The effort to understand personal relationships has traditionally focused on the individual characteristics of participants. Personal Relationships and Personal Networks takes this analysis a step further, focusing on research linking participants' feelings and actions within a given personal relationship to the larger social context surrounding it. Author Malcolm R. Parks expands on the idea that the initiation, development, maintenance, and dissolution of relationships are inextricably connected to each participant's social network-a perspective that allows for a better appreciation...

Relational Communication: An Interactional Perspective to the Study of Process and Form brings together in one volume a full treatment of the relational communication perspective on the study of relationships. This perspective takes to heart the formative nature of communication by focusing on the codefined patterns of interaction by which members jointly create their relationship.

This book provides a strong theoretical foundation to the research approach and also offers a step-by-step guide for carrying out the research procedures. It is a complete guide for the beginner or...

In one of the great euphemisms of our time, an embattled President Clinton admitted to an "inappropriate relationship" with his White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. But what exactly is an "inappropriate relationship?" For that matter, what is an "appropriate relationship?" And how can an understanding of the rules of "appropriateness" help us understand personal relationships in our modern world?
Contributors to this book discuss the personal boundaries and taboos of modern relationships. Together they examine the power struggles that can occur when individuals are involved in...

This volume examines communication processes within the grandmother-mother-daughter relationship, emphasizing an intergenerational perspective. Using observations of and extensive interviews with six sets of middle-income, Caucasian female family members, this book offers a heuristic account of intergenerational mother-daughter relational communication.
Author Michelle Miller-Day integrates and juxtaposes alternative experiences of social interaction, situating readers in the world of grandmothers, mothers, adult daughters, and granddaughters as they experience, describe, and analyze...

A Lifetime of Communication explores the developmental processes that make for uniquely human change and growth. In this distinctive work, author Julie Yingling utilizes a single case example of a child, her parents, and other influential figures to demonstrate developmental interaction and transformational life events. Using relational and dialogic perspectives, Yingling follows the child from infancy into adolescence and adulthood, through the stages which the child acquires the means to communicate, to form and develop through relationships, to build human cognitive processes, and...

A Lifetime of Communication explores the developmental processes that make for uniquely human change and growth. In this distinctive work, author Julie Yingling utilizes a single case example of a child, her parents, and other influential figures to demonstrate developmental interaction and transformational life events. Using relational and dialogic perspectives, Yingling follows the child from infancy into adolescence and adulthood, through the stages which the child acquires the means to communicate, to form and develop through relationships, to build human cognitive processes, and...

"Nonverbal Communication in Close Relationships" provides a synthesis of research on nonverbal communication as it applies to interpersonal interaction, focusing on the close relationships of friends, family, and romantic partners. Authors Laura K. Guerrero and Kory Floyd support the premise that nonverbal communication is a product of biology, social learning, and relational context. They overview six prominent nonverbal theories and show how each is related to bio-evolutionary or sociocultural perspectives. Their work focuses on various functions of nonverbal communication, emphasizing...

Nonverbal Communication in Close Relationships provides a synthesis of research on nonverbal communication as it applies to interpersonal interaction, focusing on the close relationships of friends, family, and romantic partners. Authors Laura K. Guerrero and Kory Floyd support the premise that nonverbal communication is a product of biology, social learning, and relational context. They overview six prominent nonverbal theories and show how each is related to bio-evolutionary or sociocultural perspectives. Their work focuses on various functions of nonverbal communication, emphasizing...

This book focuses on safe sex discussion and practice in close, personal relationships, emphasizing research on individuals in personal relationship types that are experiencing a rise in HIV infection and AIDS. Moving beyond studies of gay adult males and IV drug-users, this work paints a clear picture of the very real risk that exists for these less-studied, more general populations, so individuals may better personalize the risk and engage in more preventative measures Authors Tara Emmers-Sommer and Mike Allen examine issues surrounding safer sex, utilizing research that focuses on how...

This volume brings together contributions on the study of sexual affairs in committed personal relationships. The editors enlisted colleagues with varied theoretical and methodological perspectives from Britain, the United States, and other countries. Together, their contributions provide a broad, cross-national perspective on affairs.
Grounded in theoretical discussion, the chapters in this book introduce data collected by a broad range of methods, including attitude surveys, large statistical cohort studies, case studies, depth interviews, and group discussions. A number of contributors...