Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships, 2020a

sibling is a great way to enjoy each other’s company. Often siblings find things completely hilarious that
outsiders may not understand because of the unique nature of sibling relationships. Siblings also can
lovingly make fun of each other. Now, we’re not talking about making fun of someone in a demeaning
or mean-spirited manner. For example, one of our coauthors has an older brother who loves to give him
a hard time. Recently, our coauthor misspelled something on Facebook, and his brother was right there
to point it out and give him a hard time. In some relationships, this could be viewed as criticism, but
because of the nature of their relationship, our coauthor knew the incident should be taken in jest.
The third way siblings engage in relational maintenances is through social support. Social support is an
individual’s perception and the actuality that an individual is loved and cared for and has people he/she/
they can turn to when assistance or help is needed. Between siblings, this could involve conversations
about one’s romantic life or even about parental concerns. Another way that siblings often provide social
support is by giving and seeking advice from her/his/their sibling(s).
The fourth way that families engage in social support is through family events. Not all families are big
on family events, but some families participate in close-knit gatherings regularly. Some siblings will avoid
these events to avoid seeing their other siblings, but many siblings see these opportunities as a way to
keep their sibling relationships going. One of our coauthor’s family has problems getting together each
year during the holidays because of how busy their schedules are in December. Instead, our coauthor
and family go on family trips. Over the years, they’ve gone to Australia, Alaska, Hawaii, The Bahamas,
San Francisco, New York City, New Zealand, and many other places. Currently, they’re planning trips
to Belize and back to Hawaii. The family looks forward to these vacations together. In addition to these
trips, our coauthor’s father also arranges periodic family reunions for his side of the family. Our coauthor
and their sibling often end up rooming together because both are single. Ultimately, both look forward to
these reunions because it gives them a chance to catch up.
It’s often great to attend family events, but we usually only like to attend when we know our sibling will be
there. In these cases, we often use our siblings as a form of escape. In fact, some siblings will only attend
family get-togethers when they know their sibling(s) will be there. We often have a range of reasons for
why we need to escape when we’re interacting with our family, but we are sure glad our sibling(s) are
there when we need that escape.
Verbal Aggression
The final relational maintenance strategy that siblings have been found to use is verbal aggression.
Verbal aggression is generally not viewed as a positive tool for communication. However, some sibling
pairs have realized over time that verbally aggressive behavior allows them to get their way or vent their
frustrations. However, in the original study by Weber and Myers, the researchers did find that all of the
other relational maintenance strategies were positively related to sibling liking, commitment, and trust,
but verbal aggression was not. 57
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Interpersonal Communication