Toward a Positive Psychology of Relationships: New Directions in Theory and Research

Providing an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers, this book investigates positive psychology and relationships theory and research across a range of settings and life stages--intimate, work, educational, senior/retirement, and in the context of diversity.

Nearly universally, relationships are a key source of what we all seek in life: happiness, fulfillment, and well-being. The experts who contributed to this novel volume apply the framework of positive psychology to the findings of relationships research across a variety of practical contexts. What actions create and sustain respectful, caring, joyous, stimulating, and loving relationships? How do people rich in friendship, intimacy, and interpersonal skills think and behave? How do they unconsciously cultivate positive relationships? This book brings together authoritative reviews, cutting-edge research, and thoughtful scholarship that serve to answer these questions and document the benefit of positive relationships in a variety of settings and across the human life span.

Following a comprehensive introduction, the book addresses positive intimate relationships, positive relationships at work, positive relationships during different stages of life (in youth, in adolescence, and among older adults), and positive relationships intersecting with diversity. The chapters underscore the simple concept that relationships are central to what makes life worth living and are fundamental to well-being across all life domains as they play out at home, in school, at work, in retirement homes, and in the community at large.

Meg A. Warren, MA, MBA, is past president of the Work and Organizations Division of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), associate director and cofounder of the Western Positive Psychology Association (WPPA), and editor-in-chief of Positive Work and Organizations: Research and Practice.

Stewart I. Donaldson, PhD, is professor of psychology, dean of the School of Social Science, Policy & Evaluation (SSSPE) and the School of Community & Global Health (SCGH), and director of the Claremont Evaluation Center (CEC) at Claremont Graduate University.