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Being there and growing apart: Sustaining friendships during adulthood
... 164; see also proposition three of Canary & Stafford, 1994). For weak ties, less maintenance may be required simply to keep it in existence (Dindia & Canary, 1993;Rawlins, 1994), but, given the first proposition, relationships cannot continue to exist over time without some degree of maintenance. Mediated communication of several types, including Facebook, can offer an energyefficient means of sustaining these ties (Baym, 2015;Dunbar, 2018;Hall, 2020). ...
... Finally, staying connected on Facebook may point to the commemorative function of friendship (Rawlins, 1994). Much of the literature often characterizes relationships as "strong" or "weak"; however, Rawlins (1994) argues commemorative relationships recall a time in a person's life. ...
... Finally, staying connected on Facebook may point to the commemorative function of friendship (Rawlins, 1994). Much of the literature often characterizes relationships as "strong" or "weak"; however, Rawlins (1994) argues commemorative relationships recall a time in a person's life. Indeed, 55% of the relationships reported on in the present investigation were identified as old friends, and social media allows for those ties to be memorialized online, wherein users can digitally reflect back on a relationship and who they were during that time in their life when they passively consume information shared on Facebook. ...
Although presumed to be a means of maintaining relationships, there is limited empirical evidence whether relationships are actually maintained over time by Facebook-enabled communication. Drawing on communicate bond belong theory, we focus on the most common Facebook friends: weak ties. Adult (N = 174) participants completed three waves of data collection each a month apart, reporting on three non-kin relationships: one with routine Facebook communication, one without routine Facebook communication, and one maintained on other modalities outside Facebook. Latent growth curve analyses suggest although relationships differ in mean closeness, uniqueness, and commitment, Facebook-enabled communication was not associated with relational change. Results suggest the frequency of Facebook-enabled communication reflects relationship closeness but does not influence change in closeness over three months.
... Individuals who experience conflict in their friendships, and work through it, may also feel that they have a closer bond with their friend as a result of the conflict (Braiker & Kelly, 1979). Those who do not work through the conflict, may simply just end the friendship due to conflict (Rawlins, 1994), which can be a confound in research. ...
... This is one reason why friendships seem to be a unique type of relationship. More than in other types of relationships, in friendships, individuals have more liberty, and it may be easier to end a friendship than in other types of relationships (Rawlins, 1994). Avoidance may also be a reason people report overall lower frequency of conflict in friendships (Rawlins, 1994). ...
... More than in other types of relationships, in friendships, individuals have more liberty, and it may be easier to end a friendship than in other types of relationships (Rawlins, 1994). Avoidance may also be a reason people report overall lower frequency of conflict in friendships (Rawlins, 1994). Some individuals may view friendship conflict from a social exchange perspective. ...
Conflict is pervasive in every part of life, specifically within interpersonal relationships. Moreover, the extent to which a person handles and manages conflict can directly affect relationship and conflict outcomes. In addition, emotion and personality traits can also impact how a conflict is managed. That is, emotion and personality traits may predict the use of certain conflict management strategies which then can affect the overall conflict outcome. Though these variables have been researched in other areas, conflict research on parent-adult child and adult friendship conflict contexts remains limited. Thus, the current research sought to understand the personality and emotional traits that drive conflict strategies, underlying the various conflict tactics in parent-adult child and adult friendship conflict situations. A convenience sample (N = 569) was collected. Half of the participants completed the adult parental online survey, and half completed the friendship online survey. These surveys included conflict management and emotion and personality scales. Results of structural equation modeling indicated that individuals in both contexts exhibited similar conflict management patterns, specifically with the role of avoidance. Avoidance, as evidenced in other studies, was used as a way to return to more constructive types of conflict. Additionally, in both contexts, depression, contentment and egocentrism increased the use of avoidance. Moreover, in both contexts contentment and verbal collaborativeness increased the use of constructive conflict management strategies, while grandiosity and verbal destructiveness increased the use of aggressive conflict management strategies in both contexts. Implications for these results as well as differences in the two contexts are discussed, followed by limitations of the study.
... The voluntary nature of friendship makes relational termination a more acceptable and commonly-employed option to managing conflict (Canary, Cupach, & Messman, 1995). However, periods of dormancy may also reflect a lack of active maintenance rather than the end of the relationship (Dainton et al., 2003;Rawlins, 1994). Aron, Aron, and Smollan (1992) suggested that two dimensions of closeness -feeling close and behaving close -allow friends to maintain feelings of emotional closeness despite long periods without behavioral interaction. ...
... LD friendships also commonly exhibit nonlinear patterns, as they are more likely to experience periods of dormancy (Stafford, 2005). LD friendships can be revived (Rawlins, 1994), especially when LD friends can emotionally "be there" for each other, despite an inability to provide physical assistance. As such, LD friendships may experience more turbulence in friendship levels than GC friendships. ...
... Therefore, hypothesis 2 provides further support for the idea that LD friendships may be particularly flexible as opposed to Wiseman's (1986) characterization as fragile. Sequence 3 illustrates a period of dormancy or lack of active friendship maintenance (Rawlins, 1994) and was nearly twice as likely to occur in LD, when compared with GC, friendships. Even though LD friends are geographically separated, they can often resume maintenance of their friendship. ...
Prior research has characterized friendships, particularly long-distance friendships, as fragile. A turning point analysis compared changes in friendship levels for 100 college students in geographically-close (GC) and long-distance (LD) same-sex friendships. Results indicated that friendship level and commitment level are strongly and positively associated. Moreover, friendship level and proximity are interdependent with several categories of turning points. Finally, a linear sequence of shifts in friendship level is associated with both GC and LD friends, but a nonlinear sequence that includes a shift back to the casual friendship level with recovery is more typical for LD friends. Findings highlight transformation within friendships and suggest that it may be more accurate to conceptualize friendships as flexible rather than fragile.
... Direct investments of time, energy, and disclosure may be less in LD friendships. However, indirect investments, such as shared memories, may be more powerful, as the friends involved are possibly important in one's life history (Rawlins, 1994). Duration is an aspect of an investment (Rusbult, 1980) that A. J. Johnson et al. (2005) observed as being greater among LD friends. ...
