The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to interpersonal relationships:

Interpersonal relationship

Interpersonal relationship

An interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the...

– association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence

Limerence

Limerence is a term coined c. 1977 by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov to describe an involuntary state of mind which seems to result from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated...

, love

Love

Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...

, solidarity

Solidarity

Solidarity is a Polish trade union federation that emerged on August 31, 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa. It was the first non-communist party-controlled trade union in a Warsaw Pact country. Solidarity reached 9.5 million members before its September 1981 congress...

, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the context of social, cultural and other influences.

Essence of relationships

Main article: Interpersonal relationship

Interpersonal relationship

An interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the...

• Social relation
  Social relation
  In social science, a social relation or social interaction refers to a relationship between two , three or more individuals . Social relations, derived from individual agency, form the basis of the social structure. To this extent social relations are always the basic object of analysis for social...
  
  s – relationship between two (i.e. a dyad), three (i.e. a triad) or more individuals, that is, members of a social group). Social relations, derived from individual agency, form the basis of social structure.
• Social actions – acts which take into account the actions and reactions of individuals (or 'agents'
  Agency (sociology)
  In the social sciences, agency refers to the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices. By contrast, "Structure" refers to the factors of influence that determine or limit an agent and his or her decisions...
  
  ). According to Max Weber
  Max Weber
  Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...
  
  , "an Action is 'social' if the acting individual takes account of the behavior of others and is thereby oriented in its course" .

Membership in a social group

A social group consists of two or more human

Human

Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

s who interact with one another, share similar characteristics and collectively have a sense of unity. By this definition, a society

Society

A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...

 can be viewed as a large group, though most social groups are considerably smaller.

• Dyad
  Dyad (sociology)
  A dyad in sociology is a noun used to describe a group of two people. "Dyadic" is an adjective used to describe this type of communication/interaction. A dyad is the smallest possible social group....
  
   – group of two people. "Dyadic" is an adjective used to describe this type of communication/interaction. A dyad is the smallest possible social group.
• Triad
  Triad (sociology)
  In sociology a triad is a group of three people. It is one of the simplest human groups that can be studied and is mostly looked at by microsociology...
  
   – group of three people. Less stable than dyads because two will tend to unite against the other one.

Family membership

Family

Family

In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...

 –

• Household
  Household
  The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
  
   –
• Nuclear family
  Nuclear family
  Nuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a father and mother and their children. This is in contrast to the smaller single-parent family, and to the larger extended family. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple, but not always; the nuclear family may have...
  
   (immediate family) –
  • Spouse –
    • Husband
      Husband
      A husband is a male participant in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between cultures and has varied over time...
      
       –
    • Wife
      Wife
      A wife is a female partner in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the wife regarding her spouse and others, and her status in the community and in law, varies between cultures and has varied over time.-Origin and etymology:...
      
       –
  • Parent
    Parent
    A parent is a caretaker of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is of a child . Children can have one or more parents, but they must have two biological parents. Biological parents consist of the male who sired the child and the female who gave birth to the child...
    
     –
    • Father
      Father
      A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
      
       –
    • Mother
      Mother
      A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
      
       –
  • Child
    Offspring
    In biology, offspring is the product of reproduction, of a new organism produced by one or more parents.Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way...
    
     –
    • Son
      Son
      A son is a male offspring; a boy or man in relation to his parents. The female analogue is a daughter.-Social issues regarding sons:In pre-industrial societies and some current countries with agriculture-based economies, a higher value was, and still is, assigned to sons rather than daughters,...
      
       –
    • Daughter
      Daughter
      A daughter is a female offspring; a girl, woman, or female animal in relation to her parents. The male equivalent is a son. Analogously the name is used on several areas to show relations between groups or elements.-Etymology:...
      
       –
  • Sibling
    Sibling
    Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
    
     –
    • Brother –
    • Sister –
• Extended family
  Extended family
  The term extended family has several distinct meanings. In modern Western cultures dominated by nuclear family constructs, it has come to be used generically to refer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, whether they live together within the same household or not. However, it may also refer...
  
   –
  • Grandparent
    Grandparent
    Grandparents are the parents of a person's own parent, whether that be a father or a mother. Every sexually-reproducing creature who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic grandparents, eight genetic great-grandparents, sixteen genetic great-great-grandparents, etc...
    
