ABSTRACT

The Dark Side of Close Relationships II is a completely new and up-to-date version of the original volume published in 1998, featuring new topics and authors. The volume showcases cutting-edge work on important topics by prominent scholars in multiple disciplines. It sheds light on the paradoxical, dialectical, and mystifying facets of human interaction, not merely to elucidate dysfunctional relationship phenomena, but to help readers explore and understand it in relation to a broader understanding about relationships. As previous Dark Side investigations have revealed, negative or dysfunctional outcomes can occur in relationships even though positive and functional ones are expected, and at the same time, positive silver linings are often found in some dark relational clouds. Such nuanced approaches are needed to better account for the complexity of close relationships. A unique and provocative collection, this volume will appeal to relationship researchers in communication, social psychology, family studies, and sociology.

chapter 1|38 pages

Overview of the Dark Side of Relationships Research

ByDaniel Perlman, Rodrigo J. Carcedo

chapter 2|24 pages

May–December Paradoxes: An Exploration of Age-Gap Relationships in Western Society

ByWestern Society Justin J. Lehmiller and Christopher R. Agnew

chapter 4|24 pages

Dark Sides of Computer-Mediated Communication

ByDavid C. DeAndrea, Stephanie Tom Tong, and Joseph B. Walther

chapter 7|22 pages

Infidelity: When, Where, Why

ByIrene Tsapelas, Helen E. Fisher, Arthur Aron

chapter 8|20 pages

Relational Turbulence: What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us Stronger

ByDenise Haunani Solomon, Jennifer A. Theiss

chapter 9|26 pages

In-Laws or Outlaws: The Dark and the Bright in In-Law Relationships

ByMary Claire Morr Serewicz, Rebecca A. Hosmer

chapter 10|26 pages

Dark Clouds with Silver Linings: The (Dys)Functional Ambivalence of Stepfamily Relationships

ByPaul Schrodt, Dawn O. Braithwaite

chapter 11|28 pages

Women’s Relationships with Incarcerated Men

BySusan A. Miller, Diane H. Felmlee

chapter 12|30 pages

The Meaning of Girls’ Social Aggression: Nasty or Mastery?

ByErin K. Willer, William R. Cupach

chapter 13|54 pages

Intimate Partner Violence and Aggression: Seeing the Light in a Dark Place

ByBrian H. Spitzberg

chapter 14|28 pages

Narcissism and Relationships: From Light to Dark

ByJoshua D. Foster, Jean M. Twenge