Motives to remain platonic, equity, and the use of maintenance strategies in opposite-sex friendships

This study examined maintenance strategies used by heterosexual participant s in opposite-sex friendships. Individual reasons for adhering to a platoni c relational definition and equity were used to predict maintenance behavio rs. Factor analyses revealed six reasons for maintaining opposite-sex frien dships as platonic: Not Attracted, Network Disapproval, Time Out, Safeguard Relationship, Third Party, and Risk Aversion. Relying on equity theory, we also investigated maintenance strategies of Support, No Flirting, Share Ac tivity, Openness, Avoidance, and Positivity according to equity group membe rship. Finally, both motives and inequity (overbenefitedness and underbenef itedness) were associated with the use of six maintenance strategies. Resul ts revealed that positive and proactive maintenance behaviors were used in equitable (versus under- or overbenefited) friendships and that reasons for maintaining the platonic nature of opposite-sex friendships predict mainte nance strategies that friends employ. In particular, Safeguard Relationship was a consistent predictor of maintenance behaviors. (In)equity also predi cted the use of four maintenance strategies. Overall, support was found for using people's motives in conjunction with equity to predict relational ma intenance strategies of opposite-sex friends.