Creation and Maintenance of Voluntary Kin Relationships
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ABSTRACT “I FEEL LIKE IT’S ALMOST DEEPER THAN FAMILY IN A WAY”: CREATION AND MAINTENANCE OF VOLUNTARY KIN RELATIONSHIPS This study explores the creation and maintenance of voluntary kin relationships. Through purposeful and snowball sampling 24 participants took part in two phases of data collection; the first being an online questionnaire, followed by an interview. The online open-ended questionnaire asked the participants to provide the story of their voluntary kin relationships, and the follow-up interviews were unstructured with the goal of expanding on the information proved in their open-ended questionnaire. An iterative approach was taken to identify how the participants created their voluntary kin relationships, and once these relationships were created, how these relationships were maintained using relational maintenance behaviors. The largest portion of the participants created their voluntary kin through time, which was either how long they have known their voluntary kin or how much time they have spent with their voluntary kin. Followed by being born into a previously established voluntary kin relationship and traumatic events that served as positive turning points in their relationship. The most common way that the participants maintained their voluntary kin relationships was through declaration of family, or using biological and legal family titles to identify their voluntary kin; the second being through shared activities together. The goal of this study was to add to the research on how individuals create their families outside of biological and legal means, furthering the research in relational maintenance, while in addition provide a glimpse into how two different relational communication phenomena come together and affect each other. Keywords: voluntary kin, relational maintenance, discourse dependent families Nicole Vulich May 2019 “I FEEL LIKE IT’S ALMOST DEEPER THAN FAMILY IN A WAY”: CREATION AND MAINTENANCE OF VOLUNTARY KIN RELATIONSHIPS by Nicole Vulich A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication in the College of Arts and Humanities California State University, Fresno May 2019 APPROVED For the Department of Communication: We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the university and the student’s graduate degree program for the awarding of the master’s degree. Nicole Vulich Thesis Author Falon Kartch (Chair) Communication Katherine Adams Communication Robert Powell Communication For the University Graduate Committee: Dean, Division of Graduate Studies AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION OF MASTER’S THESIS X I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in its entirety without further authorization from me, on the condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of authorship. Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must be obtained from me. Signature of thesis author: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To Dr. Falon Kartch, thank you for introducing me to voluntary kin and giving me the tools and the desire to explore it. The discovery of voluntary kin that night in Family Communication has changed my life in more ways than I can even count. To Dr. Katherine Adams, thank you for always pushing me and believing that I could do this even when I myself was sure this was impossible. To Dr. Robert Powell, thank you for always being a part of my crew. To my voluntary kin, I am forever grateful for your unconditional love and support; without you all, none of this would be possible. To Angel my first +one, Rachel my big sister, and Bryan my “Eddie,” without your love, support, understanding, teaching, and guidance I would not be here today. “I wouldn’t have nothing if I didn’t have you.” To Natalie and Danny, thank you for supporting me, and becoming family. “Don’t stop me now, I’m having such a good time, I’m having a ball.” To all the participants, who gave their time and stories, thank you for giving me so much more than just data. Without the participants sharing their lives, so openly and personally, there would be no study. It was the need to share the participants’ lived experiences that carried me through this long process. Thank you for being so open, even when it was difficult, and I hope I helped bring to you the knowledge that you are not alone. Together we have provided more examples of the importance of recognizing voluntary kin as family. And last but not least, to my husband, my partner, whom I would not have without this thesis, you are one of my favorite things to come out of this research. I cannot thank you enough for your unconditional love, support (bring the support of the British Empire with you), and countless cuppas, but most importantly for answering the call for participants. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 Rationale ..................................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERTURE ......................................................................... 7 The Evolving Definitions of Family ........................................................................... 7 Voluntary Kin ........................................................................................................... 10 Relational Maintenance Behaviors and Strategies .................................................... 16 CHAPTER 3: METHODS ................................................................................................ 26 Participants ................................................................................................................ 26 Data Collection ......................................................................................................... 29 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................ 32 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS .................................................................................................. 37 Research Questions #1: Creation of Voluntary Kin Relationships .......................... 37 Research Questions #2: Relational Maintenance of Voluntary Kin Relationships ................................................................................................. 48 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 72 Research Question #1: How are Voluntary Kin Relationships Created? .................. 72 Research Question #2: How are Voluntary Kin Relationships Maintained? ............ 83 The Interplay Between “Creating” Family and “Maintaining” its Existence ......... 115 Conclusion and Future Directions .......................................................................... 121 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 128 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................ 136 APPENDIX A: PHASE 1 OF DATA COLLECTION – QUALTRICS QUESTIONNAIRE PROTOCOL ........................................................................... 137 APPENDIX B: PHASE 2 OF DATA COLLECTION – FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEW PROTOCOL ............................................................................................................ 142 LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 RQ #1: Creation of Voluntary Kin Relationships (N = 74) ................................ 47 Table 2 RQ #2: Relational Maintenance of Voluntary Kin Relationships (N = 764) ..... 70 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The family is an intricate part of an individual’s life. Families are the first experience we have in a group and families are also where we first learn how to interact with others. Families are an important part of the human experience, but how is a family defined? What individuals make a family? The word “family” may first conjure thoughts of the “nuclear family” with a husband and wife with 2.5 children and a dog, but how many families actually fit the stereotype? Family communication scholars have researched families that are beyond that stereotype and do not have the biological or legal ties that are part of the stereotypical family. Some of the ways that scholars have researched families outside of the stereotypical family connections are the discovery and discussion of fictive kin (Ballweg, 1969; Ibsen & Klobus, 1972); how individuals view and define family (Trost, 1990); and how family can be defined outside of the biological and legal structural definitions (Baxter et al., 2009; Braithwaite et al., 2010; Braithwaite, Abetz, Moore, & Brockhage, 2016; Bedford & Blieszner, 1997; Breshears, 2010; Edwards & Graham, 2009; Floyd & Morman, 2006; Galvin, 2006, 2014; Gazso & McDaniel, 2015; Holtzman, 2008; Nelson, 2013; Scott & Scott, 2015; Tew, Ackerman, & Harlan, 2013; Voorpostel, 2013). Voluntary kin is one of these family definitions that is outside of the stereotypical family definition (Braithwaite et al., 2010). The concept of family has undergone changes in modern times. Galvin (2014) claimed that the ideas of what constitutes a family are in flux. The way that “family”