     –
  • Uncle
    Uncle
    An uncle is a type of familial relationship.Uncle may also refer to:* Uncle , by J. P. Martin* U.N.C.L.E., a fictional organization in the TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E....
    
     –
  • Aunt
    Aunt
    An aunt is a person who is the sister or sister-in-law of a parent. A man with an equivalent relationship is an uncle, and the reciprocal relationship is that of a nephew or niece....
    
     –
  • Cousin
    Cousin
    In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
    
     –
  • Nephew –
  • Niece –
• Family-in-law
  Affinity (law)
  In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity, as distinguished from consanguinity, is kinship by marriage. It is the relation which each party to a marriage bears to the kindred of the other. In English, affinity is usually signified by adding "-in-law" to the degree of kinship...
  
   –
  • Father-in-law
    Father-in-law
    A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship...
    
     –
  • Mother-in-law –
  • Brother-in-law
    Brother-in-law
    A brother-in-law is the brother of one's spouse, the husband of one's sibling, or the husband of one's spouse's sibling.-See also:*Affinity *Sister-in-law*Brothers in Law , a 1955 British comedy novel...
    
     –
  • Sister-in-law
    Sister-in-law
    A sister-in-law is the sister of one's spouse, the wife of one's sibling, or sometimes the wife of one's spouse's sibling...
    
     –
• Complex family –
• Stepfamily
  Stepfamily
  A stepfamily, also known as a blended family or reconstituted family, is a family in which one or both members of the couple have children from a previous relationship...
  
   –
• Dysfunctional family
  Dysfunctional family
  A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
  
   –
• Kinship
  Kinship
  Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
  
   –
  • Consanguinity
    Consanguinity
    Consanguinity refers to the property of being from the same kinship as another person. In that respect, consanguinity is the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person...
    
     –
  • Affinity
    Affinity (law)
    In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity, as distinguished from consanguinity, is kinship by marriage. It is the relation which each party to a marriage bears to the kindred of the other. In English, affinity is usually signified by adding "-in-law" to the degree of kinship...
    
     –
  • Fictive kinship
    Fictive kinship
    Fictive kinship is a term used by anthropologists and ethnographers to distinguish between forms of kinship or social ties that are based on neither consanguinal nor affinal ties...
    
     –
  • Marriage
    Marriage
    Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
    
     –
  • Adoption
    Adoption
    Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
    
     –
  • Divorce
    Divorce
    Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
    
     –
  • Disownment
    Disownment
    Disownment is the formal act or condition of forcibly renouncing or no longer accepting one's consanguineous child as a member of one's family or kin...
    
     –

Organization membership

An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. There are a variety of legal types of organizations, including:

• Corporations –
• Governments –
• Non-governmental organizations –
• International organizations –
• Armed forces
  Armed forces
  The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
  
   –
• Charitable organizations –
• Not-for-profit corporations –
• Partnerships –
• Cooperatives –
• Universities –

Community membership

• Citizenship
  Citizenship
  Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
  
   – membership in a country or nation.
• Neighbor – member of a neighborhood.
• Member of society
  Society
  A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
  
   – a society is a body of individuals outlined by the bounds of functional interdependence, possibly comprising characteristics such as national or cultural identity, social solidarity, language, or hierarchical organization.

Intimate relationships

• Cohabitation
  Cohabitation
  Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married...
  
   –
• Committed relationship
  Committed relationship
  A committed relationship is an interpersonal relationship based upon a mutually agreed-upon commitment to one another involving exclusivity, honesty, openness, or some other agreed-upon behavior. Forms of committed relationships are: close friendship, courtship, long-term relationships ,...
  
   – interpersonal relationship based upon a mutually agreed-upon commitment to one another involving exclusivity, honesty, openness, or some other agreed-upon behavior. The term is most commonly used with informal relationships, such as "going steady," but may encompass any relationship where an expressed commitment is involved.
  • Close friendship
    Friendship
    Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
    
     –
  • Courtship
    Courtship
    Courtship is the period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. In courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement...
    
