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Distance Regulation in Personal Relationships: The Development of a Conceptual Model and a Test of Representational Validity

University of Missouri-Columbia, hessj{at}missouri.edu

Distance is a basic quality of all personal relationships, but little attempt has been made to develop a classification scheme for means of distance regulation that is parsimonious, conceptually structured, and representationally valid. This study reports the development of a model designed to meet those criteria. A classification scheme for distancing tactics was created by coding the narrative accounts of 185 respondents and comparing that scheme with 114 respondents' perceived structure of the tactics. These two data sets showed considerable similarity, and, as a result, a classification scheme was derived with three basic distancing strategies: avoidance, disengagement, and cognitive dissociation.

Key Words: distance • interpersonal communication • relational maintenance • relational messages

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