11.1 RELATIONSHIP TYPES AND ISSUES
Friendships • Love Relationships • How Do We Know: Patterns and Universals of Romantic Attachment Around the World • Violence in Relationships
11.2 LIFESTYLES AND LOVE RELATIONSHIPS
Singlehood • Cohabitation • Gay and Lesbian Couples • Marriage • Divorce and Remarriage • Current Controversies: Same-Sex Divorce Presents Challenges • Widowhood
11.3 FAMILY DYNAMICS AND THE LIFE COURSE
The Parental Role • Midlife Issues: Adult Children and Parental Caregiving • Discovering Development: Caring for Aging Parents • Grandparenthood
SOCIAL POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Summary • Review Questions • Integrating Concepts in Development • Key Terms • Resources
BARACK AND MICHELLE OBAMA ARE, BY NEARLY EVERY MEASURE, A VERY SUCCESSFUL COUPLE.
Elected president at age 47, Barack Obama was supported by his wife, Michelle, who herself was a very successful professional. Their relationship provides them the grounding necessary to support each other. Neither of them could have achieved what they did without the help of many friends.
Barack’s and Michelle’s experiences reflect some of the key aspects of relationships we examine in this chapter.
First, we consider friendships and love relationships and how they change across adulthood. Because love relationships usually involve a couple, we will explore how two people find each other and marry and how marriages develop. We also consider singlehood, divorce, remarriage, and widowhood. Finally, we take up some of the important roles associated with personal relationships, including parenting, family roles, and grandparenting.