Breakdown of Relationships There are theories of relationship dissolution and these give possible reasons as to why couples break up. Duck (1999) suggested that relationship breakdown is due to three risk factors, this includes; lack of skills, lack of stimulation and maintenance difficulties. Lack of skills is when some people have poor communication skills, so they have poor quality conversations and do not indicate interest very well. Duck (1991) argued the lack of social skills can be seen as a disinterest and lack of effort to maintain the relationship, so it breaks down. Lack of stimulation; the social exchange theory suggests that people look for rewards in a relationship of which is ‘stimulation’.
One theory for the breakdown of relationships was put forward by Duck who gave three broad categories as to why relationships break up; pre-existing doom where the failure was inevitable, mechanical failure which is where the couple find themselves drifting apart and sudden death where the discovery of betrayal or infidelity leads to immediate break. Duck also proposed other reasons for relationship dissolution such as lack of skills. A partner may lack the interpersonal skills to make the relationship mutually satisfying. They may be a poor conversationalist or poor at indicating their interest in their partner. Another cause of relationship breakdown is a lack of maintenance.
The final reason is ‘Maintenance Difficulties’, this is when the relationship could be strained by practical difficulties, such as distance. Rollie and Duck put forward a model of relationship breakdown, which consisted of 6 stages. The first stage was ‘Breakdown’ this is dissatisfaction with your partner; if this is sufficiently great then it progresses onto the next stage. ‘Intrapsychic’, this is characterized by social withdrawal and the disatisfied partner focuses on their partners faults which can cause them to consider possible alternatives. This leads onto the ‘Dyadic Process’, this is where the partners talk about their problems and the causes of their dissatisfaction, however reconliation can take place at this point.
Discuss theories of the breakdown of romantic relationships? Duck stated that relationships breakdown because of three reasons: Lack of Skills, lack of stimulation and maintenance difficulties. Lack of skills for example is because some people find relationships difficult because they lack the interpersonal skills to make them mutually satisfying (e.g. a relationship breaks down because of one of the partners lack of communication skills). Support for Duck's theory comes from Boekhout et al who found that the main reason for breakdown is that one or both partners have an extramarital affair.
This stresses the importance of attachment, and therefore the negative impact long term deprivation has on children. Richards (1987) theorised that the experience of divorce seems to affect children more than a parent’s death. This may be due to several factors such as little or no contact if one parent leaves the home; stress of family reordering; or the child may blame themselves for the divorce. However, this was a case study which cannot be generalised as the children’s situations are unique, and therefore different to others. Moreover, death could seem to have a less affect on children depending on their upbringing and nature of the situation.
However, spreading tension does not resolve tension. Triangles are stable, but unhappy—the three people locked in tension must deal with their mutually shared issues. Family systems theory does hold that there is a need for a differentiation of the self—in fact, a lack of differentiation is one of the reasons many family members experience psychological instability (Differentiation of the self, 2009, Bowen theory). Marital conflict, dysfunction
For the government, it might appear to be a necessity and they may feel they are compensating the affected people well by remuneration. However, the affected people know that they are being uprooted from their homeland. Although temporarily better off, they have lost the place they called home once. We can see this Theory being manifested in lot of circumstances, if only we observe and try to understand. Right from a student getting bad grades as a result of a submission they couldn’t complete due to being unwell, to the difficult situations faced by a single mother in this society.
The second stage of the breakdown of a romantic relationship according to Duck is the dyadic stage, this refers to where the partners assess each other’s behaviour in order to evaluate the costs of withdrawing from the relationship, they also experience feelings of uncertainty, resentment and hostility. The third stage of the breakdown of a relationship is the social phase, this is where the partners seek help from the public or they publicly announce the break up. The final stage of a breakdown of a relationship according to Duck is the grave dressing process, this refers to where each partner questions their decision and then considers how the break up has impacted their social life. During this stage the partners also look at the memories they have made. Tashiro and Frazier have completed research to support Duck’s model of breakdown.
When you are a single-parent whether it is a result of a divorce or a death of a spouse and you start dating again there always seems to be issues of jealousy with the child/children. The introduction of another person in the parent’s life can bring about feelings of insecurity, fear, and resentfulness which are natural but can be disruptive without appropriate reassurance and resolution. Another issue that can cause jealousy is the parent being gone spending more time working due to economical factors than at home. This I think is
Why Relationships Fail The amount of divorces in the United States every year is astounding. There are many reasons these relationships don’t work. The biggest reason being the lack of communication between the couple. Two other reasons are cheating and the absence of respect within the relationship. These are very important factors of relationships, and if they aren’t practiced the right way it can lead to the destruction of a good friendship.