This volume presents cutting edge research and theory on stability and change in personal relationships. The first section includes chapters that describe the "scaffolding " of stability and change. It focuses on various qualities that partners bring to their relationships. The second section emphasizes ongoing processes that characterize relationships. Chapters focus on issues such as arguing and sacrificing. The final section of the volume describes the influences of social environments on stability and change in relationships. Historical and cross-cultural contexts are examined, as are social networks and the effect of technology.

Explaining Family Interactions represents a unique collection that may stand alone or complement a traditional textbook. The contents reflect the ever-changing nature of families and the role communication plays in creating and maintaining family relationships. The collection captures the wide universe of family experience as represented in fine scholarship. --Kathleen M. Galvin, Northwestern University What relationship exists between family structure and communication? How do communication patterns between family members change over time? What role does culture play in family communication? In this groundbreaking volume, a stellar team of contributors answers these and other significant questions by offering a detailed review of current research and state-of-the-art ideas concerning both communication processes and family functioning. Contributors explore a rich tapestry of topics, including family conflict, courtship and dating relationships, postdivorce relations, communication and family culture, and dual-career families, to name but a few. And, while contributors each explore different aspects of family communication, all address similar questions and incorporate a range of methodological and/or theoretical positions. Explaining Family Interactions is an ideal resource for all scholars and students in the fields of interpersonal communication, family studies, relationships, family sociology, and social psychology.

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.

Prevention through appropriate behavior is the best weapon available to fight further spread of HIV infection. However, individuals take necessary actions to prevent diseases such as AIDS only when they are properly informed and they feel motivated to respond to the information they possess. In order to achieve a clearer understanding of these two facets of the prevention process, this book examines the interplay of the messages individuals receive about AIDS at the public level and the messages exchanged between individuals at the interpersonal level. The specific purpose of the book is to provide a theoretical and conceptual foundation for understanding the pragmatic concerns related to the AIDS crisis in the United States and other parts of the world. The book represents the first systematic examination of how theory informs our understanding of AIDS and communication processes. Contributors explore the issues from a variety of theoretical and conceptual viewpoints. Their goal is to stimulate thought which will lead to the pragmatic application of the ideas presented. The chapters focus on four general communication concerns: * interpersonal interaction as it relates to choices individuals make about safer sex practices, * theory and practice of public campaigns about AIDS, * intercultural issues, and * critical and descriptive approaches for understanding news coverage of AIDS.

Explaining Family Interactions represents a unique collection that may stand alone or complement a traditional textbook. The contents reflect the ever-changing nature of families and the role communication plays in creating and maintaining family relationships. The collection captures the wide universe of family experience as represented in fine scholarship. --Kathleen M. Galvin, Northwestern University What relationship exists between family structure and communication? How do communication patterns between family members change over time? What role does culture play in family communication? In this groundbreaking volume, a stellar team of contributors answers these and other significant questions by offering a detailed review of current research and state-of-the-art ideas concerning both communication processes and family functioning. Contributors explore a rich tapestry of topics, including family conflict, courtship and dating relationships, postdivorce relations, communication and family culture, and dual-career families, to name but a few. And, while contributors each explore different aspects of family communication, all address similar questions and incorporate a range of methodological and/or theoretical positions. Explaining Family Interactions is an ideal resource for all scholars and students in the fields of interpersonal communication, family studies, relationships, family sociology, and social psychology.