Kanyane, Reginald Mathule2023-03-012023-03-012020https://hdl.handle.net/10539/34719A research report submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology to the Faculty of Humanities, School of Human and Community Development, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2020Aim and Rationale: Romantic relationships play an essential role in the lives of many young adults and strongly influence a sense of identity and self-worth. Given young adults' need to form stable romantic bonds, any form of loss that may occur may result in detrimental psychological effects. While relational dynamics have often been understood as particularly significant to young women, it is evident that men also place personal weight on romantic partner relationships. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an in-depth understanding on how young men (aged 22to 35) deal with the loss of a romantic relationship, given that sexual stereotypes may make it particularly difficult for men to give expression to the implications of such. This study focused on the experiences of heterosexual young men, aiming to explore and understand how they experience themselves as men dealing with relational loss, and how their experiences may be informed by and relate to dominant notions of masculinity. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight heterosexual young men (ages between 22 and 35 years old) who reported that they had experienced the loss of a significant romantic relationship in an involuntary manner or in a way that they found to be difficult to process or manage. Individual interviews were conducted based on a semi-structured interview protocol designed to elicit information on the topic of interest. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Findings: The analysis produced six superordinate themes: construction of romantic relationships; construction of the breakup; the impact of the breakup; ways of coping; reflections on lessons learned (insight derived); and reflection on being male and masculinity. These superordinate themes are described with their subordinate themes, supported by discussion and illustrative verbatim extracts. It was evident that the participants had experienced considerable psychological distress in the aftermath of their break-ups and that their awareness of prescriptions for behaviour related to masculine stereotypes compounded their difficulties in processing their responses.enThesis