     –
  • Long-term relationship (LTR) –
    • Monogamy
      Monogamy
      Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
      
       – having a single long-term sexual partner.
    • Polygamy
      Polygamy
      Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
      
       – having multiple long-term sexual partners.
    • Polyandry
      Polyandry
      Polyandry refers to a form of marriage in which a woman has two or more husbands at the same time. The form of polyandry in which a woman is married to two or more brothers is known as "fraternal polyandry", and it is believed by many anthropologists to be the most frequently encountered...
      
       – having multiple long-term male sexual partners.
    • Polygyny
      Polygyny
      Polygyny is a form of marriage in which a man has two or more wives at the same time. In countries where the practice is illegal, the man is referred to as a bigamist or a polygamist...
      
       – having multiple long-term female sexual partners.
  • Engagement
    Engagement
    An engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...
    
     –
  • Marriage
    Marriage
    Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
    
     –
    • Marriage partners
      Spouse
      The term spouse generally refers to a partner in a marriage:* Husband, referring to a male partner* Wife, referring to a female partner* In some usages, a partner in a civil union, domestic partnership or common-law marriage- See also :* Bride...
      
       –
      • Husband
        Husband
        A husband is a male participant in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between cultures and has varied over time...
        
         –
      • Wife
        Wife
        A wife is a female partner in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the wife regarding her spouse and others, and her status in the community and in law, varies between cultures and has varied over time.-Origin and etymology:...
        
         –
    • Types of marriage –
      • Arranged marriage
        Arranged marriage
        An arranged marriage is a practice in which someone other than the couple getting married makes the selection of the persons to be wed, meanwhile curtailing or avoiding the process of courtship. Such marriages had deep roots in royal and aristocratic families around the world...
        
         –
      • Forced marriage
        Forced marriage
        Forced marriage is a term used to describe a marriage in which one or both of the parties is married without his or her consent or against his or her will...
        
         –
      • Cousin marriage
        Cousin marriage
        Cousin marriage is marriage between two cousins. In various jurisdictions and cultures, such marriages range from being considered ideal and actively encouraged, to being uncommon but still legal, to being seen as incest and legally prohibited....
        
         –
      • Open marriage
        Open marriage
        Open marriage typically refers to a marriage in which the partners agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded as infidelity. There are many different styles of open marriage, with the partners having varying levels of input on their spouse's...
        
         –
  • Civil union
    Civil union
    A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
    
     –
• Domestic partnership
  Domestic partnership
  A domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union...
  
   –
  • Boyfriend
    Boyfriend
    A boyfriend is a person's regular male companion in a romantic or sexual relationship, although normally not in long-term committed relationships, where other titles A boyfriend is a person's regular male companion in a romantic or sexual relationship, although normally not in long-term committed...
    
     –
  • Girlfriend
    Girlfriend
    Girlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....
    
    –
• Familial relationship
  Family
  In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
  
   – relationship between members of a family. Family members tend to form close personal relationships. See family section above.
• Friendship
  Friendship
  Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
  
   –
• Extramarital affair –
• Love–hate relationship –
• Polyamorous
  Polyamory
  Polyamory is the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved....
  
   relationship –
  • Non-monogamy –
  • Polygamous
    Polygamy
    Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
    
     relationship – having multiple long-term sexual partners.
  • Polyandry
    Polyandry
    Polyandry refers to a form of marriage in which a woman has two or more husbands at the same time. The form of polyandry in which a woman is married to two or more brothers is known as "fraternal polyandry", and it is believed by many anthropologists to be the most frequently encountered...
    
     – having multiple long-term male sexual partners.
  • Polygyny
    Polygyny
    Polygyny is a form of marriage in which a man has two or more wives at the same time. In countries where the practice is illegal, the man is referred to as a bigamist or a polygamist...
    
     – having multiple long-term female sexual partners.
  • Polyfidelity
    Polyfidelity
    Polyfidelity is a form of polyamory where all members are considered equal partners and agree to be sexually active only with other members of the group. The term originated in the Kerista Village commune in San Francisco which practiced polyfidelity from 1971 to 1991...
    
     –
  • Polyandry
    Polyandry
    Polyandry refers to a form of marriage in which a woman has two or more husbands at the same time. The form of polyandry in which a woman is married to two or more brothers is known as "fraternal polyandry", and it is believed by many anthropologists to be the most frequently encountered...
    
