Social Context and Relationships

Explores the impact of social, cultural, structural, network and dynamic transactional processes on the conduct of relationships. This book makes a compelling case for research to be directed away from over-application of individual perspectives and towards inclusion of contextual factors.

with Graham Allan, Irwin Altman, Leslie A. Baxter, Niall Bolger, Barbara B. Brown, Joseph Ginat, Shannon Kelleher, Renate Klein, Robert M. Milardo, Catherine H. Stein, Carol M. Werner & Julia T. Wood Social Context and Relationships moves beyond exploring the personal factors involved in relationships and reveals the impact of outside forces--culture, society, values, economics, and more--on the conduct of relationships. Confronting practical realities, this compelling volume focuses on how such issues as limited opportunity, restraints on freedom, compulsions of coercive family norms, responsibilities, poverty, bigotry, gender, physical separation, and limited geographic mobility influence personal relationships. Because the contributors successfully argue for the redirection of research--from the over-application of an individual perspective to the inclusion of contextual features--students and scholars in social psychology, communication studies, family studies, sociology, and gender studies will discover much of value in this fascinating volume.