中華心理衛生協會

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to develope assessment inventories for the cognitive adaptation and coping process of college students facing the break up of romantic relationships. On purpose that these assessment tools could provide for the use in counseling process and help whom were maladjust to the breakup of romantic relationship due to cognitive and adaptating problems.Methods: According to the previous results of in-depth interview with college students, the inventories regarding the cognitive adaptation and coping process to the breaking up of love relationships were developed. A sample of 746 subjects were used in quantitative studies for item analysis, structure analysis, and validity study of this new inventories.Results: Factorial analysis of the Cognitive Adaptation to Dissolution Scale (CADS) resulted in 34 items and four subscales including (1) realizing the autonomous of love, (2) cynical attitude to love, (3) recognizing the meaning of breaking up, and (4) realizing the importance of the establishing of self. The alpha coefficients were. 70-.90. On the other hand, factorial analysis of the Coping to Dissolution Scale (CDS) resulted in 115 items and 15 subscales including (1) distressful, (2) learning as a growth experience, (3) relieve from the grief, (4) self-doubt, (5) favorable memories, (6) revenge impulse, (7) shifting life focus, (8) self-blame, (9) confused, (10) perplexed by opposite sex and love, (11) self hurt or making injury , (12) recovery, (13) understanding the opposite sex, (14) self-awareness to affective needs, (15) self-affirmation. The alpha coefficients were. 78-.93. Second order factor analysis of the above 19 subscales indicated that these scales included four factors including (1) traumatized and stumbled by breakup, (2) revise of love schemas, (3) growth and learning from breakup, and (4) favorable memories. These factors comprised the three dimensions of the assessment of loss by Schneider (1984), including ”what's lost”, ”what's left”, and ”what's possible”. More results about relationships among different intimacy states, attachment styles, and adaptation process for breaking up were reported. The students experienced breakup were more recognizing the meaning of breaking up and the importance of the establishing of self, than who did not experienced breakup. The leaver experienced less distress but more self-blame than the abandomed. The abandomed were more distressful, more confused, and score higher on subscales of self-doubt and revenge impulse. The students with avoidant attachment style experienced breakup with more self-doubt and more perplexed by opposite sex and love. The students with dismissing attachment style were easier shifting life focus and less confused to breakup, but also less in learning as a growth experience. The students with safe attachment style experienced less distress, easier to relieve from the grief, less self-doubt, easier to shift life focus and were most benefited from breakup learning as a growth experience.Conclusions: Based on these results, the validity of these two scales were being supported but need further accumulations of experiences in counseling process and validations from research studies. Some implications for counseling strategies were discussed and suggestions for future research were also proposed.