     –
  • Polygynandry
    Polygynandry
    Polygynandry occurs when two or more males have an exclusive relationship with two or more females. The numbers of males and females need not be equal, and in vertebrate species studied so far, the number of males is usually lower.-In Bonobos:...
    
     –
  • Polygyny
    Polygyny
    Polygyny is a form of marriage in which a man has two or more wives at the same time. In countries where the practice is illegal, the man is referred to as a bigamist or a polygamist...
    
     –
• Romantic friendship
  Romantic friendship
  The term romantic friendship refers to both very close but non-sexual relationship and at times physical relationship between friends, often involving a degree of physical closeness beyond that which is common in modern Western societies, and may include for example holding hands, cuddling,...
  
   –
• Relationship anarchy –
• Same-sex relationship
  Same-sex relationship
  A same-sex relationship is a relationship between two persons of the same sex and can take many forms, from romantic and sexual, to non-romantic close relationships. The term is mainly associated with gay and lesbian people...
  
   –
• Casual relationship
  Casual relationship
  A casual relationship, colloquially known as a fling, is a physical and emotional relationship between two people who may have a sexual relationship or a near-sexual relationship without necessarily demanding or expecting the extra commitments of a more formal romantic relationship...
  
   –

Professional relationships

• Employer-worker relationship –

Relations (relationship activities)

• Human bonding
  Human bonding
  Human bonding is the process of development of a close, interpersonal relationship. It most commonly takes place between family members or friends, but can also develop among groups such as sporting teams and whenever people spend time together...
  
   –
• Conflict resolution
  Conflict resolution
  Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
  
   –
• Interpersonal communication
  Interpersonal communication
  Interpersonal communication is usually defined by communication scholars in numerous ways, usually describing participants who are dependent upon one another. It...
  
   –
• Social rejection
  Social rejection
  Social rejection occurs when an individual is deliberately excluded from a social relationship or social interaction. The topic includes both interpersonal rejection and romantic rejection. A person can be rejected on an individual basis or by an entire group of people...
  
   –
• Christian relational care
  Theology of relational care
  The theology of relational care refers to a theology of understanding how contemporary followers of Jesus can relate to others, especially those who are poor, marginalized, or considered to be outcasts from mainstream society.-Theology:The theology of relational care emphasizes Christians...
  
   – religious approach of relating to those who are poor, marginalized, or considered to be outcasts from mainstream society.
• Wedding
  Wedding
  A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
  
   –

Intimate relationship formation

Human mating is the process whereby an individual seeks out another individual with the intention of forming a long-term intimate relationship or marriage, but sometimes for casual relationship or friendship.

• Personal advertisement
  Personal advertisement
  A personal or personal ad is an item or notice traditionally in the newspaper, similar to a classified ad but in nature. In British English it is also commonly known as an advert in a lonely hearts column. With its rise in popularity, the World Wide Web has also become a common medium for...
  
   –
• Meet market
  Meet market
  Meet market or meat market, is an originally pejorative term referring to two related phenomena:*a location or activity in which people are viewed as commodities and*a business like a nightclub where people typically look for a casual sex partner....
  
   –
• Flirting
  Flirting
  Flirting is a playful, romantic, or sexual overture by one person to another subtly indicating an interest in a deeper relationship with the other person, and can involve verbal communication as well as body language...
  
   –
  • Pick-up line
    Pick-up line
    A pick-up line is a conversation opener with the intent of engaging an unfamiliar person for romance, or dating. Overt and sometimes humorous displays of romantic interest, pick-up lines advertise the wit of their speakers to their target listeners....
    
     –
• Singles event
  Singles event
  A singles event is an activity or program made available specifically to the romantically unattached, often with the underlying or explicit purpose of fostering dating or relationships among attendees.-Logistics:...
  
    –
• Courtship
  Courtship
  Courtship is the period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. In courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement...
  
   –
  • Dating –
    • Internet dating –
    • Going Dutch
      Going Dutch
      "Going Dutch" is a term that indicates that each person participating in a group activity pays for himself or herself, rather than any one person paying for anyone else, particularly in a restaurant bill...
      
       –
• Endogamy
  Endogamy
  Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, rejecting others on such basis as being unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. A Greek Orthodox Christian endogamist, for example, would require that a marriage be only with another...
  