... Research involving romantic relationships has revealed nonlinear patterns in commitment changes, which may also be the case in friendships. LD friendships can undergo periods of dormancy (Rawlins, 1994), which should lead to more changes in commitment to the relationship over the trajectory of the friendship and, hence, more nonlinear patterns. This leads to another hypothesis: H2: More LD friends than GC friends report a nonlinear trajectory of changes in levels of commitment. ...
... Whereas closeness in GC friends relates to frequency of face-to-face contact, ease of interaction, and practical support, closeness in LD friends focuses more on acceptance, understanding, trust, keeping in touch, and continuing to influence each other's decisions over a distance. Such indirect investments as shared memories (Rusbult, 1980) and being considered part of one's life history (Rawlins, 1994) illustrate why individuals can remain committed to friendships when they no longer frequently interact face to face. Thus, routine communication between friends may serve to maintain the friendship not only in the present, but indefinitely into the future as well. ...
The existence of long-distance (LD) friendships throws into question assumptions that scholars of interpersonal communication often make about commitment to relationships, the development of relationships, and friendships. An analysis of turning points comparing commitment changes in young-adult geographically close and LD same-sex friendships revealed high and fluctuating levels of commitment over the history of the friendships for both types. Over 80% of those having LD friends reported their levels of commitment were currently increasing, rather than decreasing. Women were more likely than men to report nonlinear trajectories for their friendships, more downturns in commitment to their friendships, and more turning points related to changes in commitment to their friendships.
... The term "friend" can cover a very wide set of qualitatively distinct relationships, from acquaintance to intimate, depending on the level of specificity called for in the particular circumstances in which the term is used (Allan, 1989). In short, friendship may take a wide range of forms, from the more contextually patterned to the more privately negotiated (Rawlins, 1994). ...
... Tensions between friends are built into the very structure of the friend relationship. Rawlins (1994) identifies four dialectical principles that characterize the interaction of friends: ...
Paper on methodological issues in the study of teacher collegiality
... It is because the co-workers have wide understanding, experience, and knowledge about the workplace, and constitute a key source of work-related information (Ray, 1987). Moreover, as argued by Rawlins (1994), co-workers serve as an additional set of "eyes and ears" for each other, share work-related information through gossip and conversation, which may otherwise not be possible. Like LMX, TMX relationships also vary in quality ranging from very close friends, casual friends, and acquaintance (Liao et al., 2010). ...
... Moreover, Blau (1964) suggests that helping behaviour is also motivated by the social status and prestige conferred by a help seeker in return of help received. Latter studies have shown some other factors that affect the likelihood of help giving, such as helper's perception of help seeker, interpretations of the worth of helping by both parties, and their past experience of helping each other etc. (Rawlins, 1994;Flynn & Brockner, 2003). By and large, this strand of literature focused mainly on the factors affecting helper's initial decision to give help, however, the literature has offered far less attention to how helping interactions unfold beyond the point of initial consent (Grodal et al., 2015). ...
This study explores the question of whether and how seeking and giving help in a favourable work environment relate to innovation performance at the organisational level. Empirical findings based on 360 employees from four construction sites under a large Chinese multinational organisation showed that help seeking predicted innovation and mediated the relationship between relationship quality and organisation’s innovation performance. Moreover, a higher level of help giving not only improves innovation directly, but also strengthens the positive relationship between help seeking and innovation performance. We also estimated an integrated model to reveal that help giving moderates the mediated relationship between relationship quality and innovation through help seeking channel. This research links relational perspective with creative cognition and componential theory of creativity to clarify how the interaction of help seeking and help giving leads to innovation, and thus contributes to the existing literature by clarifying whether and under what conditions help seeking can be helpful to promote innovation in an organisation. Further theoretical and practical implications along with future research directions are also discussed.
... Perceptual differences for "boring" were far larger than the perception differences of all other attribute, excluding cold and impatient (p<0.05). Negative attributes (depicted in red) consistently produced greater perception differences than positive attributes (Murray & Holmes, 1993, 1994 (Figure 4). ...
... A longitudinal study would offer a better space to analyze the benefits of idealization in friendships. Other studies have noted certain changes friendships undergo over time, and this would be highly relevant to future studies [87][88][89]. Next steps include studying the overlaps between self-esteem, perceived closeness, and overall friendship satisfaction and idealization's utility in either continued satisfaction or eventual dissatisfaction in close friendships. Furthermore, future studies should assess low, medium, and high levels of friendship satisfaction, self-esteem, and closeness benchmarks. ...
... For example, an artist may choose to spend time with friends who acknowledge and understand the meaning and importance of his or her artist identity. Such logic is consistent with research on friendship indicating that individuals experience changes in friendships as a function of changes in occupational and social roles (Rawlins, 1994;Wood & Pannen, 1996). Moreover, previous research examining an ethnic identity suggests that people entering a new environment, such as college, will seek out relationships and activities that affinn an identity previously rated as important (Ethier & Deaux, 1990). ...
... Further, support for social identities may account for changes in relationships that occur when one or both individuals experience identity shifts related to developmental processes or life-transitions (e.g., entering college, marriage, divorce, parenthood, changes in employment) (Rawlins, 1994). Understanding the role of social identities in friendship maintenance may have practical implications for how people adapt to these changes in their environments or life-circumstances. ...
This longitudinal study tested the hypothesis that relationship-specific support for social identities (e.g., student, athlete, romantic partner) would predict levels of closeness and contact in college students' friendships. One hundred first-year college students completed measures of closeness, contact, and support for identities, pertaining to three new, same-sex friendships. During their sophomore year, 86 of the participants provided follow-up information about each friendship. Analyses conducted across participants and across friendships of the same participants indicated that students were more likely to maintain closeness and contact with friends who provided higher levels of support for identities. Additionally, in several analyses, support for identities predicted closeness and contact even after controlling for general relationship-specific support. Results suggest that support for social identities is a distinct type of social support with consequences for interpersonal relationships.
... Thus, employees choose to spend time with their friends, both at and away from the workplace, beyond that obligated by their organizational roles. Due to these characteristics, workplace friends function as important sources of social and emotional support and enjoyment for one another (Kanter, 1977[69]; Rawlins, 1994) [110].Workplace friendship increases support and information that helps individuals to perform their job, in turn, reducing stress (for instance, by eliminating barriers to success) and improving the quality of work. The relationship between workplace friendship and teammember exchange can be posited by the fact that workplace friendships nourishes high-quality teammember exchange relationships because team members can trust and value each other, share interests, and view the emotional and instrumental support as valuable means of growth and dependence. ...
