Underlying Factors of Ghosting Behavior : Sociosexuality, Age and Sex
Löfgren, Laura (2022)
2022
Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2022061446566
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2022061446566
Tiivistelmä
Introduction: The arrival of online dating appears to visualize the interaction of advancing digital communication and the increasing permissiveness towards sex and casual dating. However, with new means of social connection it appears inevitable that there will also be new means of social disconnection. Ghosting has received attention within popular media as an emerging dating/relational disengagement strategy. Ghosting is commonly defined as an act in which the initiator (the person who initiates the dissolution) cuts off all the communication with the non-initiator, either in-person and/or online, without offering an explanation. The present study was the first of its kind to examine underlying factors of ghosting by exploring sociosexual orientation (SO), age and sex differences and their associations to ghosting experiences and specific behaviors.
Method: the sample consisted of 4,015 Finnish-speaking residents. Ghosting experiences and specific behaviors were measured with a survey consisting of close-ended questions, designed for the purpose of the present study.
Result: The first hypothesis predicted that individuals with less restrictive SO would be more associated with ghosting experiences and specific ghosting behaviors. This hypothesis was supported: Less restricted SO was positively associated with ghosting experiences and specific ghosting behaviors. The results support previous research on SO and dating app-related findings implying that less restrictive SO associates with dating app usage. The second hypothesis predicted that higher age would be negatively associated with ghosting experiences and specific ghosting behaviors, which was also supported, in accordance with previous research. The third hypothesis, postulating that no sex differences in ghosting experiences and behaviors would be observed was, however, contradicted. Sex differences were found in most items measuring ghosting experiences and specific behavior.
Discussion: the results are presented together with suggestions of relevant explanatory theoretical models, such as the Parental Investment Theory. The sample was big and population-based and results partially supported previous research. The biggest limitation of the study was that all data was collected from self-reported measures. Future research is needed to develop less subjective measures.
Method: the sample consisted of 4,015 Finnish-speaking residents. Ghosting experiences and specific behaviors were measured with a survey consisting of close-ended questions, designed for the purpose of the present study.
Result: The first hypothesis predicted that individuals with less restrictive SO would be more associated with ghosting experiences and specific ghosting behaviors. This hypothesis was supported: Less restricted SO was positively associated with ghosting experiences and specific ghosting behaviors. The results support previous research on SO and dating app-related findings implying that less restrictive SO associates with dating app usage. The second hypothesis predicted that higher age would be negatively associated with ghosting experiences and specific ghosting behaviors, which was also supported, in accordance with previous research. The third hypothesis, postulating that no sex differences in ghosting experiences and behaviors would be observed was, however, contradicted. Sex differences were found in most items measuring ghosting experiences and specific behavior.
Discussion: the results are presented together with suggestions of relevant explanatory theoretical models, such as the Parental Investment Theory. The sample was big and population-based and results partially supported previous research. The biggest limitation of the study was that all data was collected from self-reported measures. Future research is needed to develop less subjective measures.
Kokoelmat
- 515 Psykologia [262]