The seeds of relationships ending tend to begin between one and two years before a break-up, a new study reveals.
Research released this week by Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) found that, once this two-year countdown began, relationship satisfaction deteriorated rapidly.
Study lead Professor Janina Bühler said it was a “common fact” that satisfaction in a romantic relationship declined over time.
“This reduction in satisfaction is particularly marked in the first years of a relationship, and a distinctive low point is often reached after a period of 10 years,” she said.
“Partners pass through various phases. They do not normally separate from one day to the next, and the way these phases impact on the two partners differs.
“In many cases, couples seek help too late, i.e., when the transition point has already been reached.”
Professor Bühler said the end of a romantic relationship usually did not come “out of the blue” but was sparked one to two years before the breakup.
“As the results of a psychological study have demonstrated, the terminal stage of a relationship consists of two phases,” she said.
“First, there is a gradual decline in relationship satisfaction, reaching a transition point one to two years before the dissolution of the relationship.
“From this transition point onwards, there is a rapid deterioration in relationship satisfaction. Couples in question then move towards separation.”
The research paper, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, was based on national studies from Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.
The four data sets covered 11,295 individuals who had separated, cross-referenced with a control group of similar size that had not separated.
“Based on the data of the four national representative studies, the researchers were able to determine that relationships can be subjected to what is known as terminal decline,” the study report said.
“Once this terminal phase is reached, the relationship is doomed to come to an end. This is apparent from the fact that only the individuals in the separation group go through this terminal phase, not the control group.”
The full report is on the university’s website.