... Thus, employees choose to spend time with their friends, both at and away from the workplace, beyond that obligated by their organizational roles. Due to these characteristics, workplace friends function as important sources of social and emotional support and enjoyment for one another (Kanter, 1977[69]; Rawlins, 1994) [110].Workplace friendship increases support and information that helps individuals to perform their job, in turn, reducing stress (for instance, by eliminating barriers to success) and improving the quality of work. The relationship between workplace friendship and teammember exchange can be posited by the fact that workplace friendships nourishes high-quality teammember exchange relationships because team members can trust and value each other, share interests, and view the emotional and instrumental support as valuable means of growth and dependence. ...
In recent years, teams have become a popular and efficient way of managing and performing work tasks. The idea behind teams is that if they are structured to maximize communication density, connectivity, and minimize hierarchy, there will be greater flexibility in communicating, cooperating, and collaborating on work-related tasks. Human resources are growing concern for today’s competitive organizations. Therefore it is very essential to focus on this issue seriously. In this review paper, we have integrated empirical research regarding the antecedents and consequences of Team-Member Exchange (TMX). An exchange relationship between team members is very critical but relatively unexplored phenomenon in the field of organizational behaviour. We have proposed a theoretical model to study certain selected antecedents (or predictor) and consequences of team-member exchange (TMX) process, both at the individual and group level. The individual level antecedents included in this paper are organizational justice, emotional intelligence, workplace friendship and group level antecedents are collectivistic orientation, team similarity, team identification, team-member affect, team reflexivity and group potency. Likewise, individual level outcomes associated with high quality team-member exchange are organizational citizenship behaviour, job performance, mental health and group level outcomes associated with high quality team-member exchange are team conflict, team climate, team commitment, team performance and team innovativeness. Further, several preliminary propositions have been offered to guide future research and the role of team-member exchange (TMX) within a broad theoretical and empirical context is discussed.Finally, we have discussed the gaps in the relevant literature, major issues for future research on team-member exchange (TMX) along with implications and interventions about how management can develop good interrelationships between co-workers.
... In general, the results of this study are similar to those Adams (1985Adams ( -1986) obtained among older women. Rawlins (1994) notes playing the role of friend has to compete with other roles individuals play in adulthood, such as spouse, parent, and employee. College represents a time when individuals often play fewer such roles, leaving more time for friendships. ...
... Therefore, researchers should also focus on midlife friendships, when these relationships compete with other roles, to add to the friendship literature. One friendship type found in mature adult friendships is the dormant friendship, in which contact is infrequent, but the individuals believe that the person will be there in times of need (Rawlins, 1994). When the individual actually asks the friend to provide aid or they have a chance to interact, such as a visit or reunion, they may reassess their degree of closeness to the friend. ...
Abstract As interpersonal relationships change with the advent of new technology, researchers need to reexamine their theoretical constructs ( R. G. Adams, 1998). This study uses survey methodology to examine college undergraduates from the United States. It explores the concept of relational closeness by comparing how geographically close and long-distance friends define closeness in their relationships. It assesses prior methods of defining and measuring closeness in interpersonal relationships for the impact of physical distance between the friends. Differences illustrate factors that are important in understanding relational closeness in general and in long-distance relationships in particular.
... The term "friend" can cover a very wide set of qualitatively distinct relationships, from acquaintance to intimate, depending on the level of specificity called for in the particular circumstances in which the term is used (Allan, 1989). In short, friendship may take a wide range of forms, from the more contextually patterned to the more privately negotiated (Rawlins, 1994). ...
... Tensions between friends are built into the very structure of the friend relationship. Rawlins (1994) identifies four dialectical principles that characterize the interaction of friends: ...
This paper discusses the range, frequency, structure, and content of teachers' professional and interpersonal relationships in their schools, describing data from a study of teacher cultures and collegiality. The study, which involved two Portuguese secondary schools, examined the informal networks of collegial and interpersonal communication ties among teachers and how the networks structured teachers' work experiences. Using a questionnaire and interviews with teachers, student teachers, department heads, and school administrators, researchers collected data from over 100 individuals at each school on collegial and interpersonal ties with others. Professional relations were characterized in terms of the frequency with which they occurred and the intensity of the relations. Results suggested that teachers interacted more with friends than acquaintances about professional matters. Two-thirds of all professional relations involved friendships between teachers. Professional and close friendship cliques rarely overlapped in membership. Working with close friends in schools significantly influenced how teachers approached their work (e.g., reducing anxiety and facilitating mutual agreement), though it restricted and hindered the accomplishment of several important job-related tasks. The paper discusses the issue in terms of: improving the study of form in teachers' cultures; exploring the network properties of teachers' collegial relations; combining qualitative and social network data; paying systematic attention to the role of friendship in collegial interactions; and emphasizing the importance and functions of weak ties in teaching. (Contains 68 references.) (SM)
... Workplace relationships are unique interpersonal relationships with important implications for the individuals in those relationships and the organizations in which the relationships exist and develop. Workplace relationships function as decisionmaking, influence-sharing, and instrumental and emotional support systems (Kram & Isabella, 1985;Rawlins, 1994). As such, the quality of these relationships has important consequences for employee experiences, including employee information experiences. ...
... Peer co-workers are the most likely, and most important, source of emotional and instrumental support for employees, primarily because co-workers possess knowledge and understanding about the workplace experience that external sources do not (Ray, 1987). Moreover, peers act as a second "set of eyes and ears" for one another, sharing important organizational information and gossip that may otherwise be unobtainable (Rawlins, 1994). Kirby and Krone (2002) note the powerful influence peer co-workers have on one another with respect to workplace attitudes and behavior. ...
This study examined the extent to which the amount and quality of work‐related information employees received was associated with the quality of their relationships with peer co‐workers and their immediate supervisors. Results indicated that supervisor–subordinate relationship quality was positively related to both the amount and quality of information employees received from their immediate supervisor. In addition, employees’ proportions of information peer relationships were negatively related, and their proportions of collegial peer relationships were positively related, to the quality of information they received from their co‐workers. Regression analyses also indicated that the quality of information employees received from their supervisors and co‐workers was positively related to their job satisfaction and commitment to the organization.
