Let’s Break Up: Breaking Up as a Process ofocial Interaction and Identity Transformation

Breaking up is formerly investigated by various approaches. Some researchers developed stage models to describe the process of breaking up. In those models, there is a dyad phase in which two partners interact. This research develops a framework with two dimensions in order to interpret the contents and rules in the process of breaking up. One dimension is the consistency of the receiving/sending role. This dimension address the issue that the one sending breaking up message may or may not be the one who initiate the breaking up process. The other dimension is the directness of breaking up actions, which can be either a direct proposal or an indirect refusal to interact. Therefore, there are four interaction types in this framework. We discuss the first three interaction types in this research. Furthermore, participants interact not only with their former romantic partners, but also with their social friends for suggestions and supports, while only few participants turn to their family members, teachers and the professionals.he second emphasis of this study is identity transformation. Identity transformation refers how two people in the relationship realized they are two separated individual, rather than a couple in a romantic relationship. As identity of relationship transform, the participants showed decreased self confidence. But after they walked through the darkness, they showed increased self-esteem. This research interviews 11 participants to collect their experiences in breaking up processes.