La. Baxter et Ep. Simon, RELATIONSHIP MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES AND DIALECTICAL CONTRADICTIONS INPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, Journal of social and personal relationships, 10(2), 1993, pp. 225-242
This questionnaire study of both partners from 162 romantic and marita
l relationships sought to examine perceived partner maintenance strate
gies as correlates of participant satisfaction for relationships at va
rying dialectical moments of the autonomy-connection, predict-ability-
novelty and openness-closedness contradictions. The perceived partner
maintenance strategies of contact, romance and avoidance varied in eff
icacy depending on the particular dialectical conditions of the relati
onship, especially among male participants.