... The concept of intimacy in relationships is gaining popularity in literature and more recently in business and marketing literature as well (Gottman, 2007). Relationships within the workplace are important for both the individual and the organization (Sias, 2005) and these relationships function as decision-making, influence-sharing, and instrumental and emotional support systems for both parties (Kram & Isabella, 1985;Rawlins, 1994). Today, relationships at work; especially in a performance culture, constitute many of the attributes found in a marriage or long-term intimate relationships such as economic investment, interdependence, and expectations and have a role in shaping an individual's life too (Zelizer, 2009). ...
"...in the workplace, the intimacy is shown usually falls under the category of functional intimacy where intimate relations are made for non-relationship goals. Hence, for this level of intimacy, self-disclosure may not be essential (Reis & Shaver, 1988) or has a sense of closeness (Prager, 1998) it still constitutes an intimate relationship in the world of work..."
... As such, the quality of these relationships has important consequences for employee experiences, including employee information experiences. Workplace relationships function as decision-making, influence-sharing, and instrumental and emotional support systems [64] [65]. Workplace relationships are exclusive interpersonal relationships with important implications for individuals in organisations where relationships exist and develop. ...
The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework on the individual factors, situational factor and individual work performance of logistician working at the Royal Service Corps in the Malaysian Army. The current paper is intended to examine the relationship between individual and situational factors and their impact on individual work performance. Moreover, individual factors which are “openness to experience and social intelligence” and a situational factor which is “workplace relationship” have been used as independent variables. Individual ambidexterity acts as a mediating variable, while the extent of change acts as a moderating factor. The dependent variables in this study are individual work performance focusing on the dimensions of the task and adaptive performance. Theory of Work Performance and the Burke-Litwin Model are used to define concepts and explain the phenomena. It is assumed to form a significant relationship between employee capacity, willingness and opportunity towards performance and organisational environments are perceived and interpreted by their employees. Findings from this study have implication for the selection process, mixture and redeployment of personnel; training and competency development; and overall organisation improvement.
... According to Ferris, Rogers, Blass, and Hochwarter, workplace relationship is defined as the information and knowledge exchange between individuals and groups who want to complete their shared mission and vision (Ferris et al. 2009). While Colbert, Bono, and Purvanova referred to workplace relationship as a primary source of emotional support, career development and instrumental support (Colbert et al. 2016) as employees may have a clear understanding of the working experiences and conditions (Sias 2005), as well as gossip about organizational information that cannot be obtained by external employees (Rawlins 1994). Social relationships that exist among employees in a workplace are important in maintaining an individual's self-esteem, as it fosters a sense of social support. ...
This volume showcases selected conference papers addressing the sustainable future of ASEAN from the perspectives of business and social science disciplines. In addressing the 17 Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) envisioned by the United Nations in the domains of environment, health and well-being, posing potential means of reducing inequalities globally, the authors target specific issues and challenges confronting the fast-growing region of ASEAN and present suggestions for co-operation and commitment from governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and society at large, in line with the ASEAN Vision 2020. Papers are selected from the 3rd International Conference on the Future of ASEAN (ICoFA) 2019, organised by Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia, whose conference theme “Charting the Sustainable Future of ASEAN” enables intellectual discourse on sustainability issues from business and the social sciences, as well as science and technology. The selection of papers is published in two volumes, comprising scholarly and practical insights into sustainability in ASEAN. This first volume of papers from business and social science scholars will be of interest to researchers and policymakers interested in sustainability developments in the ASEAN region.
... According to Ferris, Rogers, Blass, and Hochwarter, workplace relationship is defined as the information and knowledge exchange between individuals and groups who want to complete their shared mission and vision (Ferris et al. 2009). While Colbert, Bono, and Purvanova referred to workplace relationship as a primary source of emotional support, career development and instrumental support (Colbert et al. 2016) as employees may have a clear understanding of the working experiences and conditions (Sias 2005), as well as gossip about organizational information that cannot be obtained by external employees (Rawlins 1994). Social relationships that exist among employees in a workplace are important in maintaining an individual's self-esteem, as it fosters a sense of social support. ...
Stress is an important phenomenon and is often associated with performance and health of individuals or workers. Job stress can affect productivity and quality of workers if not dealt with properly and effectively. This study investigates the relationship between organizational climate, management support, and workplace relationship with employees’ job stress by conducting a survey among 114 employees working at one of the private colleges in Perlis. The data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression analysis techniques, and the results revealed all the three independent variables, organization climate, management support, and workplace relationship, have a significant negative relationship with employees’ job stress. This study had been crucial for organization to understand how the organization climate, management support, and workplace relationship affect the employees’ job stress and several recommendations were put forth for the practitioners in enhancing the level of employees’ job stress by acknowledging the importance of all variables.
... These relationships provide significant attributes to a peaceful and productive work environment for several reasons. The coworker relationship (CWR) is referred to as a primary source of emotional support, career development [45], and instrumental support [11] as coworkers may have a clear understanding of The working experiences and conditions, as well as gossip about organizational information that cannot be obtained by external employees [46]. However, regarding The healthcare sector, staff nurses working in hospitals typically work long hours in rotating shifts with few breaks to ensure 24-hour patient care. ...
Employees’ working relationships were long determined to be crucial to their overall wellbeing and performance ratings at work. However, a few studies were found to examine the effects of positive workplace relationships on employees’ working manners. This study aimed to investigate the effects of healthy workplace relationships on employees’ working behaviors, which in turn affect their performance. In doing so, an integrated model was developed to examine the primary performance drivers of nurses in Vietnamese hospitals and focus on the effects of high-quality workplace relationships on the working attitudes of the staff. This study analyzed a questionnaire survey of 303 hospital nurses using a structural equation modeling approach. The findings demonstrated the positive effects of high-quality workplace relationships on working manners including higher commitment, lower level of reported job stress, and increased perception of social impact. Notably, the results also demonstrated that relationships between leaders and their staff nurses make a significant contribution to the quality of workplace relationship and nurses’ performance. In addition, the social impact was illustrated to positively moderate the association between healthy workplace interactions and job stress; however, it had no significant effect on job commitment. Unfortunately, job commitment was surprisingly found to not be related to performance ratings. This paper provides some suggestions for the divergence of performance drivers in the hospital context in Vietnam.
