This study addressed the relational maintenance strategies and the meaning 23 to 35 year old students attributed to their long-distance dating relationships. Ten participants completed in depth interviews exploring the thoughts and feelings individuals held about their current long-distance partner and relationship. Also, commitment and quality of alternatives were addressed including the strengths and weaknesses of the respondent's relationship. Common themes of strong friendship, absolute trust, commitment to one partner, and using the technique of reminiscing were all dominant issues that emerged from the interview data. Social network approval as well as positive role models in the form of older siblings was also instrumental in lending support to the success and general positive attitude felt by participants about the geographic separation. Methods of communication included the telephone and e-mail, which was substituted or supplementary when high phone bills created financial concerns for the respondents. Variation in physical visitation was due to the intersection of academic schedule, affordable transportation, attitude towards work disruptions, geographic distance, and a general willingness to travel. Participants told a story of the geographic separation as both a temporary and necessary inconvenience, rather than a major obstacle or focal point of the relationship. Future directions for studying long-distance dating relationships include collecting couple data and examining gender differences to determine if sex has an impact on how geographic separation is viewed. / Master of Science

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Using individual and couple interviews, this qualitative work examined relational maintenance behaviors of 13 African-American dual-career couples. Findings reveal that study participants employed a variety of routine and strategic behaviors which they identified as relevant to maintaining marital satisfaction and stability. Couples distinguished between strategies in their daily interactions and those implemented for the long-term sustainment of their marriages. Couples also engaged a series of repair behaviors designed to restore the marital relationship once a transgression occurred. A new category of maintenance was discovered as useful for these African-American couples -- seek a spiritual connection. Each finding is discussed in regard to how it advances understanding of relational maintenance behaviors. / Ph. D.

Utilizing social support as the theoretical foundation for this research, the study proposes and tests the Mentoring Relational Process Model (MRPM). The influence of support sought, relational maintenance strategies, and support obtained on the critical graduate outcomes of relational satisfaction, research self-efficacy, perceived time-todegree, and relational quality is examined. Data collected from 310 doctoral students through an online survey is used to test the MRPM. Over 50% of the variance in relational satisfaction and relational quality, respectively, is predicted by the MRPM. Research selfefficacy and perceived time-to-degree were not well-predicted by the current data.

abstract: Same-sex couples establish and maintain relationships for many of the reasons heterosexuals do, even without widespread acceptance. The manner in which couples maintain their relationships constitutes a subject of considerable research, though such research has primarily examined heterosexuals. Yet, two studies have evaluated relational maintenance behaviors for same-sex couples and heterosexuals: Haas and Stafford (1998, 2005). Although these studies found similarities between heterosexual and homosexual relationships, significant differences emerged involving social networks and meta-relational talk. Haas and Stafford attributed these differences to the lack of societal and legal support. The present thesis examined empirically the link between perceived social approval, and relational maintenance behaviors, focusing on differences between cross-sex and same-sex involvements. Dainton and Stafford's (1993) typology of social network compositions, measures of social approval and encouragement based on Felmlee (2001), and Canary and Stafford's (1992) five behavior relational maintenance typology tool with Haas and Stafford's (2005) measures of meta-relational talk were utilized for an online survey. A total of 157 online, geographically diverse surveys were collected from heterosexual and homosexual individuals involved stable, intimate relationships. Unique to this study, results demonstrate significant correlations between overall social approval and the use of relational maintenance behaviors for both heterosexual and same-sex couples. Previous literature has linked lack of social approval with the use of unique maintenance strategies employed by same-sex couples; however, findings from the present study do not support this. Interestingly, increases in overall social approval, not decreases, are positively correlated with the use of meta-relational talk for same-sex couples. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Communication 2011

abstract: Blended families including half siblings (brothers/sisters who share only one biological parent, most likely a product of divorce and remarriage) are becoming increasingly prevalent in Western societies. Studies have determined the negative outcomes of sharing only one biological parent on familial relationships, but less so on how half siblings may be resilient in the wake of restructuration and cultivate positive relationships overtime and into adulthood. This study applied a systems and resilience perspective to understand how blended family structure influences this unique sibling dyad. This research includes two studies. First, seventeen older half siblings who define their current sibling relationship as positive participated in a retrospective turning points interview. The second study required sixteen additional participants to keep a two-week daily diary on their communication with immediate family members, including half siblings. These two studies combined shed light on the typical communication practices between positive half siblings, including which behaviors contribute to prosocial relational sibling maintenance. Results detailed 23 prosocial relational maintenance behaviors. The maintenance behaviors positivity, joint activities, openness, and parental intervention were most significant in contributing to a positive half sibling relationship. Three novel maintenance behaviors (parental intervention, awareness of maturity, and mentoring behavior) were also identified to contribute to existing maintenance literature. Theoretical and practical implications for scholars and practitioners alike are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Communication 2018

