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The Experience of Disappointment in the Context of Interpersonal Relations: an Exploration Using a Mixed Method Approach

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Abstract

The present study examined the structure and correlates of the experience of disappointment within interpersonal relationships using a mixed method approach. Participants described their thoughts and feelings during a disappointment-eliciting event with another person. On the basis of statements extracted from these descriptions, a self-report questionnaire (the Experience of Disappointment Questionnaire, EDQ) was constructed and factor analyzed. The associations of the EDQ’s factors and personality and relationship variables were examined. The findings provide initial information regarding the complexity of interpersonal disappointment experiences as well as initial validation of the EDQ.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Prof. Mario Mikulincer, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, for his comments on an earlier version of this paper.

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Correspondence to Eliane Sommerfeld.

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All procedures performed in the study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Sommerfeld, E. The Experience of Disappointment in the Context of Interpersonal Relations: an Exploration Using a Mixed Method Approach. Curr Psychol 38, 1476–1489 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9703-8

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