Stability And Change In Relationships

Understanding interpersonal relationships requires understanding actors, behaviors, and contexts. This 2002 volume presents research from a variety of disciplines that examine personal relationships on all three levels. The first section focuses on the factors that influence individuals to enter, maintain, and dissolve relationships. The second section emphasizes ongoing processes that characterize relationships and focuses on issues such as arguing and sacrificing. The third and final section demonstrates that the process of stability and change are embedded in social, cultural, and historical contexts. Chapters address cultural universals as well as cross-cultural differences in relationship behaviors and outcomes. The emergence of relational forms, such as the interaction between people and computers, is also explored. Stability and Change in Relationships will be of interest to a broad range of fields, including psychology, sociology, communications, gerontology, and counselling.

Understanding interpersonal relationships requires understanding actors, behaviors, and contexts. This 2002 volume presents research from a variety of disciplines that examine personal relationships on all three levels. The first section focuses on the factors that influence individuals to enter, maintain, and dissolve relationships. The second section emphasizes ongoing processes that characterize relationships and focuses on issues such as arguing and sacrificing. The third and final section demonstrates that the process of stability and change are embedded in social, cultural, and historical contexts. Chapters address cultural universals as well as cross-cultural differences in relationship behaviors and outcomes. The emergence of relational forms, such as the interaction between people and computers, is also explored. Stability and Change in Relationships will be of interest to a broad range of fields, including psychology, sociology, communications, gerontology, and counselling.

First published in 1996, this enlightening book about facilitating therapeutic change within the couple relationship opens with a transcript of one of a series of lectures by Virginia Satir. It presents readers with Satir’s observations – observations that show the difference between thinking with systems in mind and thinking linearly – of process, interrelatedness and attitudes. Readers will find these and the observations of contributors that follow full of practical application potential. In this title the editor brings together contributors who show how to affect change in couples by explaining dynamics of the male/female relationship and by expanding upon the roles of the therapist. Specifically, contributors give readers information about: Male/female relationships over a 30, 000-year history and how history may have affected present day relationships between men and women Therapists as merely resource providers who facilitate self-discovery and self-solutions The necessity of marital therapy in maintaining stability and change from both systemic-interpersonal and intrapersonal perspectives Psychodynamic, affective and insight-oriented, marital therapy The consultative conversation model and its relationship to the change process in couples therapy Fostering change of psychological (emotional and verbal) abuse Why women leave abusive relationships The use of a specific physical posture for assessing a couple’s interactive style Therapists who work with couples will keep Couples and Change within reach and refer to it often as they help couples develop more healthy, satisfying relationships.

Learn how to have better sex with your partner and build a lasting, satisfying relationship in this guide by a seasoned couples therapist. Dr. Bruce Chalmer’s Reigniting the Spark shows couples how to build a lasting relationship full of passion and fulfillment. You’ll find out how to improve your communication, have better sex, and avoid pointless arguments. Dr. Chalmer combines his expertise in science with thirty years of experience as a couples therapist to show how you can restore intimacy and overcome any relationship problem to create and maintain a lively, loving, lasting relationship. He offers a unique perspective on the role of faith—not necessarily religious—in relationships. Whatever your faith background, religious or secular, Dr. Chalmer’s approach to faith as a key to unlocking intimacy will inform and inspire you. This book explores the most common issues that sap the happiness out of a relationship and shows you exactly what to do to turn it around. Written in a relatable and easy-to-understand style, Reigniting the Spark will help you better understand yourself and your partner so you can both be more satisfied. Whether you’re reading alone or with a partner, this book will teach you: How to build and restore intimacy, trust, and a deep connection in your relationship How to identify triggering issues like trauma that could be sapping the joy out of your relationship, and exactly what to do about it A list of bad reasons people get married—and one good one How to go from plain old sex, to good sex, to sacred sex How to be your best self when your partner has been unfaithful How to know when to break up, and when to work through the inevitable growing pains in your relationship Reigniting the Spark is for any couple who’s ready to create a stronger, more fulfilling relationship. Perfect for fans of The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by Jon Gottman and Nan Silver, Kosher Sex by Shmuley Boteach, Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel, The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman, and Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendricks and Helen LaKelly Hunt.

