Social & Personal Relationships – serie

The field of family studies has recently seen the development of a more specialized focus on the character of particular relationships. The nature of these relationships may take many forms but typically involves individuals who view themselves as a unit with a long-term commitment to continue their relationship. Traditionally, at least in western societies, families are defined in terms of two parents living together with responsibility for rearing their children. However, these so-called nuclear families are becoming a rarer phenomenon. Single-parent families, childless couples, lesbian or gay male couples are also all represented in the broad mix of relations referred to as families. Each of the chapters in this book deals with a primary relationship issue. These include:* issues of early marriage* how young relationships become enduring relationships* parent and child relations* conflict between partners* the interface between work and family life* marital quality and maintenance* divorce and its impact on the family* aging and older familiesThis volume provides a useful reference for professionals whose research and/or clinical practice focuses on family relationship issues. This book is also intended for advanced students in the areas of sociology, close relationships and family sciences. Families as Relationships is one of a series of paperbacks dedicated to the study and application of processes by which individuals relate to each other in social and family settings. Each book provides an expanded and up-to-date version of a section in the original Handbook of Personal Relationships (second edition) edited by Steve Duck.

What role do relationships play in the individual's health and the functioning of families and communities? Recent research indicates that relationships are important not only to individuals' well-being, but also to families, whilst their importance in the functioning of communities is only beginning to be recognized and investigated in a systematic way. Each chapter is focused on a cutting-edge application of the personal relationships perspective relevant to clinical and community psychology. The book addresses such issues as the effect of close personal relationships on health outcomes, the impact of genetic testing, family relationships and major mental disorders, and social support dynamics in adjustment to disasters. Theoretical viewpoints and research findings, as well as intervention strategies, are presented on a variety of levels from individual to family to community. Personal Relationships: Implications for Clinical and Community Psychology is essential reading for researchers and scholars within the relationships field, students of clinical and community psychology, social work and psychological nursing.