Relational Maintenance Behaviors Research Articles

The Affordances of Social Networking Sites for Relational Maintenance in a Distrustful Society: The Case of Azerbaijan

The Internet and social media afford opportunities for relational maintenance, but most scholarship has focused on relational maintenance in high-trust environments. This study explores relational maintenance online and offline in a distrustful society. In distrustful societies, trust is situated within one’s particularized kin network, and friendships have strategic significance and are characterized by norms of reciprocity. In distrustful societies, relational maintenance behaviors are different from trustful societies and take on greater significance. This preliminary study, based on informant interviews in Azerbaijan, examines both offline relational maintenance and the affordances of social networking sites (SNSs) for relational maintenance in such an environment. SNSs do provide for some relational maintenance behaviors through supplementing offline behaviors at a low cost and give some additional benefits like status display, yet SNSs do not replace traditional relational maintenance behaviors in Azerbaijan.

Benefits of a Negative Post: Effects of Computer-Mediated Venting on Relationship Maintenance

Despite abundant literature on the benefits of using social networking sites to map user behavior patterns, limited research exists regarding the effects of negative expression via these sites. Responding to this need, the purpose of this study is to address gaps, in both the relationship maintenance and the catharsis theory literature, by examining the connections among Facebook use, disclosure of negative feelings on Facebook (venting), and relationship maintenance behaviors. A survey study with college students from a university located in southeast United States (N=341) was conducted, and the results from logistic regression analyses indicate that Facebook usage and level of perceived stress are significant predictors for individual’s venting behaviors. Further, the results indicated that venting negative feelings on Facebook mediates the effect of an individual’s perceived stress on his/her online relationship maintenance behaviors.

Relational Uncertainty, Self-Other Inclusion, and Communication Satisfaction as Predictors of Friendship Relational Maintenance, and How Equity Changes the Story

Research has identified equity, self-other inclusion, and uncertainty as predictors of relational maintenance behavior. However, theory has not synthesized these predictors into an overarching explanation of maintenance processes. Therefore, in the context of friendship, this investigation examined all three as contingent and joint predictors of maintenance, with communication satisfaction as a mediator. Data were collected by surveying a sample of college students. Although results indicated uncertainty and self-other inclusion were significant predictors mediated by communication satisfaction, equity moderated the overall effect of these predictors on maintenance. Consequently, the interaction enjoyment approach seems to serve as a partial explanation of maintenance, and that, although equity is not a primary motivator of friends’ maintenance behavior, it may influence sensitivity to uncertainty and closeness in the friendship.

The use of social networking sites for relationship maintenance in long-distance and geographically close romantic relationships.

Social networking sites (SNS) play an increasingly important role in maintaining geographically close romantic relationships (GCRR). However, knowledge about SNS use in long-distance romantic relationships (LDRR) is still lacking. The present study examined the relative importance of SNS in maintaining LDRR compared to GCRR, particularly with regard to the use of SNS to express involvement (via relational maintenance behaviors) and to gauge a partner's involvement (via partner surveillance and jealousy) in the relationship. An online survey was conducted among predominantly young adult Facebook users who were in a romantic relationship (N=272). Results showed that participants who were in a LDRR reported higher levels of relational maintenance behaviors through SNS than participants who were in a GCRR. Also, as compared to participants who were in a GCRR, participants who were in a LDRR used SNS more for partner surveillance and experienced higher levels of SNS jealousy.

Interpersonal surveillance over social network sites

Surveillance has long been used as a way to guard against dangers lurking in one’s immediate environment. Humans have carried over this evolutionarily adaptive solution to the maintenance of their interpersonal relationships. The landscape of relational surveillance has dramatically changed with the inception of Internet platforms, such as social networking sites. The goal of this investigation is to understand the motives of online surveillance in romantic relationships. Patterns of negative relational maintenance behaviors and the investment model were used to predict relational determinants of surveillance over social networking sites. A cross-sectional survey design was employed to collect data from college student and nonstudent adult populations. The results find that indicators of low-quality relationships, such as low satisfaction, are associated with online surveillance. Interpersonal surveillance over social networking sites is in turn related to larger amounts of time spent on romantic partners’ profile pages.

