I Need Some Space Case Study

The case study number six, “I Need Some Space: Friends through Good Times and Bad Times,” reflects relational dialectics, integration-separation, expression-             nonexpression, stability-change, managing tension, spiraling inversion, segmentation and transformation.  Ashley’s and Jacinta’s  relationships formed and changed as a result of  their communication process.  Ashley and Jacinta left home to attend college and became roommates.  For the first four months they used interaction and communication to help manage what was going on with their moving adjustment and becoming independent.

During the first semester, Jacinta and Ashley are integrated by being together. They were inseparable for four months. At the fifth month, the end of the semester, Ashley needed separation, autonomy, and space because she was suffocating with her built in friend and roommate. Ashley started sneaking way to be with her new friends because she needed her space

They also struggled to manage their contradiction within their relationships. They debated between honest expression and non expression or maintaining privacy contradiction for fear of hurting each other’s feelings.  They finally sat down to talk and Jacinta honestly expressed, I feel our friendship is going downhill. Ashley responded honestly, I don’t feel I have any freedom with my new friends because you’re always tagging along. They eventually separated from their predicable stability and changed roommates. Instead of living in confusion and tensions they managed their tensions of the two opposing forces between all three common contradictions by moving two blocks away from each other. 

Then, Jacinta managed tension contradiction by using a spiraling inversion when she debated about texting Ashley, or talking to her face to face, about seeing Ashley’s boyfriend, Steve kissing another girl on face book. Jacinta decided to be honest and expresses the truth to Ashley.  Jacinta’s privacy was “centered on the topic of segmentation” in order to keep who her new boyfriend a mystery because she wanted to “maintain her privacy” Ashley’s and Steve’s relationship was stable and predictable, but their relationship changed when Steve was spontaneous and his picture kissing another girl on face book and becoming Jacinta’s boyfriend.

Integration and autonomy occurred three week after Ashley separated from Jacinta and went to study in France and met a boy in her program. Then, autonomy and integration became a bonding of openness and honesty. Transformation from contradiction between honesty and privacy developed into trust upon Ashley’s return from France and Jacinta relocation to Arizona.