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Cited by 84Attachment and Relationship DynamicsDeath Anxiety and Social ExclusionPsychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

Psychological Correlates of Ghosting and Breadcrumbing Experiences: A Preliminary Study among Adults

Open access
Navarro, Raúl, Larrañaga, Elisa, Yubero, Santiago, Víllora, Beatriz·2020·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
DOI 10.3390/ijerph17031116PMC PMC7037474
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Abstract

The present study aimed to examine differences in three psychological constructs (satisfaction with life, loneliness, and helplessness) among adults experiencing ghosting and breadcrumbing. A sample of 626 adults (303 males and 323 females), aged from 18 to 40 years, completed an online survey asking to indicate whether someone they considered a dating partner had ghosted or breadcrumbed them in the last year and to complete three different scales regarding satisfaction with life, loneliness, and helplessness. The results showed than those participants who had indicated experiencing breadcrumbing or the combined forms (both breadcrumbing and ghosting) reported less satisfaction with life, and more helplessness and self-perceived loneliness. The results from the regression models showed that suffering breadcrumbing would significantly increase the likelihood of experiencing less satisfaction with life, and of having more feelings of loneliness and helplessness. However, no significant relation was found between ghosting and any of the examined psychological correlates.

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Crossref · 10.3390/ijerph17031116

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  • Behaviors such as breadcrumbing, slow fading, benching, haunting, or ghosting have emerged as new names for flirting, deceiving, initiating, maintaining, or terminating relationships, often on a whim.

    “The downside is the emergence of behaviors such as”

    From Ghosting: Abandonment in the Digital Era (2023) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Introduction (section 1, page not provided) lists all five behaviors and describes them as ways people use online communication to flirt, initiate, maintain, or end relationships. It does not characterize them as new names for these actions or say that they involve deceiving others or acting on a whim. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • 20-40% of the general population has experienced ghosting either as a ghostee, a ghoster, or both.

    “It has been reported that 20-40% of the general population has experienced ghosting either as a ghostee, a ghoster, or both [14,15].”

    From Ghosting: Abandonment in the Digital Era (2023) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Introduction (§1.1; page unavailable) reports that 13–23% of adults in cited studies had been ghosted by a romantic partner, and that 19.3% in Spain reported being ghosted in the past year. It does not report a 20–40% estimate for the general population that combines people who were ghosted, ghosted someone else, or both. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Personality traits of individuals who repeatedly ghost others bode ill for the establishment of long-term intimacy.

    “Individuals who repeatedly ghost others should be advised to examine their motivations because of personality traits that bode ill for the establishment of long-term intimacy [4,14,15].”

    From Ghosting: Abandonment in the Digital Era (2023) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Introduction (§1.1; page unavailable) reports that relationships ended by ghosting tend to be shorter and less committed. That lends some support to the concern about long-term intimacy, but the paper does not establish that people who repeatedly ghost others have personality traits that impede forming it; its own measurements (§2.3) ask about being ghosted, not repeatedly ghosting others. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Ghosting is not a reflection on the ghostee but rather on the personal traits of the ghoster.

    “Most people learn to cope with rejections, but it is important to remind patients in therapy that ghosting is not a reflection on them but rather on the personal traits of the ghoster [4,14,15].”

    From Ghosting: Abandonment in the Digital Era (2023) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Introduction (§1.1; page unavailable) reports associations between ghosting and the ghoster's beliefs and online-dating behavior. It does not establish that ghosting reflects the ghoster's personal traits rather than anything about the person being ghosted. The Discussion (§4; page unavailable) addresses characteristics of people experiencing ghosting in relation to their recovery, not the cause of the ghosting. (LLM, conf=0.77)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Some ghostees tried to reach out to the ghoster through social media to comprehend the cause behind the absence of contact, and then realized that they had been ghosted.

    “Some tried to reach out to the ghoster through social media to comprehend the cause behind the absence of contact, and it was then that they realized that they had been ghosted [14].”

    From Ghosting: Abandonment in the Digital Era (2023) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Introduction (§1.1; page unavailable) says a ghosted person may not immediately know what happened and must interpret the lack of communication. The Introduction (§1.2; page unavailable) also describes people awaiting responses on social networks. Neither passage says that some contacted the ghoster through social media to find out why contact stopped and only then realized they had been ghosted. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [6]Ghosting. Cambridge Dictionary Available online: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles/ghosting (accessed on 11 December 2019)
  2. [13]Breadcrumb. Cambridge Dictionary Available online: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles/breadcrumbs (accessed on 11 December 2019)
  3. [25]Turkle S. Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in the Digital Age Penguin Random House New York, NY, USA 2015

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Authors
Navarro, R., Larrañaga, E., Yubero, S., & Víllora, B.
Affiliations
  • University of Castilla-La Mancha (ES)
  • Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Humanities, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Avda de los Alfares, 42, 16071 Cuenca, Spain
Corresponding author
Navarro, Raúl
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2020-02-10
Volume
17
Issue
3
Pages
1116
ISSN
1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/ijerph17031116
PMC
PMC7037474
OpenAlex
W3004449285
Cited by
79
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 3
FWCI
12.02
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • RUIdeRA - Institutional University Repository (University of Castilla-La Mancha) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
Keywords
ghosting, dating relationships, life satisfaction, loneliness, helplessness, psychological well-being, romantic relationship dissolution
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Emotions, Female, Humans, Loneliness, Male, Personal Satisfaction, Surveys and Questionnaires, Stress, Psychological, Young Adult

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