Although a large body of research on financial management in marriages and conflict/divorce as outcomes of financial problems exists, the topic of how individuals describe the communicative processes leading to positive outcomes regarding financial conversations remains understudied. Because financial conversations emerge as a strong “tug-of-war” opponent to the successful partnership couples hope to achieve, this study sought to understand how romantic pairs talk about money in ways that lead to positive results. By using an interpretive approach, this study used online, open-ended survey questions to gather stories to better understand how married couples effectively discuss finances. The participant stories explained how individuals in committed romantic partnerships described successful conversations they had with their partner about money. The data were thematically coded using Spradley’s (1979) taxonomic coding categories. The stories from the 100 participants revealed specific strategies that couples used during positive financial conversations that led to positive relational outcomes. This study first reveals a taxonomy of tactics that individuals use in positive conversations about finances. Second, this study supports and offers new contributions to relational maintenance literature (Canary & Stafford, 1992; Stafford, 2011; Stafford & Canary, 1991; Stafford et al., 2000) regarding how maintenance strategies are used when talking about money. Finally, this study offers a taxonomy of reported relational outcomes for couples who have positive financial conversations. The knowledge gained from this study will be helpful to all couples who wish to positively navigate financial matters.

Given that male-female friendships lack institutional guidelines or scripts to guide everyday interactions, sustaining these relationships can be complicated. Although researchers have recently begun to study relational maintenance patterns in cross-sex friendships, no study has yet to investigate sex's and dating status's direct influences on friendship maintenance. This investigation seeks to add to the field's academic understanding of these personal relationships. Specifically, the researcher sought to uncover the associations between 10 friendship maintenance behaviors, past sexual contact, valence of past sexual contact, and cross-sex friends' dating statuses. Quantitative data were collected from 277 participants at a large Southeastern university using a survey methodology. Overall, results indicate that patterns of relational maintenance do differ as a function of friendship level, past sexual involvement, valence of past sexual involvement, and cross-sex friends' dating statuses. Past sexual involvement associates with higher levels of relationship talk, avoidance of negativity, and flirting. In addition, valence of past sexual activity varies across friendship level and associates with higher levels of positivity and flirting. Lastly, dating status significantly affects 3 of the 10 maintenance behaviors: routine contact and activity, flirting, and humor. Linear, quadratic, and cubic relationships were found for these variables, respectively. Implications of results, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Despite the distance that often separates grandparents from their young adult grandchildren, the abundance of new technologies provides numerous means of connection for the grandparent-grandchild (GP-GC) dyad. The purpose of this study was to understand how grandparents use technology, namely text messaging and Facebook, in relationships with their young adult grandchildren. Specifically, the aim was to understand grandparents' purposes for using these technologies with their grandchildren, their motivations for using these technologies, and their perceptions of these technologies. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 grandparent participants and analyzed according to the procedures delineated in grounded theory analysis. Both text messaging and Facebook emerged as important tools for connection, as text messaging encourages more frequent communication and Facebook helps grandparents "fill in the gaps" about their grandchildren's lives. Furthermore, results indicated that grandparents' uses of text messaging, and to a lesser extent Facebook, are acts of accommodation to their grandchildren.

abstract: This dissertation explores the technolinguistic brokering experience of adolescents and (im)migrant non-English speaking mothers in acculturating families. By focusing on the performance of cultural intermediation, I examine the dimensions of technolinguistic brokering and their influence upon the Adolescent Language Technology Broker (ALTB) and mother relationship. Additionally, I explore the factors of power present as a result of the complexities of the ALTBs role to connect their mother to the English speaking community. This research uses a qualitative approach to explore concepts of expertise, knowledge, (inter)dependence, relational maintenance and quality, and power in the dialogic cultural relationship. Research indicates that expertise in the form of culture, cultural interactions, multilingual, and relational maintenance and quality contribute to the ALTBs capabilities in building cultural relationships. Moreover, to assist in dealing with power tensions created by differing levels of expertise and knowledge, ALTBs and mothers communicatively construct an (inter)dependent cultural relationship. I highlight practical implications, discuss limitations, and provide recommendations for future directions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Communication 2020