Strategies to maintain relationships: Their identification and perceived usage

Abstract

One purpose of this study was to identify strategies people feel they use to keep their interpersonal relationships stable. A second purpose was to determine if such strategies would be differentially employed under different relationship circumstances. In order to approach these questions, the study proceeded in two phases. The first phase employed a factor analysis procedure to identify three factors people feel they would use to keep their stable relationships stable. The factors were concerned with avoidance, balancing, and directness respectively. The second phase of this investigation revealed that subjects felt they would use these factors differently depending on perceived differences in the relational intent of their dyadic partner (i.e., whether the other wanted the relationship to remain stable, to have it develop, or to have it deteriorate). No such differences emerged as a function of the sex of the relational partner or the type of relationship (acquaintance, friend, teacher, or co‐worker). The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these results.