{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T22:48:21Z","timestamp":1782946101657,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,15]],"date-time":"2025-02-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1739577600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Problems frequently arise in intimate relationships, and people need to find ways to manage them if they want their relationships to continue. The purpose of the current research was to identify the strategies that people use to manage relationship problems, employing a mixed-methods approach, specifically, in a sample of 224 Greek-speaking participants. Study 1 employed qualitative research methods and identified 93 actions that people perform to manage relationship problems. Study 2 employed quantitative research methods in a sample of 526 Greek-speaking participants and classified these actions into three main strategies. The most likely to be used main strategy was \u201cSolve the problem\u201d, where participants attempted to solve the problem by discussing and negotiating it with their partners, making compromises, improving physical intimacy, and avoiding acting in the heat of the moment. The second most likely to be used main strategy was \u201cExternal input\u201d, where participants aimed to obtain advice and support from others, including friends, relatives, and psychologists. The least likely to be used strategy was \u201cAvoid the problem\u201d, where participants attempted to manage their problems by ignoring or avoiding them. Participants indicated that they were likely to use a combination of strategies to manage their problems. Men and women were generally in agreement over which strategy to use, while age effects were found for several strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs15020218","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,17]],"date-time":"2025-02-17T04:40:25Z","timestamp":1739767225000},"page":"218","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["How People Manage Relationship Problems: An Exploratory Study in the Greek Cultural Context"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","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, 46 Makedonitissas Avenue, Nicosia 1700, Cyprus"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anthi","family":"Samara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, 46 Makedonitissas Avenue, Nicosia 1700, Cyprus"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Timo Juhani","family":"Lajunen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, 46 Makedonitissas Avenue, Nicosia 1700, Cyprus"},{"name":"Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"602","DOI":"10.1177\/0192513X03024005002","article-title":"People\u2019s reasons for divorcing: Gender, social class, the life course, and adjustment","volume":"24","author":"Amato","year":"2003","journal-title":"Journal of Family Issues"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"380","DOI":"10.1007\/s40806-021-00287-9","article-title":"Strategies for detecting infidelity: An explorative analysis","volume":"7","author":"Apostolou","year":"2021","journal-title":"Evolutionary Psychological Science"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1474704920987807","DOI":"10.1177\/1474704920987807","article-title":"What makes it difficult to keep an intimate relationship: Evidence from Greece and China","volume":"19","author":"Apostolou","year":"2021","journal-title":"Evolutionary Psychology"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"359","DOI":"10.1177\/019251385006003007","article-title":"Sources of marital dissatisfaction among newly separated persons","volume":"6","author":"Bloom","year":"1985","journal-title":"Journal of Family Issues"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"276","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijchp.2016.03.003","article-title":"Conflict resolution styles and teen dating violence","volume":"16","author":"Bonache","year":"2016","journal-title":"International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"735","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.56.5.735","article-title":"Conflict between the sexes: Strategic interference and the evocation of anger and upset","volume":"56","author":"Buss","year":"1989","journal-title":"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Buss, D. 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