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The Journal of Social Psychology, 2011, 151(5), 662–666
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Can We Be (and Stay) Friends? Remaining
Friends After Dissolution of a Romantic
Relationship
MELINDA BULLOCK
Saint Louis University
JANA HACKATHORN
Murray State University
EDDIE M. CLARK
Saint Louis University
BRENT A. MATTINGLY
Ashland University
ABSTRACT. Although many individuals report being friends with their ex-romantic
partners (Wilmot, Carbaugh, & Baxter, 1985), the literature regarding post-romantic
friendships is very limited. We investigated whether satisfaction in the dissolved romantic
relationship could predict post-romantic friendships and friendship maintenance. We found
that the more satisfied individuals were during the dissolved romance, the more likely they
were to remain friends and the more likely they were to engage in friendship mainte-
nance behaviors. We also found that friendship maintenance fully mediated the association
between past romantic satisfaction and current friendship satisfaction.
Keywords: friendship, relationship maintenance, relationship quality
INDIVIDUALS ARE GETTING MARRIED later in life (Popenoe & Whitehead,
2004), and opportunities for non-marital romantic relationships are increasing
(Hebert & Popadiuk, 2008). However, the extant non-marital dissolution litera-
ture is limited. Research shows that ex-partners are more likely to be friends if
they were friends before the romance (Metts, Cupach, & Bejlovec, 1989), if the
breakup was mutual (Hackathorn, Clark, Mattingly, Bullock, & Weaver, 2008),
Address correspondence to Melinda Bullock, Saint Louis University, Department of Psy-
chology, 221 N. Grand Blvd., Shannon Hall, St. Louis, MO 63128 USA; mbullock@slu.edu
(e-mail).
662
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Bullock et al. 663
or if the friendship is socially supported (Busboom, Collins, Givertz, & Levin,
2002).
Like any relationship, ex-partners must maintain their friendship if they want
it to last. The Friendship Maintenance Scale (FMS; Oswald, Clark, & Kelly, 2004)
assesses maintenance by measuring a variety of behaviors (e.g., “How often do
you and your friend compliment each other?”) using four subscales: positivity
(makes the friendship more rewarding), supportiveness (friend/friendship sup-
port), openness (self-disclosure), and interaction (joint activities).
While a clear reciprocal association exists between maintenance behaviors
and relationship satisfaction (e.g., Canary & Stafford, 2001), the association
between satisfaction from the dissolved romance and the post-romantic friendship
has not been examined. We expected past romantic satisfaction to be positively
associated with current friendship status and friendship maintenance behaviors
with an ex-partner. Because relationally satisfied individuals engage in mainte-
nance behaviors (e.g., Canary & Stafford, 2001) and satisfaction is a relational
outcome of maintenance (e.g., Stafford & Canary, 1991), we expected that
friendship maintenance would mediate the association between past romantic
satisfaction and current friendship satisfaction.
Methods
Participants were 131 undergraduates who were relatively young (M=19.11
years, SD =1.36), predominantly female (81%) and Caucasian (75%), who
dated their most recent ex-romantic partner for an average of 13.60 months
(Mdn =8 months), and were broken-up for an average of 12.30 months
(Mdn =7 months).
Participants indicated on an 8-point scale (0 =not friends, 7=best
friends) their current friendship status with their most recent ex-romantic partner
(M=3.49, SD =1.96). A continuous scale was used because it allowed partici-
pants to indicate: 1) if a friendship existed at all (i.e., with a response of “0”) and
2) the relative closeness of the friendship. Only 11.5% of participants answered
“0” to this question; 7.6%. answered “1”; 13.0%,answered “2”; 10.0% answered
“3”; 22.1% answered “4”; 21.4%,answered “5”; 11.5% answered “6”; and 3.1%
answered “7”.
Participants also completed the satisfaction subscale of the Investment
Model Scale (Rusbult, Martz, & Agnew, 1998) regarding their current friend-
ship (M=3.28, SD =1.97) and a modified version of the satisfaction subscale
regarding their dissolved romance (M=4.50, SD =2.14) with their ex-partner.
