Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

Reading between the ties: Solitary and social activities, network satisfaction, and loneliness in later life - Haosen Sun, Markus H. Schafer, 2026 Loneliness negatively impacts on the well-being of older adults, especially those with small social networks. While expanding networks and participating in soci...

📰Newly Published:

We've been told the cure for loneliness is more people. But for older adults, new research by Sun & Schafer says solo activities — think reading, hobbies, quiet rituals — may matter just as much.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Tangled threads of romantic conflict: The intersection of generation, culture, and socio-demographics in shaping Chinese women’s romantic conflict styles - Jiaqi Zeng, Rain Wuyu Liu, 2026 Interpersonal conflict research has traditionally emphasized cultural determinants of conflict styles while overlooking their context-sensitive nature. Addressi...

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Do you avoid the argument, dominate it, or call in backup? New research by Zeng & Liu shows the answer depends less on personality — and more on the era you grew up in.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Why not all three!***

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❤️Love, awareness, or education on the brain this month? Why not both!

Happy Valentine’s Day, Black History Month, World Cancer Day, Random Act of Kindness Day, and World Day of Social Justice!

🗞️Celebrate the scholarly way with our February issue, out now!
journals.sagepub.com/toc/spra/43/2

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Are you your sister's keeper?🫵

Check out Rogers et al.'s study to see how strong sibling bonds boost well-being for sexually diverse young adults, buffering stress and raising positive emotions.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Li et al.'s study- Gender ideology, harmony, and face beliefs jointly shape marital satisfaction in older Hong Kong couples—especially when one partner has mild cognitive impairment.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Adult sibling relationships and media multiplexity theory - Maura D. Corder, Jeffrey A. Hall, Natalie Pennington, Amanda J. Holmstrom, 2026 Sibling relationships are among the longest-lasting relationships in people’s lives. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), including voice calls, t...

📰Newly Published:

Adult sibling closeness isn’t about using more apps—it’s about connecting more often. Calls and emails > platform overload.

Check out Corder et al.'s study for more!
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Drawing on data from 151 older couples, Sönmez-Orhan et al.'s study shows that facial emotion perception in later life relates to cognition, empathy, and relationship satisfaction.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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🎆New Year, New Issue, Same JSPR!🎆

Happy New Year's from all of us at JSPR! Hope everyone had a restful and joyful holiday break! We're back with the latest and greatest ground breaking research in Social and Personal Relationships!

Cheers to Volume 43 and 2026!
journals.sagepub.com/toc/spra/43/1

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‼️MONTHLY ISSUE‼️

Happy HIV/AIDS Awareness Month, Universal Human Rights Month, and Seasonal Affective Disorder Awareness Month from all of us at JSPR! Celebrate the scholarly way with our December Issue, out now! Check out the issue here: journals.sagepub.com/toc/spra/42/12

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Sibling abuse is common but understudied—Smith et al.'s twin study shows how family support (or strain) shapes emotional outcomes years later.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

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How do teacher ties, peer attachment, and kids’ internalizing problems influence each other over time? Jia et al.’s study uncovers the two-way dynamics among left-behind children in China.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

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Social provision and postnatal well-being across the transition to motherhood: Family cohesion as a mediator - Xin-Ying Zeng, Eva Yi Hung Lau, 2025 The transition to motherhood often leads to a decline in maternal well-being. However, mothers with higher social provision, may perceive greater connection and...

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Zeng & Lau’s study shows that strong social support boosts family cohesion, which helps protect new mothers’ well-being during the transition to motherhood.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Perceiving opponents as self-disclosing bridges partisan divides - Emily Kubin, Peter Luca Versteegen, Kurt Gray, 2025 Political polarization is driving disconnection and animosity between opponents in the United States. We propose perceiving opponents as self-disclosing helps f...

📰Newly Published:

Kubin et al. ‘s study shows that when political opponents share personal, self-disclosing stories, it boosts connection, respect, and willingness to interact—helping reduce polarization.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Brody et al.’s study explores how attachment style shapes how people handle digital memories after a breakup—and how keeping virtual reminders impacts emotional recovery.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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From loss to closer bonds: Pregnancy loss and the emotional bonds with children in later life - Ella Cohn-Schwartz, 2025 Having a pregnancy end without a live baby can result in mixed effects to the relationship with one’s living children, but this has mostly been examined in the ...