   – the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, rejecting all others.
• Hypergamy
  Hypergamy
  Hypergamy is the act or practice of seeking a spouse of higher socioeconomic status, or caste status than oneself....
  
   – act or practice of seeking a spouse of higher socioeconomic status
  Socioeconomic status
  Socioeconomic status is an economic and sociological combined total measure of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family’s economic and social position in relation to others, based on income, education, and occupation...
  
  , or caste
  Caste
  Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
  
   status
  Social status
  In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....
  
   than oneself.

Sexual relations

• Human sexual activity –
  • Sexual intercourse
    Sexual intercourse
    Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
    
     –
  • Swinging
    Swinging
    Swinging or partner swapping is a non-monogamous behavior, in which both partners in a committed relationship agree, as a couple, for both partners to engage in sexual activities with other couples as a recreational or social activity...
    
     –

Dysfunctional relations

• Dysfunctional family
  Dysfunctional family
  A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
  
   –
• Relational transgression
  Relational transgression
  Relational transgressions occur when people violate implicit or explicit relational rules. These transgressions include a wide variety of behaviors. Scholars tend to delineate relational transgressions into three categories or approaches. The first approach focuses on the aspect of certain...
  
   – violation of implicit or explicit relational rules.

Abusive relations

• Child abuse
  Child abuse
  Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
  
   –
• Elder abuse
  Elder abuse
  Elder abuse is a general term used to describe certain types of harm to older adults. Other terms commonly used include: "elder mistreatment," "senior abuse," "abuse in later life," "abuse of older adults," "abuse of older women," and "abuse of older men."...
  
   –
• Dating abuse
  Dating abuse
  Dating abuse or dating violence is defined as the perpetration or threat of an act of violence by at least one member of an unmarried couple on the other member within the context of dating or courtship. It is also when one partner tries to maintain power and control over the other through...
  
   –
• Domestic violence
  Domestic violence
  Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
  
   –
• Infidelity
  Infidelity
  In many intimate relationships in many cultures there is usually an express or implied expectation of exclusivity, especially in sexual matters. Infidelity most commonly refers to a breach of the expectation of sexual exclusivity.Infidelity can occur in relation to physical intimacy and/or...
  
   – breach of the expectation of sexual exclusivity. Also called "cheating".
  • Extramarital affair –
    • Adultery
      Adultery
      Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
      
       –
    • Extramarital sex
      Extramarital sex
      Extramarital sex occurs when a married person engages in sexual activity with someone other than his or her marriage partner.Where extramarital sexual relations breach a sexual norm it may also be referred to as adultery, fornication, philandery, or infidelity...
      
       –
• Nagging
  Nagging
  Nagging is a form of pestering, or otherwise reminding an individual of previously discussed dictates or advice, usually from a perspective of superiority. The word is derived from the Scandinavian nagga, which means "to gnaw".-Social nagging:...
  
   –
• Spousal abuse –

End of a relationship

• Breaking up
  Relationship breakup
  A relationship breakup, often referred to simply as a breakup, is the termination of a usually intimate relationship by any means other than death. The act is commonly termed "dumping [someone]" in slang when it is initiated by one partner...
  
   –
• Divorce
  Divorce
  Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
  
   –
• Legal separation
  Legal separation
  Legal separation is a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a de facto separation while remaining legally married. A legal separation is granted in the form of a court order, which can be in the form of a legally binding consent decree...
  
   –
• Widow
  Widow
  A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
  
  hood –

Reasons for ending a relationship

• Dysfunctional relations – see Dysfunctional relations section above.
• Irreconcilable differences
  Irreconcilable differences
  The concept of irreconcilable differences provides a possible ground for divorce in a number of jurisdictions.In Australian family law with no-fault divorce it is the sole ground, adequate proof being that the estranged couple have been separated more than 12 months.In the United States it can be...
  
   –

Theories of interpersonal relations

• Socionics
  Socionics
  Socionics , in psychology, is a theory of information processing and personality type, distinguished by its information model of the psyche and a model of interpersonal relations. It incorporates Carl Jung's work on Psychological Types with Antoni Kępiński's theory of information metabolism...
  
