Communication motives as mediators of sibling intimacy and relational maintenance and communication frequency
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We tested whether sibling communication motives (i.e., pleasure, affection, and inclusion) would mediate the link between sibling intimacy and both sibling relationship maintenance and communication frequency. A total of 171 Mexican origin college students were recruited from a predominantly Hispanic university. Parallel mediation models revealed that having a close intimate sibling relationship was negatively associated with pleasure, which, in turn, was negatively associated with relationship maintenance. Having a close intimate sibling relationship was also positively associated with affection and inclusion; however, these motives did not significantly predict relationship maintenance. Similar associations emerged for communication frequency, except that neither of the motives significantly predicted communication frequency. Our findings may suggest that primarily communicating with siblings for pleasure reflects a less intimate sibling relationship, by which maintenance behaviors are less likely to occur. We also tested whether these processes would be moderated by maternal warmth, paternal warmth, and familism. None of the moderators significantly impacted the mediating role of communication motives. However, the positive association between sibling intimacy and inclusion was strongest under conditions of high parental warmth. Our findings corroborate the notion that sibling relationships complement parent child relationships during early adulthood, but they may also play a compensatory role.
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Ph. D.