Texting or face-to-face for support-seeking in romantic relationships

The role of affordances and attachment

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2919546
AutoresY Anthony Chen (0000-0002-6478-6722, University of Wisconsin–Madison), Runzhi Mary Lu (0000-0002-7974-4330, University of Wisconsin–Madison)
Año2024
Volumen41
Número5
Páginas1136-1156
Fecha de publicación2024-05-01
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Social and Personal Relationships (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0265-4075 • E-ISSN: 1460-3608
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/02654075231152910
OpenAlexW4319832617
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas44

Support-seeking, a critical and strategic function of close relationships, is increasingly practiced via texting. Guided by attachment theory and an affordance-centric approach, this study investigated to what extent individuals in a romantic relationship would use texting and face-to-face for support-seeking, and what stimulates their interest in mediated support-seeking. A survey of college students in exclusive romantic relationships ( N = 211) found that several affordances (i.e., accessibility, the availability of social cues, and conversation control) were associated with varying levels of interest in texting or face-to-face for support-seeking. Both accessibility and the availability of social cues were perceived as less important by avoidant individuals, which was related to a lack of interest in texting and face-to-face interactions for support-seeking. Anxious individuals valued the availability of social cues more, which led to a greater interest in face-to-face interactions when seeking assistance. These findings contribute to a better understanding of support-seeking behavior in today's mediated world

Affordance · Cognitive psychology · Conversation · Developmental psychology · Face (sociological concept · Face-to-face · Romance · Social support · Sociology · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Communication · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Psychology · Social Psychology