... Empirical studies consistently find that having a friend and feeling a sense of interpersonal closeness and support in friendships are related to adults' perceptions of happiness, personal identity, physical health, and psychological well-being (Anthony and McCabe 2015;Demir et al. 2014). Studies suggest that geographical proximity is not a pre-requisite for maintaining close adult friendships (Rawlins 1994). Rather, the voluntary nature of friendship enables individuals to decide upon features that define their friendship and how it is maintained. ...
Young adults establish networks of friends for companionship, support, assistance, and resource exchange. Friends have been found to play an essential role in promoting young adults’ health and well-being. Yet, relatively little is known about how young adults cope with the death of a close friend. Studies of grief and bereavement in adulthood focus primarily on the death of a family member. In the present qualitative study, we examined the narrative accounts of 20 young adults (ages 21–34) to describe the prevalence and nature of continuing bonds and post-traumatic growth experiences in coping with the death of a close friend. Participants completed semi-structured interviews in which they described the circumstances of their friend’s death, the nature of their friendship, whether and how they continued their relationship with their deceased friend, and the impact of their friend’s death in their everyday lives. Overall, young adults articulated ways that they continued their relationship with the deceased friend that included personal communication, personal change, and homage activities. Post-traumatic growth experiences as a result of their friend’s death included behavioral changes and personal changes in outlook. The narratives of all participants reflected their simultaneous experience of continuing relationship ties with the deceased and a sense of personal growth as a result of their friend’s death. We report areas of overlap and distinctions between expressions of continuing bonds and post-traumatic growth in the lived experience of young adults coping with the loss of a friend. Implications of findings for future research are discussed.
... In addition to the dialectical tensions outlined already, research on workplace friendship deterioration (Sias, 2006;Sias et al., 2004) suggests that many of the same factors that lead to friendships being initiated (e.g., proximity, trust, mutual liking, and similarity) can also be the reasons that the friendship deteriorates. For example, the loss of proximity (perhaps being transferred to another department within the organization) can lead to the deterioration of a friendship (Rawlins, 1994, cited in Sias et al., 2004. In addition, as the friends get to know one another better, they may discover personality traits, attitudes, and behaviors that are too dissimilar to their own, which will decrease the closeness of the relationship (Duck, 1982). ...
... In organizations, both peers and supervisors comprise the primary source of job and organization-related information, as a great amount of information is communicated and shared through workplace relationships (Sias, 2005). For example, peers may serve as a second set of eyes and ears that leverages organizational information (Rawlins, 1994). Therefore, information exchange -referring to the conscious and deliberate attempts to share and exchange work-related information, ideas and knowledge (Bunderson, 2002) -is considered to be vital for organizational development (Gely and Bierman, 2004). ...
Purpose
The detrimental effect of workplace ostracism on core employee and organizational outcomes has received increasing attention. However, very little is known about its impact on group related outcomes. Given that workplace relationships play a salient role in enhancing employee willingness to share information and knowledge, the present paper examines the link between workplace ostracism and information exchange. In doing so, we also highlight the mediating role of a novel construct, namely self-serving behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
To test our hypotheses, we conducted two studies using both a scenario paradigm (54 students) and a field study (172 working adults).
Findings
Results indicated that self-serving behavior fully mediates the effect of workplace ostracism on employee information exchange.
Research limitations/implications
Both studies have limitations that need to be considered. The scenario paradigm lacks realism whereas the cross-sectional nature of our survey cannot infer causality. As regards the latter, data were collected using a single source and thus common method variance may exist.
Originality/value
The present study provides novel insights into the outcomes of workplace ostracism and the underlying mechanisms that account for its negative effect. Moreover, it adds to limited current knowledge on self-serving behavior.
... Individuals can also use technology to avoid falling out of contact with old friends. For example, the term dormant friendship has been used in reference to friends who value their joint history yet have essentially lost contact (Rawlins, 1994). Dormant friendships are not entirely dead, however. ...
This study explored how college students utilize the social networking site Facebook to maintain relationships. Focus group data was analyzed to develop a list of 58 Facebook relational maintenance strategies. Canary, Stafford, Hause, and Wallace's (1993) relational maintenance typology was used to organize Facebook relational maintenance strategies. A new category was created to represent a popular relational maintenance strategy on Facebook: surveillance. This study also examined how maintenance strategies vary in different Facebook relationships; close friends, casual friends, acquaintances, romantic partners, and outsiders (e.g. parents, bosses, teachers). Participants suggested Facebook is an adequate stand-alone tool to maintain casual or acquaintance relationships, yet cannot convey enough intimacy to maintain close relationships. Participants expected close friends and romantic partners to put forth extra effort to maintain relationships through additional communication media such as text messaging, phone calls, and face-to-face interaction. Changing life circumstances impact relationship patterns throughout the entire lifespan, particularly in young adults. Many college students are physically separated from their family for the first time and must form a new social support network comprised primarily of friends. Thirty-six percent of college students report their most intimate relational partner is a friend (Berscheid, Snyder, and Omoto, 1989), yet most struggle to maintain their high school friendships once in college (Milardo, Johnson, & Huston, 1983). With the opportunity to develop new social networks and more mature romantic relationships, high school friendships experience decreased satisfaction, commitment, rewards, and investments with increased costs and alternatives (Oswald & Clark, 2003). Many students regret the deterioration of high school friendships and wish they had exerted more effort to maintain these relationships (Rose, 1984). The Internet's ability to aid in the maintenance of relationships is well-established (Johnson
... Applying Marx's concept of dialectic and Bakhtin's extension of Marxist dialectic-dialogism, Baxter, Montgomery, and Rawlins proposed the dialectical approach to relationship studies (Baxter, 1988;Baxter & Montgomery, 1996;Montgomery, 1993;Rawlins, 1989Rawlins, , 1994. These researchers view the dialectical approach as a perspective, other than a theory of prediction and causal explanation (Baxter & Montgomery). ...
... Wiseman (1986) noted that friendships consisted of three interrelated characteristics: voluntariness, intimacy, and fragility. Friendships, unlike other relationships, are minimally regulated by any sort of social institution (Rawlins, 1994). In fact, Giddens (1991) argued that friendships were an archetypal form of a "pure relationship" as "a friend is defined as specifically as someone with whom one has a relationship unprompted by anything other than the rewards that that relationship provides" and makes them a "sharp distinction [from]…kin" (p. ...
