Individual Difference Predictors of Starting a New Romantic Relationship During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-28-2022

Abstract

Dramatic social changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the dating scene and the likelihood of people starting new relationships. What factors make individuals more or less likely to start a new relationship during this period? In a sample of 2285 college students (Mage = 19.36, SD = 1.44; 69.2% women; 66.7% White) collected from October 2020 to April 2021, anxiously attached and extraverted people were 10–26% more likely to start a new relationship. Avoidantly attached and conscientious people were 15–17% less likely to start a new relationship. How people pursued (or avoided) new romantic relationships closely mirrored their broader patterns of health and interpersonal behavior during the global pandemic.

Comments

This article was originally published in Personality and Individual Difference, volume 201, in 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2022.111919

This scholarship is part of the Chapman University COVID-19 Archives.

Copyright

Elsevier

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