First Year Experience

Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships

As you begin college, you will find that developing a social network will be one of your first and foremost goals. The college environment is conducive to social development, as 9000 students are contained within a common setting. And for those of you who live on campus in the residence halls, you interact with hundreds of students in your residence on a daily basis. You will form relationships with students in your classes, roommates, and neighbors. And another way to meet other students is by following the advice on how to form social networks on campus.

Chickering and Reisser report that developing mature relationships involves tolerance and appreciation of differences and the capacity for intimacy (1993). Tolerance can be seen in both an intercultural and an interpersonal context. Respecting differences in close friends can generalize to acquaintances. Awareness, openness, and curiosity help students refine first impressions and reduce bias and ethnocentrism.

In addition for greater tolerance, the capacity for intimacy increases. Chickering and Reisser point out that developing mature relationships requires the ability to choose healthy relationships and make lasting commitments based on honesty. A healthy intimate relationship requires an interdependence between two equal people, steering away from too much dependence and too much dominance. Development provides more in-depth sharing and less clinging and provides more long-lasting relationships which can endure a crisis (1993).

Additional information about relationships can be found on the relationships page of this web site here.

---

Reference:
Chickering, Arthur, & Reisser, Linda. Education and Identity. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA 1993.