   – theory of intertype relations incorporating Carl Jung
  Carl Jung
  Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
  
  's work on personality type
  Personality type
  Personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of individuals. Personality types are sometimes distinguished from personality traits, with the latter embodying a smaller grouping of behavioral tendencies. Types are sometimes said to involve qualitative differences...
  
  s with Antoni Kępiński
  Antoni Kepinski
  Antoni Kępiński was a Polish psychiatrist.He attended the Bartłomiej Nowodworski High School. In 1936 he entered the Medical Faculty of the Jagiellonian University. In 1939, he interrupted his studies before graduation and volunteered for the Polish Army to defend his country from the German...
  
  's theory of information metabolism
  Information metabolism
  Information metabolism is a psychological theory of human social interactions based on information processing . It was developed in Eastern Europe by Antoni Kępiński....
  
  .
• Attachment theory
  Attachment theory
  Attachment theory describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans. Its most important tenet is that an infant needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally. Attachment theory is an interdisciplinary study...
  
   – describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans. Its most important tenet is that an infant needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally.

Relationship characteristics

Aspects of relationships include:

• Attachment in adults
  Attachment in adults
  Attachment in adults deals with the theory of attachment in adult romantic relationships.Attachment theory was extended to adult romantic relationships in the late 1980s. Four styles of attachment have been identified in adults: secure, anxious–preoccupied, dismissive–avoidant, and fearful–avoidant...
  
   –
• Attachment in children
  Attachment in children
  Newborn humans infants cannot survive without a caregiver to provide food and protection, and will not thrive without other types of support as well. While infants have relatively few inborn behaviors—such as crying, rooting, and sucking—they also come with many behavioral systems ready to be...
  
   –
• Interpersonal attraction
  Interpersonal attraction
  Interpersonal attraction is the attraction between people which leads to friendships and romantic relationships. Interpersonal attraction, the process, is distinct from perceptions of physical attractiveness which involves views of what is and is not considered beautiful or attractive.The study of...
  
   – force acting between two people that tends to draw them together and resist their separation, which leads to friendships and romantic relationships. It is distinct from physical attraction.
• New relationship energy
  New relationship energy
  New relationship energy is a state of mind experienced at the beginning of most significant sexual and romantic relationships, typically involving heightened emotional and sexual receptivity and excitement. It begins with the earliest attractions, grows into full force when mutuality is...
  
   (NRE) – state of mind experienced at the beginning of most significant sexual and romantic relationships, typically involving heightened emotional and sexual receptivity and excitement. It begins with the earliest attractions, grows into full force when mutuality is established, and slowly fades over months to years.

Stages of a relationship

• Stages presented in George Levinger's relationship model:
  1. Acquaintance
  2. Buildup
  3. Continuation
  4. Deterioration
  5. Termination

Feelings and emotions

• Love
  Love
  Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
  
  
  • Familial love
    Storge
    Storge , also called familial love, is the Greek word for natural affection—such as the love of a parent toward a child, "cherishing one's kindred, especially parents or children"...
    
     –
  • Parental love
    Agape
    Agape is one of the Greek words translated into English as love, one which became particularly appropriated in Christian theology as the love of God or Christ for mankind. In the New Testament, it refers to the fatherly love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God; the term...
    
     –
  • Marital love –
  • Brotherly love
    Philia
    Philia is one of the four ancient Greek words for love.Philia in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is usually translated as 'friendship', though in fact his use of the term is much broader.- Aristotle's view :...
    
     –
  • Filial piety
    Filial piety
    In Confucian ideals, filial piety is one of the virtues to be held above all else: a respect for the parents and ancestors. The Confucian classic Xiao Jing or Classic of Xiào, thought to be written around 470 BCE, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of xiào /...
    
     –
  • Veneration
    Veneration
    Veneration , or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a saint: an angel, or a dead person who has been identified by a church committee as singular in the traditions of the religion. It is practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic, and Eastern Catholic Churches...
    
     –
• Romance –

• Compersion
  Compersion
  Compersion is a state of empathetic happiness and joy experienced when an individual's current or former romantic partner experiences happiness and joy through an outside source, including, but not limited to, another romantic interest...
  
   –
• Intimacy
  Intimate relationship
  An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Physical intimacy is characterized by romantic or passionate love and attachment, or sexual activity. The term is also sometimes used euphemistically for a sexual...
  
