ABSTRACT

When research first began on relational maintenance in the 1980s, strategically working on sustaining existing relationships was a relatively new concept. As research on relationship maintenance grew, the primary focus was on how to maintain marital or romantic relationships. Particularly in western culture, it is customary to choose one's marital partner. Although these distinctions are not inherently problematic, it becomes an important issue if other family relationships are ignored when attempting to explain and examine how individuals maintain family relationships. When examining family relational maintenance two issues are at the forefront: communication in families and family developmental issues. Relational maintenance behaviors provide an important avenue for examining the communication dynamics in families. Relational maintenance behaviors are primarily demonstrated through the use of verbal and nonverbal messages. The period of adolescence is often accented due to vast amounts of change occurring for family members.