Close Romantic Relationships

With contributions from the leading experts on relationships, this book covers important issues, such as love as self-expansion, equity in maintaining close relationships, commitment, social support, self-verification, and minding the relationship. The end result is a comprehensive account of the reasons why close relationships are or are not maintained and the manner in which these principles can be applied to current social issues and clinical interventions. Divided into two sections, Part I describes models developed to characterize how relationships are maintained over time, accounts of specific mechanisms at work in close relationships, and conceptualizations of the maintenance and enhancement of close relationships using existing theoretical paradigms. Part II addresses contemporary social issues, as well as clinical applications. Close Romantic Relationships will appeal to students, researchers, and professionals due to its broad sampling of theory and research on relationship maintenance and enhancement.

Contents: A. Wenzel, J.H. Harvey, Introduction: The Movement Toward Studying the Maintenance and Enhancement of Close Romantic Relationships. Part I:Theoretical Approaches.J. Mills, M.S. Clark, Viewing Close Romantic Relationships as Communal Relationships: Implications for Maintenance and Enhancement. J.A. Simpson, W. Ickes, M. Oriña, Empathic Accuracy and Preemptive Relationship Maintenance. A. Aron, C.C. Norman, E.N. Aron, Shared Self-Expanding Activities as a Means of Maintaining and Enhancing Close Romantic Relationships. J.K. Bosson, W.B. Swann, Jr.The Paradox of the Sincere Chameleon: Strategic Self-Verification in Close Relationships. C.E. Rusbult, N. Olsen, J.L. Davis, P.A. Hannon, Commitment and Relationship Maintenance Mechanisms. E.M. Sahlstein, L.A. Baxter, Improvising Commitment in Close Relationships: A Relational Dialectics Perspective. D.J. Canary, L. Stafford, Equity in the Preservation of Personal Relationships. L.K. Acitelli, Maintaining and Enhancing a Relationship by Attending to It. S.L. Gable, H.T. Reis, Appetitive and Aversive Social Interaction. B.R. Karney, J.K. McNulty, N.E. Frye, A Social-Cognitive Perspective on the Maintenance and Deterioration of Relationship Satisfaction. K.D. Wu, Evolution and Evolutionary Psychology: Their Application to Close Relationships. Part II:Applied Issues.S.O. Gaines, Jr., K.A. Brennan, Establishing and Maintaining Satisfaction in Multicultural Relationships. M. Coleman, L. Ganong, S. Weaver, Relationship Maintenance and Enhancement in Remarried Families. B.R. Sarason, I.G. Sarason, Ongoing Aspects of Relationships and Health Outcomes: Social Support, Social Control, Companionship, and Relationship Meaning. H.A. O'Mahen, S.R.H. Beach, S.F. Banawan, Depression in Marriage. J. Jones, B.D. Doss, A. Christensen, Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy. J. Omarzu, J. Whalen, J.H. Harvey, How Well Do You Mind Your Relationship? A Preliminary Scale to Test the Minding Theory of Relating. D. Perlman, Maintaining and Enhancing Relationships: Concluding Commentary.