Ghosting involves abruptly cutting off communication to end a relationship without explaining why. A new study reveals that a high need for closure does not prevent people from ghosting others, but severely amplifies distress when they are ghosted. The research, published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, shows how psychological traits shape digital rejections.
Modern communications technology has fundamentally altered how people initiate, maintain, and dissolve close relationships. This shift has led to the proliferation of ghosting, a term defined by previous literature as “when one person suddenly ignores or stops communicating with another person, without telling them why”. Lead researcher Christina M. Leckfor from the University of Georgia explored this growing social phenomenon.
This practice functions as a distinct form of ostracism, which involves excluding or ignoring someone. While uncertainty is generally aversive, individuals differ in their tolerance for ambiguity, a trait called the need for closure.
Leckfor and her team evaluated how this specific motivation influences relationship choices.
The initial phase of the research focused entirely on the intentions of relationship initiators. The first study recruited 553 emerging adults from across the United States to evaluate their background traits and dating preferences. Each participant completed a standardized 15-item scale designed to measure their individual desire for structured, certain lives.
They also rated their likelihood of using silent rejection across 19 different platonic and romantic situations. Within this initial sample, a substantial 62.90% of participants admitted they had previously ghosted a partner. Additionally, 66.00% reported that they had been on the receiving end of ghosting behavior in the past.
The initial findings completely contradicted the team’s original predictions.
The researchers initially hypothesized that people who hate ambiguity would avoid ghosting because it leaves relationships unresolved. Instead, data revealed a significant positive association. Individuals with a higher need for closure showed greater intentions to use ghosting to end both friendships and romantic involvements.
To verify these unexpected results, the authors conducted a second study tracking 411 emerging adults from similar backgrounds. This phase compared ghosting intentions directly against explicit, face-to-face rejection strategies. Within this second group, 66.20% of respondents had ghosted someone, and 70.60% had experienced it.
The single-study association disappeared during this second testing phase.
The second survey found no statistically significant link between closure needs and ghosting intentions. However, when the datasets were pooled, a small positive correlation emerged. The authors suggested that initiators might view ghosting as a swift, definitive action that provides immediate finality for themselves.
The final study shifted focus entirely to the targets of relationship dissolution, evaluating a new group of 545 adults. Participants completed an open-ended autobiographical exercise, spending four minutes writing about a specific past relationship experience. Individuals were randomly assigned to recall a time they were included, directly rejected, or ghosted.
The researchers immediately measured their subsequent psychological needs satisfaction.
The data showed that being ghosted caused significantly lower needs satisfaction than direct rejection. The silent treatment severely threatened four fundamental psychological requirements: belonging, self-esteem, meaningful existence, and personal control. This provides clear quantitative evidence that disappearing acts inflict greater psychological harm than explicit rejections.
Crucially, personal traits heavily influenced the severity of this emotional impact. Among ghosted individuals, a higher need for closure was strongly linked to lower psychological satisfaction. These individuals appear exceptionally susceptible to distress because they ruminate on why the initiator went silent.
Unexpectedly, this negative pattern also applied to direct rejections.
A high need for closure also amplified positive feelings for participants who were included. Thus, the trait appears to function as a general emotional amplifier for interpersonal experiences. It magnifies the pain of negative breakups and heightens the joy of positive social connections.
The investigation carried specific limitations, as all participants resided within the United States. The sample was entirely restricted to emerging adults aged 18 to 29. Consequently, the findings cannot be generalised to older demographics or to individuals from non-Western cultures.
Recalling past emotional events also relies heavily on imperfect human memory.
The team proposed that people who highly value clarity react intensely whenever a relationship ends. For individuals navigating a modern breakup, these findings show that internal traits dictate emotional recovery. Understanding these dynamics can help counselors design targeted support strategies for people struggling with ambiguous losses.
The study, “From Close to Ghost: Examining the Relationship Between the Need for Closure, Intentions to Ghost, and Reactions to Being Ghosted,” was authored by Christina M. Leckfor, Natasha R. Wood, Richard B. Slatcher, and Andrew H. Hales.