The Use of Relational Maintenance Behaviors and Relational Characteristics Among Sibling Types

The purpose of this investigation is to apply Gold's (1989) typology of sibling relationships to the study of adult-sibling use of relational maintenance behaviors and perceptions of relational characteristics. Participants were 196 adults who targeted a sibling whose birthday was closest to their own and completed a series of instruments in reference to the targeted sibling. It was found that whether individuals classified their sibling relationships as intimate, congenial, loyal, or apathetic/hostile was reflected in their self-reported use of relational maintenance behaviors, their perceptions of their targeted siblings' use of relational maintenance behaviors with them, and their perceptions of the relational characteristics associated with the sibling relationship.

The roles of culture and fairness in maintaining relationships: A comparison of romantic partners from Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States

The present study concerns how culture connects to perceptions of equity and relational maintenance behavior in the United States (US), Malaysia, and Singapore. In doing so, this study extends findings that employed cultural modernization theory (CMT) and equity theory to explain cultural and individual variations in relational maintenance behavior. Sex differences were also examined. Three countries were selected for their proximity in Traditional (vs. Rational) Values and divergence in Survival (vs. Self Expression) Values, according to the World Values Survey (WVS) cultural map. Consistent with CMT assumptions, participants in the United States and Malaysia (i.e., countries that espouse self expression values) reported greater use of relational maintenance strategies than did those in Singapore (i.e., a country endorsing survival values). As hypothesized, curvilinear associations between equity and relational maintenance strategies were found for the US participants only. This finding concurs with CMT-grounded assumptions and facts that romantic partners in Western (vs. Eastern), high-income societies (e.g., the US) seek equitable relationships. Sex differences also emerged but only for the US participants.

Predictors of relationship dissolution in lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adoptive parents.

Little work has examined relationship dissolution or divorce in adoptive parents or same-sex parent couples. The current study examined predictors of relationship dissolution across the first 5 years of parenthood among a sample of heterosexual, lesbian, and gay male adoptive couples. Of the 190 couples in the study, 15 (7.9%) dissolved their relationships during the first 5 years of adoptive parenthood. Specifically, 7 of 57 lesbian couples (12.3%), 1 of 49 gay male couples (2.0%), and 7 of 84 heterosexual couples (8.3%) dissolved their unions. Results of our logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of relationship dissolution were significantly higher for (a) couples who adopted a noninfant (i.e., older child); (b) participants who reported feeling less prepared for the adoption, 3 months postadoptive placement; and (c) couples in which both partners reported very low or very high preadoption levels of relationship maintenance behaviors. Findings have implications for adoption professionals seeking to support same-sex and heterosexual prospective adopters, as well as societal debates and policy regarding same-sex relationships and parenting. (PsycINFO Database Record

Committed to maintain: A brief measure of maintenance-oriented relationship commitment (MORC)

Personal commitment, or individual’s intrinsic attitudes toward the long-term development of the relationship, is known to predict relationship stability, and its capacity to motivate relationship maintenance behaviors likely accounts for these beneficial effects. However, commitment in relationships has been assessed typically as a global dimension, confounding efforts to differentiate it from relationship satisfaction and to evaluate how it might be linked to behaviors relevant for relationship maintenance. To address these shortcomings, the current article presents a brief measure devised specifically to assess a person’s motivation to routinely engage in relationship maintenance. Using data from two studies involving Italian (N = 320) and Swiss samples (N = 120), we evaluated the psychometric properties of the scale. The results confirmed a single-factor solution with metric invariance across the two samples for five of six items. Significant associations with reports on positive and negative interper...

Alexithymia and Marital Quality: The Mediating Role of Relationship Maintenance Behaviors

The goal of the present study was to understand the relationships between alexithymia, relational maintenance, and relational quality. Data from 143 heterosexual married couples were analyzed utilizing the actor-partner interdependence model. Actors' levels of alexithymia exerted a negative effect on relational quality, while husbands' alexithymia was related to wives' relational quality. Each relational maintenance behavior at least partially mediated the actor effects of trait alexithymia on relational quality. In addition, task sharing, assurances, and positivity mitigated the effects of alexithymia on the partner's assessments of relational quality. Results reveal that relational maintenance can significantly minimize the negative effects that alexithymia plays in romantic relationships.