Pathways through the life course have changed considerably in recent decades. Many of our assumptions about leaving home, starting new relationships and having children have been turned upside down. It is now almost as common to have children prior to marriage as afterwards, and certainly much more common to live together before marrying than to marry without first living together. Women are more likely to remain in the labour force after having children and many families struggle with problems of work-family balance at some stage in their lives, particularly when they have young children. But how much has really changed? Is there really more diversity in how individuals transition through these life course stages, or just variations at the margin with most people following a standard work and family life course? This volume makes use of rich longitudinal data from a unique Australian project to examine these issues. Drawing on broader theories of social change and demographic transitions in an international context, each chapter provides a detailed empirical assessment of the ways in which Australian adults negotiate their work and family lives. In doing so, the volume provides important insight into the ways in which recent demographic, social and economic changes both challenge and reproduce gender divisions.

Is love best when it is fresh? For many, the answer is a resounding “yes.” The intense experiences that characterize new love are impossible to replicate, leading to wistful reflection and even a repeated pursuit of such ecstatic beginnings. Aaron Ben-Ze’ev takes these experiences seriously, but he’s also here to remind us of the benefits of profound love—an emotion that can only develop with time. In The Arc of Love, he provides an in-depth, philosophical account of the experiences that arise in early, intense love—sexual passion, novelty, change—as well as the benefits of cultivating long-term, profound love—stability, development, calmness. Ben-Ze’ev analyzes the core of emotions many experience in early love and the challenges they encounter, and he offers pointers for weathering these challenges. Deploying the rigorous analysis of a philosopher, but writing clearly and in an often humorous style with an eye to lived experience, he takes on topics like compromise, commitment, polyamory, choosing a partner, online dating, and when to say “I love you.” Ultimately, Ben-Ze’ev assures us, while love is indeed best when fresh, if we tend to it carefully, it can become more delicious and nourishing even as time marches on.

In a world where we have an endless number of options to swipe through, why do many of us repeatedly return to previous romantic partners? This book addresses this question by synthesizing the research on relationships that break up and renew (i.e. 'on-again, off-again' relationships) from various disciplines including communication, social psychology, family studies, and sociology. It explicates the various types and trajectories of on-again, off-again relationships, and uncovers how these relationships are different from those that do not split up and reconcile. Because on-again, off-again relationships challenge traditional notions of relationship stability and highlight the fluctuating nature of relationships, alternative conceptualizations of stability are also reviewed. This book is a theoretical and practical resource for researchers, students, and professionals interested in understanding why partners repeatedly reconcile with ex-partners.

How can we make sense of change and stability through the lifespan of human development? What role does personal experience, our relationships with others, and historical and sociocultural contexts play in shaping these changes? This is the first book to offer an integrative overview of the range of developmental transitions which occur through the lifespan. Bringing together different theoretical and conceptual perspectives and a broad range of empirical research including quantitative and qualitative approaches, this book encompasses a range of complex transitional forms. Covering topics such as health transitions, transitions in friendships and romantic relationships, career transitions, and societal transitions, this book takes the reader beyond a focus on childhood and adolescence, to look at the whole lifespan. Reflecting a perspective that takes into account a sociocultural past and present, this book seeks to show how transitions can be viewed as both an experience of uncertainty and possibility. Transitions perform important functions and present psychosocial opportunities. Developmental Transitions is essential reading for all undergraduate and graduate students of developmental and cultural psychology and is also a valuable resource for academics and practitioner audiences interested in stability and change as people age.

Understanding personal relationships throughout the life course is one of the most crucial issues in the behavioral and social sciences. This book brings together perspectives from different disciplines on individual development and personal relationships across the life span. The book addresses two pertinent dimensions of personal relationships: 1) structures of relationship networks (e.g. kin vs non-kin, peripheral vs intimate, short-term vs long-term) and 2) processes (i.e. change or stability) and outcomes of personal relationships across the life span. The book stimulates discussion of personal relationships as resources for and outcomes of individual development throughout the life course. Different qualities of personal relationships serve as catalysts for individual development. At the same time, relationship qualities reflect changes of developing individuals. The book does not give exclusive priority to one phase of the human life span. Rather, each chapter addresses social development across the entire life span from childhood to later adulthood.