Diversity and inclusion in relationship science: Reflections as an International Section Peer Mentor for Personal Relationships

Abstract

AbstractSince Spring 2021, I have been on the Editorial Board for Personal Relationships as an International Section Peer Mentor. In the International Section, I work to diversify relationship science with a team of relationship scientists. In this role, I have learned more about diversity, and in turn, I have become inspired to reflect on other strategies I could partake in to assist in further diversifying relationship science. I aim to share those insights in this commentary through recommendations for relationship scientists. In addition to sharing these recommendations, I describe my positionality in a positionality statement, and I provide background on what diversity means to me and my current expertise in the subject matter. There are several recommendations in this commentary, and they involve all steps of the research process. I encourage relationship scientists to educate themselves, to consider the various diversities when developing their research questions, to initiate collaborations with and learn from other research teams whenever possible, to ensure that they are not unintentionally excluding underrepresented groups, to reflect on how they report participant demographic data, and to consider drafting their own positionality statements.