Social scientists from various disciplines have been increasingly concerned with the nature, structure, and function of close relationships. Although most of the early work on the topic of close relationships drew attention to the development of close relationships, since the mid-1970s researchers have begun to investigate the many different aspects connected to the loss of close relationships. Despite the change to a more comprehensive conceptual framework, close relationship research is often criticized for being atheoretical; the research is criticized for being purely descriptive in nature and thus lacking a more theoretical framework. Contrary to this belief, I wish to argue that researchers in the area of close relationship loss employ several critical and prominent theoretical perspectives to describe, explain, and understand the endings of relationships-thus, the fruition of this book. The major aim of this edited book is to present and illuminate, within one volume, some of these major theoretical perspectives. The volume as a whole has several unique qualities. First, within each chapter, the authors provide a general overview of the theoretical per spective or approach within which they examine close relationship loss.

Given the relationship between trauma, loss, and interpersonal bonds, the editors have assembled a noteworthy list of contributions discussing trauma associated with close relationships (divorce, infertility, widowhood). Certainly, trauma is closely associated with loss. This edited volume offers the perspective of over twenty leading scholars in the study of trauma and loss. Each chapter offers extensive coverage of contemporary issues (terror management, rational suicide, spirituality, stigmatization). Relationship issues within these topics are also explored.

As Ellen Bercheid points out in her foreword to this volume, relationship science is a complex and ever expanding field. Much credit goes to editors Clyde Hendrick and Susan S. Hendrick for their scholarly dedication to the advancement of this multidisciplinary arena. This sourcebook demonstrates, yet again, their expertise and leadership as they succeed in combining many great contributions to the field by some of the most respected specialists around. Read this book for a panoramic view of close relationship research with highlights from current literature, original research, practical applications, and projections for future research.

'The authors ...extend the reach of their comprehensive reviews into theoretically driven and innovating explorations. The scope of coverage across and within chapters is striking. The developmentalist, the methodologist, the feminist, the contextualist, and the cross-culturalist alike will find satisfaction in reading the chapters' - Catherine A Surra, University of Texas, Austin The science of close relationships is relatively new and complex. This volume has 26 chapters organized into four thematic areas: relationship methods, forms, processes, and threats, as well as a foreword and an epilogue.

Close Relationships: Functions, Forms and Processes provides an overview of current theory and research in the area of close relationships, written by internationally renowned scholars whose work is at the cutting edge of research in the field. The volume consists of three sections: introductory issues, types of relationships, and relationship processes. In the first section, there is an exploration of the functions and benefits of close relationships, the diversity of methodologies used to study them, and the changing social context in which close relationships are embedded. A second section examines the various types of close relationships, including family bonds and friendships. The third section focuses on key relationship processes, including attachment, intimacy, sexuality, and conflict. This book is designed to be an essential resource for senior undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, and practitioners, and will be suitable as a resource in advanced courses dealing with the social psychology of close relationships.

Guides readers through the emotions and practical concerns of finding love after the death of a partner. Romantic love, in all its permutations, forms one of the most fascinating of human interactions. It also can be one of life’s thorniest challenges, especially in a world where relationships often unfold online and, recently, where a pandemic barred face-to-face contact with people outside one’s immediate household. Among those seeking romance in increasing numbers is a group that stands apart: the women who, slammed by the death of a spouse, bravely pursue new love. Finding Love After Loss: A Relationship Roadmap for Widows goes to the trenches to interview widows who have embarked, nervously but with hope, on this quest. Their frank and revealing interviews, along with wisdom from relationship experts, provide guidance to other women trying to navigate the relationship scene when their last date might have been decades ago. Where do widows find new partners? How much should they share in their online profile? What do they tell their friends and family? What about getting naked for the first time with a new man? Who pays when the bill appears at a restaurant? More than any time in U.S. history, the country’s widows are seeking another chance at romance. The sheer number of widows—11 million, with an average age in the fifties—makes them a formidable force. They are living longer and have broader views on sex and money. Yet it is difficult for them to find their footing. Many of them have been away from the courtship arena for decades. They may make their return to dating with children and in-laws in tow. They are confused by the new rules and unclear on the expectations but convinced that they are capable of loving again. This book, written by a widow and a co-author who dated a widower, details just how powerful, sometimes daunting, and exhilarating the journey to new love can be. It also unveils the extraordinary ways that widows are reshaping the romance landscape: by tossing traditional marriage vows by the roadside, by skipping marriage entirely, or even by committing to a new partner but living apart. This isn’t your grandmother’s widowhood scene, not by a long shot. Finding Love After Loss examines the crazy, sad, and even zany contributions that people left behind by the death of a partner bring to new relationships. At the same time, it reveals both the amazing resilience of women who have lived through great loss and the irresistible pull of human connection.

First published in 1996. This new book gives voice to an emerging consensus among bereavement scholars that our understanding of the grief process needs to be expanded. The dominant 20th century model holds that the function of grief and mourning is to cut bonds with the deceased, thereby freeing the survivor to reinvest in new relationships in the present. Pathological grief has been defined in terms of holding on to the deceased. Close examination reveals that this model is based more on the cultural values of modernity than on any substantial data of what people actually do. Presenting data from several populations, 22 authors - among the most respected in their fields - demonstrate that the health resolution of grief enables one to maintain a continuing bond with the deceased. Despite cultural disapproval and lack of validation by professionals, survivors find places for the dead in their on-going lives and even in their communities. Such bonds are not denial: the deceased can provide resources for enriched functioning in the present. Chapters examine widows and widowers, bereaved children, parents and siblings, and a population previously excluded from bereavement research: adoptees and their birth parents. Bereavement in Japanese culture is also discussed, as are meanings and implications of this new model of grief. Opening new areas of research and scholarly dialogue, this work provides the basis for significant developments in clinical practice in the field.