddenly or gradually) commonly enacted via one or multiple technological medium(s)" (LeFebvre et al., 2019;p.134). In other words, one's conversation partner disappears without explaining why. ...
... An infamous example of a relationship dissolution strategy that is based on expectancy violations is ghosting. Ghosting is defined as a unilateral discontinuance of communication with another person without explanation (LeFebvre et al., 2019). Many (especially young) people have first-hand experience with ghosting. ...
... Current theoretical conceptualizations of ghosting illustrate broad agreements (Kay and Courtice, 2022;Koessler et al., 2019;LeFebvre et al., 2019;Thomas and Dubar, 2021): Conceptual definitions unanimously agree that ghosting requires the unilateral termination of communication without explicit closure (e.g., via written explanation). However, scholars disagree about various details, for example, whether ghosting can be temporary (LeFebvre, 2017) or not (Campaioli et al., 2022;Koessler et al., 2019), whether a stable relationship must be established (LeFebvre et al., 2019), or whether ghosting has to occur suddenly (Kay and Courtice, 2022) or can also involve a more gradual process (LeFebvre et al., 2020). ...
... Current theoretical conceptualizations of ghosting illustrate broad agreements (Kay and Courtice, 2022;Koessler et al., 2019;LeFebvre et al., 2019;Thomas and Dubar, 2021): Conceptual definitions unanimously agree that ghosting requires the unilateral termination of communication without explicit closure (e.g., via written explanation). However, scholars disagree about various details, for example, whether ghosting can be temporary (LeFebvre, 2017) or not (Campaioli et al., 2022;Koessler et al., 2019), whether a stable relationship must be established (LeFebvre et al., 2019), or whether ghosting has to occur suddenly (Kay and Courtice, 2022) or can also involve a more gradual process (LeFebvre et al., 2020). ...
Ghosting (i.e., terminating communication with another person on social media without explanation) has become an all-too-common occurrence. Prior scholarship has predominantly focused on adverse effects of being ghosted on individuals’ well-being and mainly investigated the phenomenon within romantic relationships. By contrast, its occurrence within friendships as well as psychological predictors and effects of ghosting others over time with regard to well-being are not comprehensively understood yet. The present study aims to fill these research gaps using data from a two-wave panel survey among emerging adults between 16 and 21 years. Analyses show that ghosting romantic partners and ghosting friends are different phenomena: While communication overload (i.e., the feeling of receiving more messages than one can handle) positively predicts ghosting romantic partners, ghosting friends is predicted by one's self-esteem. Most notably, ghosting others within romantic relationships did not yield any effects on well-being, whereas ghosting friends increased depressive tendencies over time, demonstrating that ghosting is not only harmful to those who are ghosted, but can also negatively impact those who ghost others.
