How can we get the most out of our close relationships? Research in the area of personal relationships continues to grow, but most prior work has emphasized how to overcome negative aspects. This volume demonstrates that a good relationship is more than simply the absence of a bad relationship, and that establishing and maintaining optimal relationships entails enacting a set of processes that are distinct from merely avoiding negative or harmful behaviors. Drawing on recent relationship science to explore issues such as intimacy, attachment, passion, sacrifice, and compassionate goals, the essays in this volume emphasize the positive features that allow relationships to flourish. In doing so, they integrate several theoretical perspectives, concepts, and mechanisms that produce optimal relationships. The volume also includes a section on intensive and abbreviated interventions that have been empirically validated to be effective in promoting the positive features of close relationships.

An outline of how power, an inherent feature of social interactions, operates and affects close relationships.

Embedded within the sociocultural context of romantic relationships are features such as race, culture, neighborhoods, the legal system, and governmental policy. Due to the inherent difficulties with studying large structures and systems, little work has been done at the macro level in relationship science. This volume spotlights the complex interplay between romantic relationships and these structural systems, including varied insights from experts in the field. In turn, more diverse and generalizable research programs on the social ecology of relationships can be developed, helping to facilitate advances in theory. Scholars and students of relationship science in psychology, sociology, communication, and family studies will benefit from these discussions. This title is part of the Flip it Open programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

Interdependence theory is a powerful and applicable theory that has shaped the study of interpersonal relationships for decades, providing foundational constructs and elucidating key assumptions within the burgeoning field of relationship science. Research guided by interdependence theory sheds light on the diverse phenomena within ongoing relationships, including the emergence of co-operation, trust, dependence, power, and relationship maintenance. At its core, interdependence theory pinpoints key elements of daily interactions that predict specific experiences and outcomes that people have in different situations. This handbook goes further to explain how interdependence theory continues to be used fruitfully in research, driving our current understanding of relational processes. We invite you to enter the world of interdependence and discover what top scholars across disciplines are discussing in their efforts to fully understand close, intimate relationships.

Discusses contemporary research that examines the ways that close relationships are involved in, and affected by, health and wellness.

What makes for strong and enduring relationships? It is a question of increasing scientific and popular interest as it has become clear that relationships can make life happier, healthier, and longer. In this collection, the reader will find an overview of state-of-the-art research on this question and a glimpse of the new directions that will define the future of this field of study. With contributions from leading scholars in the field, the book offers cutting-edge perspectives on the factors and processes that contribute to strong, thriving, and resilient close relationships. Split into three parts, the first part discusses important factors and processes contributing to strong relational bonds in the form of different types of relationships. The second part spotlights contexts such as culture and gender as the domain for future advances in this area of research. Finally, the last part covers data analytic techniques and future directions. Offering a unique perspective on each topic covered, the authors highlight the promising next steps which will inspire advances in the field in the years to come. Bringing together important trends from different areas of research, this text will make a significant contribution to social psychology and is essential for students and academics interested in the psychology of relationships.

By unpacking 'on-again, off-again' relationships, this book addresses the whys, hows, and outcomes of reconciling with ex-partners.

A ground breaking study of the ways that intimate relationships are similar around the world, and the ways they are different.

Human sexuality touches us all, pun intended. We all either enjoy it, struggle with it, or may have been victims of it. Sexuality is not just about sex, but about human sexual function, the physiology of sex, the hormones involved and how they affect us, and the cultural norms related to it. Sexual function and dysfunction are closely tied to one's self-esteem, self-respect, and to relationships with intimate partners. Human Sexuality: Function, Dysfunction, Paraphilias, and Relationships, explores the interplay of intimacy and sexuality; how it can enhance relationships, and how it can negatively affect them, or be affected by them. When individuals or partners encounter sexual problems or dysfunctions it can have a long-lasting affect both biologically and psychologically. Dr. Rokach explores the causes and the reasons that these dysfunctions are maintained, and successful treatment methods. Chapters on sexual offenses and paraphilias and what treatment options are available to sexual offenders are also included. This book is the first book to place sexuality where it belongs, within the context of relationships demonstrating how sexuality relates to intimacy by both enhancing and negatively affecting it. - Explains psychological, biological and sociological theories of sexuality - Addresses sexual dysfunctions according to various models of sex therapy - Discusses the biological, developmental and sociological theories of sexual orientation - Explores the specific hormones in male and female sexual behavior

Provides an interdisciplinary perspective on behaviors and strategies used to maintain intimate relationships.