Relational Maintenance and the Influence of Commitment in Online and Offline Relationships

The study of relational-maintenance behaviors has sometimes included the impact of medium as a peripheral variable, but rarely has the impact of medium been tested directly. Participants (N = 1336) delineated themselves into four separate groups depending on the initial and continued use of mediated communication. They reported their use of relational-maintenance behaviors, as well as feelings of commitment towards the relationship. The medium had an impact on the use of relational-maintenance behaviors, primarily between people who had only met their partners in a mediated environment and those who had met them face-to-face. However, commitment level appears to strongly moderate the relationship between group and use of maintenance behaviors.