Adult Siblings' Use of Affectionate Communication as a Strategic and Routine Relational Maintenance Behavior

This study explored whether adult siblings engage in affectionate communication (i.e., verbal statements, nonverbal gestures, and social support behaviors) as one way to strategically and routinely maintain their relationships. Participants were 499 individuals who reported on a sibling relationship. It was found that adult siblings reported using verbal statements, nonverbal gestures, and social support behaviors as strategic relational maintenance behaviors more frequently than as routine relational maintenance behaviors. To garner a more comprehensive role that affectionate communication plays as a relational maintenance behavior among adult siblings, researchers should consider assessing both trait expressed and trait received affection in future research projects.