   –
• Jealousy
  Jealousy
  Jealousy is a second emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, particularly in reference to a human connection. Jealousy often consists of a combination of presenting emotions...
  
   –
• Limerence
  Limerence
  Limerence is a term coined c. 1977 by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov to describe an involuntary state of mind which seems to result from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated...
  
   –
• Passion
  Passion (emotion)
  Passion is a term applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something....
  
   –
• Platonic love
  Platonic love
  Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
  
   –
• Psychology of sexual monogamy –
• Unconditional love
  Unconditional love
  Unconditional love is a term that means to love someone regardless of one's actions or beliefs. It is a concept comparable to true love, a term which is more frequently used to describe love between lovers. By contrast, unconditional love is frequently used to describe love between family members,...
  
   –

Sexual orientation

• Bisexual
  Bisexuality
  Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
  
   –
• Heterosexual
  Heterosexuality
  Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
  
   –
• Homosexual
  Homosexuality
  Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
  
   –

Relationship partners

Terms for partners in intimate relationships include:

• Boyfriend
  Boyfriend
  A boyfriend is a person's regular male companion in a romantic or sexual relationship, although normally not in long-term committed relationships, where other titles A boyfriend is a person's regular male companion in a romantic or sexual relationship, although normally not in long-term committed...
  
  /Girlfriend
  Girlfriend
  Girlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....
  
  
• Confidant or confidante
  Confidant
  The confidant is a character in a story that the lead character confides in and trusts. Typically, these consist of the best friend, relative, doctor or boss.- Role :...
  
  
• Family member
  Family
  In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
  
  
• Friend or Companion
  Companion
  Companion may refer to:* A friend or acquaintance you associate yourself with* Companion , a nurse assistant or similar professional who assists a patient one-on-one* Companion , an architectural feature of ships...
  
  
• Life partner
  Life partner
  A life partner is a romantic or otherwise very close friend for life. The partners can be of the same or opposite sexes, married or unmarried, and monogamous or polyamorous....
  
  /Partner
  Partner
  A partner is:*A friend who shares a common interest or participates in achieving a common goal*A Significant other in an intimate relationship*A member of a partnership*A business partner...
  
  
• Spouse
  Marriage
  Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
  
  
• Mistress
  Mistress (lover)
  A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
  
  
• Soulmate
  Soulmate
  A soulmate is believed by some to be the person with whom one has a feeling of deep or natural affinity, similarity, love, intimacy, sexuality, spirituality, or compatibility. A related concept is that of the twin flame or twin soul, which is thought to be the ultimate soulmate...
  
   –
• Significant other
  Significant other
  Significant other is colloquially used as a gender-blind term for a person's partner in an intimate relationship without disclosing or presuming anything about marital status, relationship status, or sexual orientation, as it is vague enough to avoid offense by using a term that an individual...
  
  
• Sexual partner
  Sexual partner
  Sexual partners are people who engage in sexual activity together. The sexual partners can be of any gender or sexual orientation. The sexual partners may be in a committed relationship, either on an exclusive basis or not, or engage in the sexual activity on a casual basis...
  
   –

Relationship management

• Bride price
  Bride price
  Bride price, also known as bride wealth, is an amount of money or property or wealth paid by the groom or his family to the parents of a woman upon the marriage of their daughter to the groom...
  
   –
  • Dower
    Dower
    Dower or morning gift was a provision accorded by law to a wife for her support in the event that she should survive her husband...
    
     –
  • Dowry
    Dowry
    A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
    
     –
• Brideservice
  Brideservice
  Bride service has traditionally been portrayed in the anthropological literature as the service rendered by the bridegroom to a bride's family as a bride price or part of one ....
  
   –
• Love contract
  Love contract
  A love contract is a legal contract that is meant to limit the liability of an employer whose employees are romantically involved. An employer may choose to require a love contract when a romantic relationship within the company becomes known, in order to indemnify the company in case the...
  
   –

Lacking an interpersonal relationship

• Spinster
  Spinster
  A spinster, or old maid, is an older, childless woman who has never been married.For a woman to be identified as a spinster, age is critical...
  
   –
• Celibate
  Celibacy
  Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...
  
   –

External links

• "What are friends for?" - three-part article in UK
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
   Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
  newspaper