Attributes of Intimate Social Relationships and Personal Identity

The reason why I chose this topic and article is because I personally feel that the attributes of intimate social relationships and personal identity are very important. Neither intimacy nor individual development can exist alone. The birth of a child initiates a human being into a life-long process of mutual adaptation between the child, his or her intimate relationship partners and the broader social environment. Intimate interactions and relationships affect adaptations to the changing needs and stresses that evolve with each stage of development throughout one's lifetime. Intimate interactions from early life serve as the basis upon which relationships later in life are formed. Environmental contingencies to which individuals must adapt are rooted in these relationships. In an attempt to adapt to other people's styles of relating, one must adjust his or her own behaviors. Based on the fact that human development is a product of complex interplay of forces that reside within the individual human being and the environment by which he or she is surrounded, it can be proposed that interpersonal interactions and relationships shape individual personality and coping styles. Psychological maturity involves integrating intimacy into a life framework that encompasses all parts of the self. If I had to write a research paper on this topic, I would do so because this is very fascinating to me. I like to learn these things. This article was very helpful for me to learn about this subject. The authors have explored the relationship between social development and a sense of personal identity in early adulthood. The relationships between the two attributes of intimate social relationships and personal identity are variable.

The Journal of Genetic Psychology

Winefield, Helen R; Harvey, Eileen J

INTIMATE SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS are acknowledged as vital to healthy psychological development from infancy on (Bowlby, 1971). Starting in adolescence, development of a sense of...