Originally published in 1986, this book is a result of the first International Conference on Personal Relationships held in 1982. The conference itself was a significant event in publicly bringing together major figures whose work was starting to define the new area of personal relationships. The chapters are arranged to follow the structure of the conference program, with major opening and closing discussions covering the whole field and the rest of the chapters grouped under the headings of Depiction and Taxonomy of Relationships; Development and Growth of Relationships and Disorder and Repair of Relationships. The result is by no means a comprehensive treatment of the field, but the editors hoped that the book highlighted significant issues in personal relationship research as well as some excellent examples of the ways in which issues and problems were being tackled at the time. They also hoped that it would have an effect on the future development of the field of personal relationships by indicating its value and potential.