113 RELATIONSHIP MAINTENANCE ON FACEBOOK: DEVELOPMENT OF A MEASURE, RELATIONSHIP TO GENERAL MAINTENANCE, AND RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION MARIANNE DAINTON, PH.D., PROFESSOR Department of Communication La Salle University Philadelphia, PA 19141 Previous research indicates that the primary reason college students use Facebook is for relationship maintenance. The present study sought to determine the relationship between Facebook maintenance and general maintenance efforts in college student romantic relation- ships, as well as the impacts of such behaviors on the relationship. Survey data were collected from 189 individuals in romantic rela- tionships. Based on previous research, scale items were developed to measure the use of positivity, assurances, and openness via Facebook. Results indicate that the scale items loaded onto the predicted factors, and that they demonstrated internal reliability. However, the correla- tions between the general versions of assurances and positivity and the online measures of those same behaviors were not strong, and the correlation between the general version of openness and the online version of that behavior was insignificant. Facebook positivity was moderately, positively correlated with relationship satisfaction, and Facebook assurances demonstrated a slight, positive correlation with relationship satisfaction. When controlling for more general mainte- nance behavior, Facebook positivity was the sole online behavior to predict satisfaction, contributing only three percent of the variance of relational satisfaction. The booming of the Facebook era in ev- eryday practice has corresponding with in- creased interest in the study of how the social networking site has influenced interpersonal relationships, especially among college stu- dents. A majority of these studies has indi- cated that the primary motive for individuals’ use of Facebook is to maintain relationships (e.g., Craig & Wright, 2012; Sheldon, 2008; Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2009). Yet, few studies to date have investigated the means by which Facebook allows for maintenance, nor has the relative impact of Facebook mainte- nance on the relationship been assessed. This study seeks to ameliorate that gap through a focus on the maintenance strategies used to sustain college student romantic relationships via Facebook. In addition, the relative impact of general maintenance activity and Face- book maintenance will be examined, with a particular focus on predicting relationship satisfaction. First, definitional issues need to be ad- dressed. Relationship maintenance refers to the cognitions, behaviors, and interactions that individuals engage in to keep their rela- tionship in a desired state (Dainton, 2003). Although there are numerous approaches to the study of maintenance, the operational- ization of romantic relationship maintenance provided by Stafford, Canary and colleagues is used most frequently (Canary & Stafford, 1992; Stafford & Canary, 1991; Stafford, Dainton & Haas, 2000). The original re-