What Do We Mean by Personal Relationships?

Contributor(s)
Reviewer(s)
mother and daughter

The concept of "relationships and family" is broad and varies from person to person. What you mean by relationship is unique to you, but most people do think of a state of connectedness, especially an emotional connection.

In our model, personal relationships refer to close connections between people, formed by emotional bonds and interactions. These bonds often grow from and are strengthened by mutual experiences.

Relationships are not static; they are continually evolving, and to fully enjoy and benefit from them we need skills, information, inspiration, practice, and social support. In our model there are three kinds of personal relationships.