This study examines the phenomenon of the reluctant confidant in close friendships. 110 college students were asked to recall an incident when a close friend revealed information that the recipient wished they had not heard. Although the students identified themselves as reluctant confidants relatively infrequently, examination of the data yields interesting dimensions of becoming the unwilling recipient in terms of the topic of revealed information, communicative behaviors enacted in response to this information, and effects on the friendship. Sex-related topics accounted for the overwhelming majority of the unwanted information. Although some of the recipients enacted communicative behavior that could be categorized as thwarting behaviors, most of the reported response behaviors (questioning, comforting/supporting, giving advice) could be categorized as coping behaviors (Petronio, 2000b). This finding suggests differences between reluctant confidants in close friendships and reluctant confidants in impersonal contexts. Results are interpreted and additional observations are made through the lens of Petronio's (2002) Communication Privacy Management theory. In the study of relationships, most researchers have argued self-disclosure is necessary for both building and maintaining close relationships. Because of this assumption, self-disclosure research has been prodigious (for a comprehensive review, see Derlega, Metts, Petronio, & Margulis, 1993). Jourard first coined the term self-disclosure in The Transparent Self (1964) and later defined it as " the act of revealing personal information to others " (1971, p. 2). In interpersonal communication research, self-disclosure was initially seen as the way relationships progressed toward intimacy (Altman & Taylor, 1973). Reflecting the popular notion of the 1960s/1970s that one should " tell it like it is " and " let it all hang out, " researchers and practitioners advocated that problems were " solved " through more talk, more openness, and more self-disclosure (Bochner, 1982). Katriel & Phillipsen (1990) referred to this notion of communication as a cure-all as the " talk as elixir " myth. Eventually, however, the idea of " more " was balanced out with the recognition of relational needs of privacy (Burgoon, Parrott, Le Poire, Kelley, Walther, & Perry, 1989; Petronio, 2002; Rawlins, 1983). Baxter (1988) recognized the dialectic of openness/closedness in relationships, and Burgoon, et al. (1989) noted that while openness is important in developing and maintaining relationships, equally crucial is maintaining a level of privacy in the relationship. More recently, Petronio (1991, 2000a, 2002) proposed Communication Privacy Management (CPM), arguing individuals handle private information through a rule-based management system involving privacy boundaries. Similarly, Rawlins (1983) recognized " openness as problematic " in close relationships (p.3), and Burgoon, et al. (1989) also addressed the same need for privacy in a variety of close relationships. Specifically, Burgoon and colleagues noted that while openness is important in developing and maintaining a relationship, equally crucial is the need to maintain a level of privacy in the relationship by controlling the level information regarding the self. Further, " relationships do not follow an inexorable trajectory toward increasing intimacy but rather cycle between periods of accessibility and inaccessibility " (Burgoon, et al., 1989, p. 132). More recently, Petronio (2000a, 2002) has studied privacy from the perspective of the recipient and addressed the circumstance when the boundary of accessibility is pushed too far and private information is disclosed to an unwilling party, which she labeled the reluctant confidant.
... We made friends because of where and who we once were, and we maintain them because of where and who we are now. By recalling personal history in place and time, friendship is a type of biography, which offers continuity in self-identity by grounding the present self in the past self (Allan, 1998a;Feld & Carter, 1998;Rawlins, 1994;2009). Friendships not only influence selfidentity, they also reflect the broader social institutions occupied in the past and in the present. ...
The impact on fraternity membership on young men's friendships is explored through in-depth interviews of 23 former fraternity members. Men's friendships are explored in relation to the dyadic and structural components of fraternity membership. Former members negotiate their fraternity identity after graduation both socially and individually. Men offer accounts of how fraternity life impacted their adult friendships, their masculine identity, their consumption of alcohol, and their adult lives. Two processes, fraternal maintenance and fraternal divorce, are used to structure the renegotiation of fraternity identity in men's post-graduate lives.
... Same-sex friendships provide a central vehicle for personal contact, companionship, help, and emotional support across the lifespan (Adams, 1986;Bukowski, Hoza, & Boivin, 1994;Hartup & Stevens, 1997;Heller & Lakey, 1985;Roberto & Kimboko, 1989;Rook, 1987). Social science researchers have demonstrated the importance of friends for overall psychological adjustment (Syrotuick & D'Arcy, 1984) and for coping with major life stressors and transitions (Coyne & DeLongis, 1986;Cutrona & Russell, 1990;Rawlins, 1994;Sarason & Sarason, 1985). Studies have also shown that children's success in forming and maintaining friendships is positively related to academic achievement and later success in relationships, and negatively related to mental health problems, including aggression (Doll, 1996;Ginsberg, Gottman, & Parker, 1986;Newcomb & Bagwell, 1995). ...
This longitudinal study tested the hypothesis that social identity support would predict the long-term status of first-year college friendships. Social identity support refers to perceived support for valued aspects of the self that are related to identification with social groups, categories, and roles. First-year undergraduates (N = 100) reported levels of closeness, contact, general support, and social identity support for new same-sex friendships. Logistic regression analyses indicated, as expected, that social identity support predicted whether or not a new friend would be a best friend 4 years later, after controlling for initial levels of closeness, contact, and general relationship-specific social support. Social identity support, however, did not predict status as a mere friend at follow-up. The results regarding best friend status suggest that social identity support may be a unique form of social support that contributes to the development of close relationships.
... Similar relationship development and deterioration patterns are expected for more mature friendships. Perhaps the turning points are separated further in time because of greater commitments to other roles in life (Rawlins, 1994). Additionally, the types of turning points may differ in more mature friendships. ...
This study examines friendships that have ended. Five recalled trajectories for dissolved friendships were found. Certain turning points were generally associated with increases in friendship closeness, while others were associated with decreases in closeness. In addition, gender differences were found for several of the turning points reported. Implications are discussed for interpersonal communication research based on a traditional linear conceptualization of relational development and deterioration.
To evaluate the foundational propositions of a nascent theory of relational entropy, this manuscript reports a longitudinal investigation of friendship across the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included 165 members of Greek-letter organizations (both current students and alumni), with data collected in Spring 2020 and again in Spring 2021. Results indicated that relationships exhibited greater entropy and less maintenance in Spring 2021 than in Spring 2020, with Spring 2020 maintenance predicting less entropy in Spring 2021. Although the personal impact of the pandemic predicted increased maintenance in Spring 2020, the direction of this effect was reversed a year later. These findings support key propositions of the nascent theory and identify directions for future refinement of it.