When “we” changes “me”

Individuals in close relationships may perceive changes to their self-concepts as a result of being with their partners. According to the two-dimensional model of relational self-change, these changes occur across two dimensions, namely direction, which reflects whether the self-concept has gained or lost content, and valence, which reflects whether the self-concept content is positive or negative. These two dimensions combine to create four distinct self-change processes, whereby individuals gain positive traits (self-expansion), gain negative traits (self-adulteration), lose positive traits (self-contraction), and lose negative traits (self-pruning). Study 1 used a longitudinal design and revealed that changes in each of the four self-processes were associated with subsequent relationship satisfaction and commitment. To further investigate the association of self-change with relationship quality, Study 2 found that processes associated with self-concept improvement (i.e., self-expansion and self-pruning) were positively associated with relationship maintenance behaviors and motivations (e.g., accommodation, forgiveness, and willingness to sacrifice), whereas processes associated with self-concept degradation (i.e., self-contraction and self-adulteration) were negatively associated with these outcomes and positively associated with behaviors that may harm the relationship (e.g., dissolution considerations, attention to alternatives, and seeking revenge).

Development and Validation of a Facebook Relational Maintenance Measure

This manuscript details the construction of a measure of Facebook relational maintenance behaviors. The first study generated an item pool by drawing from previous qualitative investigations and adapting an established relational maintenance scale. Participants were then invited to evaluate these items in order to establish face validity. During study two, participants were asked how often they used the behaviors represented in these items to maintain a specific friendship. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine the underlying structure of these items; three latent factors emerged, social contact, response-seeking, and relational assurances. This factor structure was then assessed using confirmatory factor analysis during phase three. Study three participants were also asked to complete measures of friendship quality, Facebook intensity, and online social communication. The relationship of the three factors of Facebook relational maintenance to friendship quality, Facebook intensity, and online social communication suggests convergent and discriminant validity for the Facebook relational maintenance measure.

Associations Between Attention to Warning Signs, Marital Confidence, and Interactional Problem Solving Among Emerging Adult Couples in Mainland China

Inertia theory has been exclusively applied to couples in Western cultures. The current study examined the applicability of inertia theory to emerging adult couples in urban China ( n = 200 couples) using the transition and risk model which proposes that partners can reduce their risk of future distress by evaluating information relevant to the quality and stability of the relationship prior to making decisions about the relationship’s future. This evaluation of the relationship may increase the likelihood that individuals will act in ways to support their choice (e.g., relationship maintenance behaviors). Results indicated that men’s and women’s attention to the warning signs of a dangerous relationship (a type of relationship information) was related to their constructive problem solving (a relationship maintenance behavior) directly and indirectly through marital confidence. Theoretical implications and suggestions for cross-cultural intervention and research are provided.

Social capital and resource requests on Facebook

Facebook-enabled resource mobilization attempts—broadcasted status updates in which people ask questions or request information, favors, or other forms of assistance from one’s network—can provide insight into social capital dynamics as they unfold on Facebook. Specifically, these requests and the responses they receive can serve as a window into how, why, and with what results individuals turn to their Friends network for help. In this study, we synthesize the existing research on resource mobilization requests via Facebook and present new analyses of survey data collected from a random sample of Facebook users who have made any post in the past 28 days ( n = 573) and a sample of those who have posted a mobilization request in the past 28 days ( n = 1074). To identify mobilization requests, an automated classifier trained on a hand-labeled sample of public status updates was used. Using participants’ self-reported survey data and server-level behavioral data, we examine how mobilization request behaviors relate to perceptions of bridging and bonding social capital, participants’ perceptions of Facebook’s utility regarding these requests, and related variables such as engagement in Facebook Relational Maintenance Behaviors. We find that those who post mobilization requests on Facebook report higher social capital, are more likely to try to respond to Friends’ expressed needs, and tend to see the site as a better source of information, coordination, and networked communication.

