The Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships serves as a benchmark of the current state of scholarship in this dynamic field synthesizing the extant theoretical and empirical literature, tracing its historical roots, and making recommendations for future directions. The volume addresses a broad range of established and emerging topics including: theoretical and methodological issues that influence the study of personal relationships; research and theory on relationship development, the nature and functions of personal relationships across the lifespan; individual differences and their influences on relationships; relationship processes such as cognition, emotion, and communication; relational qualities such as satisfaction and commitment; environmental influences on personal relationships; and maintenance and repair of relationships. The authors are experts from a variety of disciplines including several subfields of psychology, communication, family studies and sociology who have made major contributions to the understanding of relationships.
• Most up-to-date reviews, broad range of topics, deep analysis, and balanced perspectives on controversial issues • Distinguished contributors • Coherent presentation of multidisciplinary perspectives on fascinating, crucially important aspect of human existence
Contents
Part I: 1. Introduction; Part II. Foundations for Studying Relationships: 2. The Seven Seas of the study of personal relationships: from 'The Thousand Islands' to interconnected waterways; 3. Theoretical perspectives in the study of close relationships; 4. Research methods for the study of personal relationships; 5. Advances in data analytic methods for relationships research: the broad utility of Hierarchical linear modeling ; 6. Relationship typologies; Part III. Development of Relationships: 7. From courtship to universal properties: research on dating and mate selection, 1950 to 2003; 8. Marital development; 9. Divorce and post-divorce relationships; Part IV. Relationships across the Lifespan: 10. Relationships in early and middle childhood; 11. Relationships in adolescence and early adulthood; 12. Close relationships in middle and late adulthood; Part V. Individual Differences: 13. Personality and relationships: a temperament perspective; 14. Attachment theory, individual psychodynamics, and relationship functioning; 15. 'His' and 'her' relationships?: a review of the empirical evidence; 16. Intimate same-sex relationships of sexual minorities; 17. Family relationships and depression; Part VI. Basic Processes: 18. Communication: basic properties and their relevance to relationship research; 19. Social cognition in intimate relationships; 20. Emotion in theories of close relationships; 21. I've got you under my skin: physiology and interpersonal relationships; Part VII. Interactive Processes: 22. Self-disclosure in personal relationships; 23. Close relationships and social support: implications for the measurement of social support; 24. Understanding couple conflict; 25. Sexuality in close relationships; Part VIII. Threats to Relationships: 26. Loneliness and social isolation; 27. Stress in couples: the process of dyadic coping; 28. Lying and deception in close relationships; 29. Temptations and threat: extradyadic relations and jealousy; 30. Violence and abuse in personal relationships: conflict, terror, and resistance in intimate partnerships; Part IX. Relational Qualities: 31. Relationship satisfaction; 32. Romantic love; 33. Commitment processes; 34. Intimacy; Part X. Context: 35. Social networks and personal communities; 36. Relationships in home and community environments: a transactional and dialectic analysis; 37. Relationships, culture, and social change; 38. Personal relationships: on and off the internet; Part XI. Maintenance and Repair of Relationships: 39. Maintaining relationships; 40. The treatment of relationship distress: theoretical perspectives and empirical findings; Part XII. Conclusion: 41.Bringing it all together: a theoretical approach.
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