Investigations of relationship-induced self-concept change and relationship quality have generally been limited to intraindividual effects (i.e., actor effects). In the current study, we examined whether self-changes influence romantic partners’ perceptions of relationship satisfaction and commitment (i.e., partner effects). Using the actor–partner interdependence model, we tested how four self-concept change processes—self-expansion, self-pruning, self-contraction, and self-adulteration—are associated with relationship satisfaction and commitment. Results revealed robust actor effects across all self-change processes and partner effects on satisfaction for degradation processes only (i.e., self-contraction and self-adulteration), suggesting that self-changes differentially predict individuals’ and partners’ perceptions of the relationship.

Previous research suggests that romantic relationship dissolution diminishes self-concept clarity, leading to emotional distress. Over time, people overcome breakup. But little is known about how people respond to the reduced self-concept clarity that results from this process. The current research examined predictors and mediators of relationship rekindling (desiring to reestablish a relationship with an ex-partner) as a method of navigating self-concept clarity impairment post-dissolution. In two cross-sectional studies, we found that attachment anxiety predicted relationship rekindling both retrospectively (Study 1) and concurrently (Study 2), and this association was mediated by self-concept clarity. These results indicate that anxiously attached individuals may attempt to resolve the substantial self-concept impairment posed by dissolution by reestablishing the relationship with the ex-partner.