Turkish adaptation of the Romantic Ghosting Scale

In this study, the Romantic Ghosting Scale was adapted into Turkish, and its validity and reliability analyses were completed. In addition, differences in scale scores across demographic variables were examined. In the final stage, the mediating role of anxiety in the relationships between the subdimensions of romantic ghosting (aggression, victimization, and emotional impact) and self-efficacy in romantic relationships was tested. The study was conducted using a correlational survey design, one of the quantitative research methods. The sample consisted of 507 participants (368 women and 139 men) aged between 18 and 48, who were selected through random sampling. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, the Romantic Ghosting Scale, the anxiety subscale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Romantic Relationship Perfectionism Scale, the Romantic Relationship Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Fear of Intimacy Scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 24.0. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to examine group differences across demographic variables (gender, age, educational level, socioeconomic status, romantic relationship status, mobile dating application use, and the way participants met their current partner), while Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships among the variables. The results indicated that ghosting behavior did not differ according to socioeconomic status; however, when examined in terms of gender, men reported higher levels of victimization than women, whereas women were found to be more emotionally affected by ghosting experiences compared to men. Significant positive relationships were identified between ghosting and anxiety, romantic relationship perfectionism, and fear of intimacy, and these three variables were found to viii significantly predict ghosting. In addition, a significant negative relationship was found between ghosting and self-efficacy. Furthermore, mediation analyses revealed that anxiety played a significant mediating role in the effect of ghosting behavior on self-efficacy in romantic relationships. Partial mediation was observed for the aggression and victimization dimensions, whereas full mediation was identified for the emotional impact dimension. Overall, the findings of the study provide important contributions to preventive and protective mental health services aimed at the recognition, prevention, and intervention of ghosting. The research results offer significant contributions to preventive and preventive mental health services regarding ghosting, backup, and intervention.