Psychoanalytic theory and practice have moved toward privileging relational and attachment dynamics as both cause and cure of many of the issues that bring individuals into psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, highlighting the significance of each therapeutic relationship as a key part of the work. But, what is that relationship? We are not parent/child, nor are we friends, but a deep, mutual bond often develops and enhances the process. Fantasies of being friends, emanating from either and/or both participants, can represent important, often unformulated, aspects of this relationship. Psychoanalytic theory has not fully explored meanings of this wish to be friends, but it is my experience that finding ways to reflect on a wish or fantasy to be friends can lead to deeper and more complex understanding of adult attachment. In this article, theory and clinical examples will be utilized to examine resistances as well as contradictions, conflicts, and hopes and fears that come into play when thoughts, fantasies, and wishes to be friends to enter the therapeutic space.
The present study employed a national sample of Americans aged 65+ years to explore social network site (SNS) relational reconnection among older adults. Nearly 60% of the sample had reconnected with a former partner during the previous year; primarily involving dormant friendships and familial relationships, but also encompassing former coworkers and ex-romantic partners. Whether a relationship persisted beyond the initial act of reconnection was related to its level of development prior to losing touch, and the extent to which partners engaged in modality expansion by embracing multiple channels of communication after reconnecting. Older adults with more developed pre-loss-of-contact relationships were also more likely to engage in modality expansion after reconnecting.
Adult friendships are important relationships, yet little work has examined the processes through which they end and the antecedents and consequences of endings. Building on work that has highlighted the reasons friendships end [1∗], we propose an adult friendship dissolution process model that features how situational, personal, and interpersonal variables may influence whether friendships are ended via active or passive routes. Furthermore, potential intervening variables that could lead to different paths of friendship dissolution, including the emotional toll of experiencing dissolution via one path versus another, are discussed.
Do the current changes of both geographical and symbolic boundaries lead to the emergence of a world society? How do transnational migration, communication and worldwide economic and political networks manifest themselves in globalised modernity? This book presents innovative contributions to transnationalisation research and world society theory based on empirical studies from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Practicable methodologies complete theoretical inquiries and provide examples of applied research, which also might be used in teaching.
Past research suggests there are three types of friendship: active, dormant, and commemorative. Given studies have primarily focused on active ties, this study seeks to explore the maintenance of dormant and commemorative ties online. Drawing from in-depth interviews (N = 23) this research explores motivations for the maintenance of dormant and commemorative friendships of young adults through social media. Findings suggest users are interested in maintaining dormant and commemorative ties due to three reasons: potential reconnection, perceived social capital, and nostalgia. Implications related to research on friendship, social media, and well-being are discussed.
Distance communication tools as a mean of spanning and sustaining personal networks, as well as network analysis and the metaphor of a network have long been a focus of transnational studies (Vertovec 2001). There have also been attempts to make these concepts and objects of study fruitful and interesting to the world society approach. Despite the fact that the two approaches emphasize different dimensions of the issue, they are not necessarily contradictory. If we define society as "the inclusion of all possible contacts" (Luhmann 1984: 33) the network perspective can be informative for the model of the modern world society (Stichweh 2006; Holzer 2005). Transnational studies investigate the exact forms and contents of social networks, which can tell the world society approach adherent about their local density and heterogeneity, connectivity and clustering and thus about the structure of world society (Stichweh 2003). Illustrative is the assumption that the modern world society is characterized by universal accessibility – in principle, anybody can be an addressee (and a source) of communication (Fuchs 1997). However, there can be many societal barriers to the possible scope of a social relationship – it is who the participants of social exchange are. From this perspective, distance communication tools – their form and availability – determine the exact form of social relationships yet their nonexistence does not question the existence of the modern world society (Holzer 2005: 320f). Distance communication tools make the social networks possible, insofar they allow the disembedding of communication from physical co-presence (Lübbe 1996). Yet, social networks do not emerge in a vacuum but they are predetermined by particular social specifications on which kind of communication and with which addressee is relevant. Therefore, neither the scope of social networks directly, nor the availability of distance communication tools, structure the world society. Rather, other factors, for example 'mental maps' of the social world and in particular, the way potential contacts are localized, determine the world society's structure. Watts (2003) identified geographical location and profession as two such key factors for selecting communication partners.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the enactment of relational maintenance behaviors across three types of adult friendship. Participants (N = 139) completed an online questionnaire in which they were randomly assigned to an active, dormant, or commemorative friendship condition. After reading a description of the friendship type, participants identified one friend who met this description and indicated their use of relational maintenance behaviors with this friend. The results of multivariate analysis of covariance treating age as a covariate indicated that individuals reporting on an active friendship used the understanding, self-disclosure, assurances, and tasks relational maintenance behaviors at a higher rate than individuals reporting on a commemorative friendship.
This chapter addresses how communication theoretically functions to maintain personal relationships. In particular, four sustained lines of research are reviewed that specify how communication helps to maintain ongoing heterosexual, romantic involvements. A synthesis of the research programs leads the authors to believe that communication can operate as an independent, mediating, or dependent factor. In other words, the chapter highlights some specific ways in which communication behavior both affects and reflects the nature of people’s personal relationships.
Issues related to HIV/AIDS often revolve around stigma and discrimination, which have led the caregivers of people living with HIV/AIDs (PLWHAs) to develop initiatives for reducing stigma and discrimination. The objective of this research was to identify these stigma reduction initiatives devised to lessen the stigma and discrimination. A total of 27 research participants were interviewed. Findings revealed that the caregivers of PLWHAs developed new identities which their society consider good and acceptable. Preventing disclosure was able to reduce the stigma and discrimination. This research yields important insights on the urgent need to initiate stigma reduction strategies to ensure inclusion.
