ArticleEmerging adulthood (Print)2023
Trajectory of depressive symptoms in the context of romantic relationship breakup: Characterizing the "natural course" of response and recovery in young adults.
Article in Emerging adulthood (Print), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- The associations between pre-sleep smartphone use, negative life events and depressive symptoms among Chinese undergraduate students.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Emotional and cognitive responses to romantic breakups in adolescents and young adults: the role of rumination and coping mechanisms in life impact.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Factors Associated With Depressive Symptoms Among Graduate Students in Science and Technology: A Cross-Sectional Study With Multivariable Analysis.Depression and anxiety · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Young adults face stressful role transitions as well as increased risk for poor mental health, but little is known about a "natural course" of response to such events. We used the PHQ-2 to characterize the trajectory of depressive symptoms before, during, and after relationship breakup and examined subjective appraisal and sense of control as moderators. In our sample of participants reporting a single breakup during the 2-year study period (N=156), breakup was associated with a temporary increase in depressive symptoms that returned to pre-breakup levels within three months. We observed increased symptoms among negatively appraised, but not positive or neutral, events. A general low sense of control was associated with higher depressive symptoms at all time points. Our results suggest that a natural course of response to young adult breakups is characterized by recovery within three months and that subjective appraisal and sense of control contribute to this adaptive response.
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Registered trials
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