Satisfaction responses were averaged for the dissolved romance (α=.90) and
for the current friendship (α=.96). Finally, participants completed the 37-item
FMS (M=5.01, SD =2.10). Each subscale demonstrated adequate reliability
among the current sample: positivity, α=.73; supportiveness, α=.90; openness,
α=.82; and interaction, α=.92.
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664 The Journal of Social Psychology
Results
As hypothesized, past romantic satisfaction and friendship status were sig-
nificantly correlated, r=.48, p<.001, indicating that those who were more
satisfied during the romantic relationship were more likely to remain friends.
Dichotomizing friendship status (participants who answered “0” to the 8-point
item were classified as not friends, whereas everyone else was classified as
friends), and conducting a logistic regression yielded similar results, OR =1.64,
p<.001. Additionally, among participants who reported a friendship with
their ex-partner, satisfaction during the dissolved relationship was significantly
correlated with each subscale of the FMS (rs ranging from .33 to .46, ps<.001).
Because the FMS subscales were highly intercorrelated (rs ranged from .60 to
.89), and there was evidence of multicollinearity when predicting current friend-
ship satisfaction (tolerance ranged from .18 to .54; Tabachnik & Fidell, 2007), we
created a composite FMS score (α=.94), which was significantly correlated with
past romantic satisfaction (r=.51, p<.001). Also as hypothesized, friendship
maintenance fully mediated the association between past romantic satisfaction
and current friendship satisfaction (Baron & Kenny, 1986): Past romantic satisfac-
tion significantly predicted satisfaction with the friendship (β=.17, p=.05) and
friendship maintenance (β=.51, p<.001), friendship maintenance significantly
predicted satisfaction with the friendship after controlling for past romantic satis-
faction (β=.61, p<.001), and the association between past romantic satisfaction
and current friendship satisfaction was significantly reduced when friendship
maintenance was included in the model, suggesting full mediation (β=–.13,
p>.05), Z =4.91, p<.001. Furthermore, this pattern remained when controlling
for time since breakup.
Discussion
The current study indicates that individuals who were satisfied during the dis-
solved romantic relationship are more likely to be friends with their ex-romantic
partner and are more likely to use friendship maintenance behaviors. Importantly,
friendship maintenance fully mediated the association between past romantic
satisfaction and current friendship satisfaction, suggesting that if a romantic rela-
tionship was satisfying, it is more likely that a friendship will emerge and be
maintained, which in turn makes the friendship more satisfying.
Many of the current participants reported being friends with their ex-romantic
partner. However, this could be because they are likely to live in close physi-
cal proximity (i.e., campus housing) and are more likely to share friends with
an ex-romantic partner than with other individuals, thus limiting generalizabil-
ity. Additionally, our mostly Caucasian and female sample limits generalizability.
Finally, current friendship satisfaction could inhibit accurate recall of the past
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Bullock et al. 665
romantic satisfaction. Research indicates negative affect fades faster than positive
affect (Ritchie & Skowronski, 2008), and within the context of marriages, past
relationship quality resembles current relationship quality (Karney & Coombs,
2000). Therefore, the relationship between current friendship and past romantic
satisfaction could be biased.
The current study adds to the post-romance friendship literature by demon-
strating that past romantic satisfaction influences whether a friendship will emerge
and be maintained. Although the romantic relationship may not have worked,
individuals can turn a satisfying, albeit dissolved, romance into a meaningful and
rewarding friendship.
AUTHOR NOTES
Melinda Bullock is a Doctoral Candidate in social psychology at Saint Louis
University. Her research interests include close relationships and health persua-
sion. Jana Hackathorn is an Assistant Professor of psychology at Murray State
University. Her research interests lie in romantic relationships, attraction, and infi-
delity. Eddie M. Clark is a Professor of psychology at Saint Louis University.
He is a Social Psychologist with interests in close relationships and heath
attitudes/persuasion. Brent A. Mattingly is an Assistant Professor of psychol-
ogy at Ashland University, and his research primarily focuses on relationships,
motivation, and the self.
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Received January 14, 2010
Accepted July 8, 2010
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