Maintaining Relationships Through Communication : Relational, Contextual, and Cultural Variations

by Canary, Daniel J.; Dainton, Marianne

• ISBN13: 9780805839890
• ISBN10: 0805839895
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-11-01
• Publisher: Lawrence Erlbau

Summary

Relational maintenance provides a rallying point for those seeking to discover the behaviors that individuals utilize to sustain their personal relationships. Theoretical models, research programs, and specific studies have examined how people in a variety of close relationships choose to define and maintain those relationships. In addition, relational maintenance turns our attention to communicative processes that help people sustain their close relationships. In this collection, editors Daniel J. Canary and Marianne Dainton focus on the communicative processes critical to the maintenance and enhancement of personal relationships. The volume considers variations in maintaining different types of personal relationships; structural constraints on relationship maintenance; and cultural variations in relational maintenance. Contributions to the volume cover a broad range of relational types, including romantic relationships, family relationships, long-distance relationships, workplace relationships, and Gay and Lesbian relationships, among others. Maintaining Relationships Through Communication: Relational, Contextual, and Cultural Variations synthesizes current research in relationship maintenance, emphasizes the ways that behaviors vary in their maintenance functions across relational contexts, discusses alternative explanations for maintaining relationships, and presents avenues for future research. As such, it is intended for students and scholars studying interpersonal communication and personal relationships.

Table of Contents

Series Editor's Foreword	ix
Preface	xiii
About the Contributors	xvii
Overview
Definitions and Perspectives on Relational Maintenance Communication	1	(30)
Kathryn Dindia
Part I: Maintaining Different Types of Relationships
Maintaining Family Relationships	31	(20)
Sally Vogl-Bauer
Maintaining Romantic Relationships: Summary and Analysis of One Research Program	51	(28)
Laura Stafford
Maintaining Friendships Throughout the Lifespan	79	(24)
Marianne Dainton
Elaine Zelley
Emily Langan
Maintaining Undesired Relationships	103	(24)
Jon A. Hess
Part II: Contextual Variations in Maintaining Relationships
Maintaining Long-Distance Relationships	127	(14)
Brooks Aylor
Computer-Mediated Communication Effects on Relationship Formation and Maintenance	141	(22)
Michael K. Rabby
Joseph Walther
Relationship Maintenance in Organizational Settings	163	(22)
Vincent R. Waldron
When Partners Falter: Repair After a Transgression	185	(24)
Tara M. Emmers-Sommer
Part III: Cultural Variations in Maintaining Relationships
Relationship Maintenance in Same-Sex Couples	209	(22)
Stephen Haas
Relationship Maintenance in Intercultural Couples: An Interdependence Analysis	231	(24)
Stanley O. Gaines, Jr.
Christopher R. Agnew
Maintaining Marriages in Russia: Managing Social Influences and Communication Dynamics	255	(22)
Deborah Ballard-Reisch
Daniel Weigel
Marat Zaguidoulline
Maintaining Relationships in Korea and the United States: Features of Korean Culture that Affect Relational Maintenance Beliefs and Behaviors	277	(22)
Young-Ok Yum
Daniel J. Canary
Part IV: Epilogue
Framing the Maintenance of Relationships Through Communication: An Epilogue	299	(24)
Marianne Dainton
Author Index	323	(12)
Subject Index	335