📰Newly Published:

Cohn-Schwartz's study examines how experiencing a stillbirth affects mothers’ relationships with their adult children later in life, using data from women aged 50+ in the SHARE survey.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Journal of Social and Personal Relationships - Volume 42, Number 11 Table of contents for Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 42, 11

‼️SPECIAL ISSUE‼️

Happy Native American Heritage, American Diabetes, and World Vegan Month from all of us at JSPR! Celebrate the scholarly way with our November Issue, out now!

Check out the issue here:
journals.sagepub.com/toc/spra/42/11

Individual and well-being factors associated with social chatbot usage: A six-country study - Rita Latikka, Jenna Bergdahl, Iina Savolainen, Magdalena Celuch, Atte Oksanen, 2025 An increasing number of people are engaging with artificial intelligence–based conversation agents such as social chatbots. The aim of this study was to investi...

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Latikka et al.’s cross-national study explores who turns to AI chatbots for friendship and how factors like loneliness, well-being, and tech attitudes shape their use across 6 European countries.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Wehrli et al.’s study examines how balance in sexual give-and-take between partners shapes sexual satisfaction and functioning in mixed-gender couples.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Debnam & Avery’s study explores how the Strong Black Woman schema—emphasizing strength, self-reliance, and sacrifice—shapes young Black women’s experiences in romantic relationships.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Understanding parents’ motivations for giving their children smartphones: A qualitative study - Idoia Legorburu Fernandez, Nahia Idoiaga-Mondragon, Mirari Gaztañaga, Maria Dosil-Santamaria, 2025 In response to growing concerns about the early age at which children receive smartphones, this study examines the factors influencing parents’ decisions on whe...

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Legorburu Fernandez et al.’s study explores what drives parents’ decisions about when and why to give their children smartphones, drawing insights from 642 parents in northern Spain.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Brock & Gervais’s study explores how dehumanizing a partner and alcohol use together predict intimate partner aggression—offering a new framework for understanding relationship violence among college couples.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Can better sleep and stronger bonds fight loneliness? Mohr et al. 's study tests a workplace intervention for military couples to boost connection and well-being—one relationship (and rest) at a time.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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How do cultural norms shape when we stay silent? 🤫Sathyapal & Deb’s study explores how young Indian adults navigate self-expression and restraint in close relationships.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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📢 CALL FOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS 📢

The Journal of Social and Personal Relationships (JSPR) and SAGE invite applications for three Associate Editor roles (three-year term, annual stipend, renewable)

For more information, contact Sophie Donnelly (sophie.donnelly@sagepub.co.uk

📰Newly Published:

Do birds of a feather really stay together? 🕊️ From et al. study’s review of 339 studies reveals how similarity shapes the course of romantic relationships.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

‼️SPECIAL ISSUE‼️

Happy Filipino-American History, ADHD Awareness, Breast Cancer Awareness, and AIDS Awareness Month from all of us at JSPR! Celebrate the scholarly way with our September Issue, out now! Check out the issue here:
journals.sagepub.com/toc/SPR/curr...

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When kids get left out, parents relive the playground too—their past shapes their reactions. Find out how and why in Rosen et al.’s study!
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Similarity reduces blame: Consequences of observer-target similarity in social exclusion situations - Melissa Jauch, Rahel Ingold, Rainer Greifeneder, 2025 Who is blamed for social exclusion often depends on how justified observers perceive the exclusion. Here we hypothesize that observers’ own similarity to the ex...

📰Newly Published:

We blame excluded people less when they feel similar to us—similarity sparks compassion, distance fuels blame.

Read all about it in @melissajauch.bsky.social et al.’s study linked below!
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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Sexual communication patterns of heterosexual-identified men who have sex with men - Travis R. Scheadler, Megan W. Rowe, Salem Rao, Oliver W. J. Beer, Tyrone J. Curtis, Sandra Kwan, Shih-Ju Claire Lun... The sexual communication patterns that comprise how heterosexual men with concordance between identity and behavior navigate their sexual encounters with women ...

🌐Online First Publication:

How do straight men who have sex with men talk about sex? Scheadler et al.’s study uncovers unique communication strategies often overlooked in research.
doi.org/10.1177/0265...

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