EDITORIAL COMMENTRelationships Matter: Progress and Challenges in Research on the Health Effects of Intimate RelationshipsSmith, Timothy W. PhD Author Information From the Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. Address correspondence to Timothy W. Smith, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112. E-mail: [email protected] Received for publication November 28, 2018. Psychosomatic Medicine 81(1):p 2-6, January 2019. | DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000660 Buy Metrics Abstract Social connections play an important role in health and disease and provide opportunities for clinical and public health interventions. Marriage and similar intimate relationships play a central role in the potential health benefits of positive social connections. This editorial provides an integrative perspective on three papers in this issue of Psychosomatic Medicine that examine intimate relationships and health and illustrates the application of current areas in relationship science. The importance of integrated conceptual models and statistical techniques to disentangle common third factors and overlapping constructs are highlighted, as well as the need for a multi-method approach that goes beyond self-report questionnaires. This editorial concludes with a summary of biobehavioral and psychological mechanisms and directions for future research. Copyright © 2018 by the American Psychosomatic Society
