ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a commentary on the contents of the Handbook of Sexuality in Close Relationships. These reflections focus on (a) three emphases of the volume (defining sex, relational aspects of sexuality, problematic aspects of relationships); (b) the book’s treatment of culture and selected demographic type variables (gender, race, sexual orientation); (c) themajor theoretical approaches prominent in the volume (attachment, evolutionary, social exchange, and symbolic interaction); (d) five topics that might have received more attention (meta-analysis, international perspectives, the funding context of sex research, disciplinary perspectives other than psychology, and public policy implications of the current knowledge base); and finally (e) future directions in terms of sampling, methods, theory, and developmental perspectives. We conclude that this volume amply testifies to the value of considering relational aspects of sexuality.