Media Portrayals of Romantic Relationship Maintenance: A Content Analysis of Relational Maintenance Behaviors on Prime-Time Television

Maintenance behaviors play an important role in sustaining relational states, especially within committed romantic relationships. Limited research, however, has considered media portrayals of these behaviors. From the framework of social cognitive theory, this content analysis examined relational maintenance behaviors portrayed by committed romantic couples (heterosexual, gay, and lesbian) on prime-time network television. The frequency of maintenance behaviors (positivity, understanding, self-disclosure, assurances, relationships talks, tasks, and networks) varied by type, valence, program genre, and couple type (married/civil union or cohabitating). Results indicated that comedies featured more frequent relationship maintenance behaviors than dramas. In addition, comedies exhibited more frequent negative maintenance behaviors than dramas. Differences also existed between couple regarding the types of maintenance behavior exhibited. No sex differences in maintenance behaviors were observed between male and female characters.

Remapping the Topography of Couples’ Daily Interactions: Electronic Messages

This study extends a portion of Alberts, Yoshimura, Rabby, and Loschiavo's (2005) research on romantic couples’ mundane relational maintenance communication behavior by examining the daily electronic messages (N = 902) sent and received by romantic couples (N = 15). Specifically, this study examined the frequency with which couples used the types of maintenance communication behaviors previously identified by Alberts et al. in their daily electronic communication with one another. Our results provide evidence to support Alberts et al.'s typology of relational maintenance behaviors in an electronic context and show that although couples are using new technologies to communicate, much of the content of their communication is similar to that found in the previous relational maintenance literature.

Trust as a Mediator Between Affection and Relational Maintenance in the Grandparent-Grandchild Relationship

The purpose of this study was to test a mediated model of affection, trust, and relational maintenance behaviors in the grandparent-grandchild relationship. The participants (N = 227) were young adult (i.e., 18–25 years old) grandchildren who completed a series of instruments in reference to their relationship with a specific grandparent. The results of Pearson correlation and regression analyses provided support for the hypothesized positive relationships among grandchildren's received affection from their grandparents, grandchildren's trust in their grandparents, and grandchildren's use of relational maintenance behaviors with their grandparents. Moreover, nonparametric bootstrap analyses indicated that trust is, in most cases, a partial mediator between grandchildren's received affection from their grandparents and grandchildren's use of relational maintenance behaviors with their grandparents. These findings bolster the argument that trust is a central feature of interpersonal relationships.

A Theoretical Comparison of Relational Maintenance and Closeness as Mediators of Family Communication Patterns in Parent-Child Relationships

This investigation sought to elaborate Koerner and Fitzpatrick’s theory of family communication by testing two theoretical models of family communication patterns (FCP), child-to-parent inclusion of the other in the self (IOS), and relational maintenance. Participants included 374 young adults recruited from two universities in different regions of the United States. Results best supported a model positioning maintenance as a mediator of the association between FCP and IOS, as compared to an alternative model with IOS as a mediator of the association between FCP and maintenance. These findings extend Koerner and Fitzpatrick’s theory by highlighting communication as the means by which overarching family schemas influence relationship-specific schemas; additionally, they commend the self-expansion model as a useful theoretical approach to relational maintenance behavior in family contexts.

The role of hope in conflict management and relational maintenance

AbstractRooted in hope theory, this study examined how dispositional and relationship‐specific hope influence communication in romantic relationships. In Study 1a, dispositional hope was positively associated with active and constructive conflict responses and negatively associated with passive and destructive conflict responses. In Study 1b, dispositional hope was mainly a positive predictor of active and constructive responses. Hope was also found to predict certain relational maintenance behaviors. Study 2 then examined the influence of hope in specific relational conflict episodes. Dispositional and relationship‐specific hope predicted unique variance in conflict goals and styles. High‐ relative to low‐hope individuals reported more prorelationship goals and fewer hostility‐domination goals. They also reported greater integrative problem solving and less personal attacking, withdrawal, and third‐party assistance.

Cultivating Social Resources on Social Network Sites: Facebook Relationship Maintenance Behaviors and Their Role in Social Capital Processes

This study explores the relationship between perceived bridging social capital and specific Facebook-enabled communication behaviors using survey data from a sample of U.S. adults N=614. We explore the role of a specific set of Facebook behaviors that support relationship maintenance and assess the extent to which demographic variables, time on site, total and actual Facebook Friends, and this new measure Facebook Relationship Maintenance Behaviors predict bridging social capital. Drawing upon scholarship on social capital and relationship maintenance, we discuss the role of social grooming and attention-signaling activities in shaping perceived access to resources in one's network as measured by bridging social capital.