EXPLORE THE ROMANTIC LOSS, PERSONALITY TRAITS, EMOTIONAL REGULATION, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AMONG ADULTS

Abstract

Although romantic loss is a significant psychosocial stressor during emerging adulthood, its psychological effects remain understudied in the South Asian context. This study examined the relationships among romantic loss, Big Five personality traits, emotion regulation, and psychological distress among young adults in Pakistan; tested whether romantic loss and personality traits predicted emotion regulation and psychological distress; compared these variables across gender; and examined whether emotion regulation mediated the effects of romantic loss and personality traits on psychological distress. A cross-sectional correlational design was used with 200 university students aged 18–30, recruited from private institutions in Lahore using purposive and convenience sampling. Four psychometrically sound measures were administered: the Breakup Distress Scale, Big Five Inventory, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21. Correlational analyses revealed significant relationships among most study variables, with agreeableness the only personality dimension directly associated with breakup distress severity (r = .48, p < .01). Regression analyses showed that romantic loss and personality traits each independently predicted emotion regulation, with personality traits contributing more strongly (β = .44 vs. β = .34, ps < .001), and together significantly predicted psychological distress, though the effect size was modest (R² = .07). Gender differences were largely non-significant, except that women reported significantly higher emotion regulation than men (p = .021), potentially reflecting culturally patterned differences in emotional expression rather than a fixed psychological difference. Contrary to expectations, bootstrapped mediation analyses indicated that emotion regulation did not significantly mediate the relationship between romantic loss and psychological distress, or between personality traits and psychological distress, as both indirect effects' confidence intervals included zero, suggesting that romantic loss affects distress through pathways beyond emotion regulation alone. These findings underscore the need for culturally responsive, emotion-focused interventions, while highlighting unmeasured factors such as social support and resilience as likely contributors to post-loss psychological adjustment