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Defining Romantic Self-Sabotage: A Thematic Analysis of Interviews With Practising Psychologists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2019

Raquel Peel Open the ORCID record for Raquel Peel [Opens in a new window] ,
Nerina Caltabiano ,
Beryl Buckby  and
Kerry McBain
Raquel Peel*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology & Counselling, University of Southern Queensland, Sydney, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Nerina Caltabiano
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Beryl Buckby
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Kerry McBain
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Raquel Peel, School of Psychology & Counselling, University of Southern Queensland, 11 Salisbury Road, Ipswich, QLD 4305, Australia. Email: raquel.peel@usq.edu.au
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Abstract

The term ‘self-sabotage’ is not well defined in the current literature. Self-sabotage is generally explained as a synonym of self-handicapping, which does not fully encompass intrinsic behaviours found in romantic relationships. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the theme of self-sabotage as viewed by practising psychologists. A series of 15 semistructured interviews with psychologists specialising in romantic relationships around Australia identified the main issues contributing to self-sabotage in romantic relationships and the reason why it might happen. Future studies will need to be conducted to develop a scale to empirically test self-sabotage in romantic relationships.

Keywords

self-sabotageself-handicappingromantic relationshipsthematic analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Relationships Research , Volume 10 , 2019 , e16
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019 

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