{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T03:07:13Z","timestamp":1777604833279,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,1]],"date-time":"2025-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1751328000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,1]],"date-time":"2025-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1751328000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Evol Psychol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Frequently, people find themselves in a situation where an intimate relationship they wish to keep ends, creating emotional pain that requires coping strategies. The aim of the present study is to investigate the various strategies people employ for this purpose. Using a mixed-methods approach, we identified 84 distinct acts, which we classified into 16 strategies and subsequently classified into five main strategies for coping with the end of a desirable intimate relationship. The most likely to be used main strategy was \u201cTransfer focus to different things,\u201d including strategies such as \u201cFocus on myself\u201d and \u201cKeep myself busy.\u201d Other commonly chosen main strategies were \u201cSeek support,\u201d involving reliance on friends, family, and professionals, and \u201cSocial withdrawal,\u201d characterized by isolation behaviors. Additionally, several participants indicated readiness to adopt the \u201cDisassociation and positive reframing\u201d main strategy, involving attempts to positively reframe the end of the relationship and disassociate from the former partner. The least frequently adopted main strategy was \u201cSex and substances,\u201d involving substance use (such as alcohol) and casual sex encounters to cope with the end of a relationship. Furthermore, significant main effects of sex and age were observed for several of the identified strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/14747049251368249","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,11]],"date-time":"2025-08-11T07:14:07Z","timestamp":1754896447000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Strategies for Coping With the End of a Desirable Intimate Relationship: An Exploratory Study"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0685-1848","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Menelaos","family":"Apostolou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Hadjiantoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Timo Juhani","family":"Lajunen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Norwegean University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/14747049231210245"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s40806-024-00416-0"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/14747049241312231"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0193-953X(05)70074-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-psych-010418-103408"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.56.2.267"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_1","volume-title":"Marriage, a history: From obedience to intimacy, or how love conquered marriage","author":"Coontz S.","year":"2005","unstructured":"Coontz S. 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