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Men in Relationships edited by Dr. Victoria Bedford PhD and Dr. Barbara Turner PhD, 2006To fill the gap on literature focusing on men’s interpersonal relationships across multiple disciplines such as psychology, masculinities, social psychology, personal relationships, communication, gender studies, and clinical psychology comes Men in Relationships.Written for students as well as seasoned researchers and practitioners in social work, marriage and family therapy, and clinical and counseling, this book provides an orientation to men’s-with an emphasis on middle and old age-experiences in a variety of interpersonal relationships as viewed from the dynamic perspectives of historical, social, and personal change over time. Contributors apply life-course or life-span concepts having to do with at least one of the following: life transitions, socio-historical context, and temporal change models to empirical data from their own research or clinical experiences. Victoria Hilkevitch Bedford, PhD,  is a professor of psychology at the Univesity of Indianapolis. She received her doctorate from Rutgers University in Life Span Developmental Psychology. She recently completed a 20-year longitudinal study on adult siblings. Her research appears in the International Journal of Aging ad Human Development, Journal of Gerontology, American Behavioral Scientist, Family Issues, Family Relations, Generations,  and The Encyclopedia of Aging. A fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the American Psychological Association, she has contributed numerous chapters to edited volumes, edited two special issues of journals, and co-edited the Handbook on Aging and the Family, with Rosemary Blieszner.Barbara Formaniak Turner, PhD, is Professor Emerita of Gerontology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She received her doctorate from the University of Chicago’s Committee on Human Development in Adult Development and Aging. A fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Gerontological Society of America, her research interests and publications focus on the intersection of gender and aging, especially in personality. Publications include Women Growing Older: Psychological Perspectives (1994, co-edited with Lillian E. Troll. A major current research focus is her Boston Gender Study of 237 men and 249 women diverse in age, race, class, and family status.ContentsContributorsPrefaceForewordIntroduction: The Study of Men’s Relationships in the Context of Time and PlacePart I Men’s Relationships with PartnersChapter 1  The Dilemma of Masculinity and Culture              Culture and Gender              Cultural Perspectives on Masculine Insecurity in Relation to Women              Comparative Perspectives on American Masculinity: Observations of the Lost Boys              The Study Group Contrasting Sudanese and American Cultural scripts of Masculinity              Looking Toward Middle and Later Life              Reconsidering Traditional American Masculine Gender scripts              ConclusionChapter 2 Men and Their Wives: Why Are Some Married Men Vulnerable at Midlife?             Positive Responses to Gender Shifts             Questions for These Analyses             Method             Analyses and Results             Conclusions and Implications             Therapeutic Implications             AcknowledgmentsChapter 3 Images of Masculinity as Predictors of Men’s Romantic and Sexual Relationships             What Image of Masculinity to Live by?             Initiation Rituals and Rites of Masculinity             Male Bonding as a Way to Heal the Wounds             Looking Back: How Did We Get to Where We Are?             Men’s Homosexual Relationships             Men’s Heterosexual Relationships             Considerations for ChangePart II Men’s Relationships with Brothers and FriendsChapter 4 “Shooting the Bull”: Cohort Comparisons of Fraternal Intimacy in Midlife and Old Age             Fraternal Bond             Background                 Intimacy between Brothers                 Male Intimacy                 The Current Study             Study 1                 Methods                 Results of Study 1                 Summary of Findings of Qualitative Analysis, Wave 1 to Wave 5             Study 2                 Hypothesis 1: Cohort Difference in Ideologies of Masculinities                 Hypothesis 2: Developmental Influences on Close Relationships                 Hypothesis 3: Covert Intimacy Differences                  between Cohorts             Conclusions             Caveats             RecommendationsChapter 5 Middle-Aged and Older Adult Men’s Friendships             Interactive Motifs             Internal Structure                Size                Density                Homogeneity                Hierarchy             Interactive Processes                Behavioral Processes                Affective Processes                Cognitive Processes             ConclusionsPart III Fathers and their Adult ChildrenChapter 6 Portraits of Paternity: Middle-Aged and Elderly Fathers’ Involvement With Adult Children             The Life Course Perspective             Solidarity-Conflict Model             Role Theory             Methods             ConclusionChapter 7 Closeness and Affection in Father-Son Relationships             The Father-Son Relationship: How Does It Matter, and Why?             Closeness and Affection in the Father-Son Relationship             In Summary: On the Nature of Father-Son RelationshipsPart IV Interpersonal Processes in Men’s RelationshipsChapter 8   In the Company of Men: Collective Interdependence in Self-Construals of Masculinity               Gender Differences in Collective Interdependence in the Life Span               Theories of the Basis for Men’s Focus on the Groups to Which They Belong               The Boston Gender Study and the Gender style Measures               Overarching Conceptual Models for the Study               Men’s Gender Identity styles               Results               ConclusionsChapter 9   Gender Differences in Negative Social Exchanges: Frequency, Reactions, and Impact               Gender Differences in the Emphasis Placed on Social Relationships               Exposure to Negative Interactions               Reactions to Negative Social Interactions               ConclusionPart V ConclusionChapter 10  Men’s Relationships in Middle and Older Age               What Has Been Learned               New Research Directions: What We Need to Learn About Midlife and Older Men’s Relationships               Implications for Therapy               ConclusionIndex