The chapter addresses the intersection of individual development and relationship development within the context of friendship. Friendship structures, functions, interactional processes, and outcomes change from infancy to old age according to developmental progression in physical, social, and psychological aspects of being and in conjunction with situational contexts of life. Friend relationships proceed along a continuum of intimacy from acquaintanceship or friendly relations, to casual friendship, to close friendship and reflect phases of existence from initiation to maintenance to dissolution. Based on a developmental theory, we compare friendship processes and outcomes at multiple stages of the life span. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future research on friendship from a life-span perspective. In Western cultures, friendship is usually defined as a voluntary relationship that encompasses intimacy, equality, shared interests, and pleasurable or need-satisfying interactions. In contrast to family or even neighbor relationships, scholars view friendship as a noninstitutionalized relationship for which the norms are self-defined and fairly loose. Ordinarily, friendship is neither ritualized nor celebrated in the ways that kin ties are formalized. Although it is important to note that in other cultures friendship is more formally defined and institutionalized than in the West, and that friendships in the West actually are constrained by social structure and norms, we will not discuss friendship from that perspective here (see Blieszner & Adams, 1992, for that analysis).
“Everywhere and in all ages people have formed this very same tie with each other—this tie that is not based on the binding forces of kinship, marriage, or romance” (Brenton, 1974, p. 14). The tie to which Brenton refers is friendship. Friendship has been described as the most voluntary relationship (e.g., Brenton, 1974; Rose, 1984; Wiseman, 1986). Unlike husbands and wives, friends are not under societal or contractual obligations to one another. Nor do friends encounter the social pressures inherent in dating and familial relationships. Friendships also differ from work or team relationships, where a common task or goal ensures the continuation of the relationship. Yet many friendships endure. According to (Wiseman (1986)), “A major and unique aspect of friendship is the absence of formal bonds during maintenance of an intimate stable relationship” (p. 191).
This study investigates relational maintenance in parasocial relationships (PSRs) by applying an interpersonal model of friendships (the investment model) and an exploratory mediated model. Undergraduate students (N = 490) reported on their relationships with a close friend and a favorite mediated personality. Despite differences in the strengths of associations, the investment model largely predicted commitment in PSRs through similar processes as it did in friendships. Specifically, greater relational investment and satisfaction predicted relational commitment. Unlike in interpersonal relationships, though, attractiveness of alternatives was unrelated to commitment in PSRs. The study further found that parasocial strength was predicted by identification with and commitment to the character and by the character's integration within a larger social network. The findings extend past applications of interpersonal theories to the media context and support the importance of assessing relational commitment, investment, and network status in PSRs.
When adults enter university after several years of work and life experience, they must negotiate their identity as mature students and their friendship with other students. In this interpretative study, I examined the tensions experienced by 15 such students (aged 28–54) at a university in Ireland where they were attempting to integrate themselves into university life while also striving to preserve a sense of authentic and continuous selfhood. I employed a range of interviewing methods and framed the study in Baxter and Montgomery's relational dialectics theory. The results complement existing research and offer insights both on mature student friendships and on the complex processes of identity negotiation such students engage in.
The present study examined friendship rules on the online social networking site Facebook. Study 1 used focus group data to inductively create a list of 36 Facebook friendship rules. Study 2 utilized survey data to examine college students’ endorsement of the various rules in close, casual, and acquaintance friendships. Results indicated five categories of Facebook friendship rules, which included rules regarding communication channels, deception and control, relational maintenance, negative consequences for the self, and negative consequences for a friend. Additionally, close friends, casual friends, and acquaintances significantly differed in their endorsement of four of the five rules categories. Results suggested that interaction rules provide a useful framework for the study of online social networking sites.
This study identifies contradictions in married partners’ accounts of their relationship and assesses the importance of the tensions at beginning, middle, and present relational turning points. Overall, autonomy‐connection was the most frequently experienced contradiction, however openness‐closedness was perceived as the most important tension. When looking at gender differences, results showed that internal tensions were equally important for both husbands and wives, however external tensions of inclusion‐seclusion and revealment‐concealment were more important for wives than husbands.
The present study was designed to compare offline and online friendship qualities at different stages of relationship development. The sample consisted of 162 Hong Kong Internet users. They were asked to think of two friends, one they knew through face-to-face interactions and one they knew through the Internet, and then describe the qualities of their offline and online friendships. Results revealed that offline friendships involved more interdependence, breadth, depth, code change, understanding, commitment, and network convergence than online friendships. However, although the qualities of both online and offline friendships improved as the duration of the relationship increased, the differences between the two types of friendships diminished over time. Furthermore, contrary to the evidence typically found for offline friendships, the qualities of cross-sex online friendships were higher than that of same-sex online friendship. These results suggest that the influence of the structural and normative constraints typically found in face-to-face interaction may be different in the online setting.
This study claims that relationship development can be viewed as a dialectic. Evidence for this hypothesis is obtained by examining friendships of three different intimacy levels: casual, close, and best friends. Over one-half of the friendships examined exhibited patterns of recalled relational development predicted by viewing development as a dialectic. Five trajectories for friendships were found. The most commonly reported turning points consisted of activities that the friends shared. Few differences were found between casual, close, and best friends; however, number of turning points was negatively related to satisfaction for casual friends. Implications for the conceptualization of relational development and interpersonal communication research are discussed.
This investigation reports a typology of maintenance behaviors that were derived through inductive analyses of papers students wrote about their strategies for maintaining various relationships. Ten major strategies were inductively derived: positivity; openness; assurances; sharing tasks; social networks; joint activities; cards/letters/calls; avoidance; anti‐social; and humor. These strategies extend the previous research on relational maintenance strategies. More specifically, the latter five strategies and the subcategories of all the strategies are additions to Stafford and Canary's (1991)typology. In addition, analyses revealed the positivity, openness, assurances, sharing tasks, and cards/letters/calls differed in their frequency of use among lovers, relatives, friends and others.
This investigation identified conflict events in young adult friendship. In addition, we examined whether different sources of conflict characterize same‐ and cross‐sex friendship and how gender influences perceptions of conflict issues in these relationships. Open‐ended descriptions of conflict episodes were elicited from same‐ and cross‐sex friendship dyads. Results indicated that same‐sex friends more frequently reported conflicts involving Disapproval about Relationship Choices and Sharing Space/Possessions compared to cross‐sex friends. Cross‐sex friends, on the other hand, reported conflicts involving Relationship Intimacy, Friendship Rule Violations, Communication Problems, and Annoying Behaviors more frequently than same‐sex friends. Additionally, in same‐sex friendships, males were more likely than females to report having conflict about Sharing Activities whereas females were more likely than males to report experiencing conflict about Sharing Space/Possessions. In cross‐sex friendships, males and females did not differ in the likelihood of reporting any of the conflict topic categories.
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