The Handbook of Sexuality in Close Relationships
Sexuality is a central dimension of romantic partnerships, yet for decades, researchers in psychology, sociology, family studies, and clinical practice developed their findings largely in isolation from one another. The Handbook of Sexuality in Close Relationships was assembled to close that gap.
Edited by John H. Harvey, Amy Wenzel, and Susan Sprecher, and published by Psychology Press, this edited academic volume integrates scholarship on sexuality and close romantic relationships across disciplines that rarely share the same framework. The result is a 696-page reference that draws on contributions from approximately 50 scholars working across 23 chapters, organized to move from foundational theory through clinical application.
This page provides a structured overview of the handbook, including its scope, editorial contributors, major topics, intended readership, and its place within the broader body of work Dr. Wenzel has contributed to the study of couples, perinatal psychology, and evidence-based psychotherapy.
About the Book and Its Editors
The Handbook of Sexuality in Close Relationships was edited by three researchers whose combined expertise spans social psychology, clinical psychology, and the sociology of close relationships.
John H. Harvey served as Professor of Psychology at the University of Iowa, where he specialized in close relationships, attribution and account making, and loss and trauma. A Fellow of Division 8 of the American Psychological Association (APA), Harvey authored and edited more than 20 books and published over 130 articles and chapters throughout his career.
Amy Wenzel brought clinical and research expertise in cognitive behavioral therapy, perinatal distress, and women's mental health. Her scholarship has consistently integrated research-based frameworks with the practical demands of clinical care, a commitment that runs throughout this volume and across her broader body of published work.
Her role as co-editor reflects her longstanding interest in how psychological distress, relationship functioning, and intimacy interact, particularly during vulnerable life transitions such as the perinatal period.
Susan Sprecher is Professor of Sociology at Illinois State University, where her research has focused on sexual attitudes, relationship initiation, social exchange theory, and the sociology of romantic partnerships. Her sociological grounding provides the handbook with perspectives that complement the psychological and clinical chapters.
All three editors had a shared goal: to bring together major scholars working at the intersection of sexuality and close relationships, synthesize what research from multiple fields had established, and identify directions for future work. The handbook reflects that intent in both its breadth of contributors and its organizational structure.
What the Handbook Covers
The handbook is organized into five thematic sections, each addressing a distinct dimension of sexuality within the context of close romantic relationships.
The opening section establishes the conceptual and methodological foundation. Contributors address how sexuality has been theorized across disciplines, examine common research designs and their limitations, and provide an overview of sexual practices and attitudes within relational contexts. This grounding gives readers working in psychology, communication, or family studies a shared reference point before the book moves into more specific territory.
The second section examines the role of sexuality in the formation and development of close relationships. Chapters in this section address how sexual desire and early sexual experiences shape the trajectory of romantic partnerships, including the role of attachment orientation, romantic beliefs, and communicative framing during early intimate involvement. Researchers studying relationship initiation, sexual socialization, or the developmental path from attraction to committed partnership will find this section particularly useful.
The third section addresses what the editors describe as relational and contextual factors in sexuality. This includes how life stress affects sexual satisfaction and closeness, how power dynamics, control, and anger operate within couple sexual processes, and how postpartum depression shapes intimacy between partners. The inclusion of postpartum depression as a dedicated topic reflects the handbook's recognition that reproductive transitions create specific relational and sexual vulnerabilities that standard close relationships research often underweights.
Current research underscores why that inclusion matters. Recent systematic evidence confirms that postpartum depressive symptoms correlate with lower sexual function and higher sexual distress for both members of the couple at three months postpartum, with only partial recovery over time. Studies now report postpartum sexual concerns in 33 to 67 percent of new mothers and 33 to 77 percent of their partners, pointing to the couple-level disruption that accompanies mood difficulties in the perinatal period. The handbook's treatment of this topic in 2004 anticipated a line of clinical inquiry that has since expanded substantially.
The fourth section examines sexuality across special types of couples and contexts, including same-sex partnerships, long-distance relationships, and aging couples. These chapters address the diversity of relational forms and the varying ways sexuality is experienced and negotiated within them, providing a more complete picture than research focused exclusively on heterosexual, cohabiting, or newly formed couples.
The fifth section covers applications and clinical aspects of sexuality in close relationships. This is where the handbook moves most directly into practice-relevant territory, addressing clinical implications for therapists, health professionals, and policymakers. Chapters in this section speak to how practitioners can apply the research frameworks established earlier in the volume to real cases involving sexual difficulties, relational strain, and the psychological dimensions of intimacy.
The Research Gap This Handbook Addresses
The central argument the editors made in assembling this volume was that sexuality and close relationships had each been studied extensively, but the intersection of the two had received far less systematic attention than either field warranted on its own. Researchers in communication, sociology, family studies, psychology, and psychiatry have made significant advances in both areas. What was missing was a framework that brought those contributions into dialogue.
That gap has practical consequences for clinicians and researchers alike. Sexual satisfaction does not exist in isolation from relationship quality. Longitudinal data from nationally representative samples of newlywed couples in the United States show that sexual satisfaction predicts future relationship satisfaction, while the reverse link does not hold over time. Understanding the mechanisms that connect sexuality to relational well-being requires the kind of interdisciplinary synthesis this handbook was built to provide.
The editors organized the volume around theoretical integration and methodological rigor rather than clinical opinion or popular assumptions. Contributors were selected because their work represented the leading edge of research in their respective areas, and each chapter was expected to review what was known, assess the quality of existing evidence, and indicate where future research was needed. That combination of scope and scholarly discipline distinguishes this handbook from narrower clinical guides or introductory texts.
Who This Book Is For
The handbook was designed with a specific readership in mind. It is best suited for students and researchers in social, clinical, developmental, and health psychology, as well as those working in family studies, counseling, and interpersonal, family, or health communication.
It serves as an advanced reference for graduate courses on close relationships taught within psychology, communications, sociology, anthropology, and family studies programs. The depth and breadth of the chapters make it appropriate for doctoral seminars where students need to engage with primary research rather than introductory overviews.
Clinical psychologists and other mental health practitioners who work with couples, perinatal populations, or individuals presenting with sexual difficulties will find the applications section and the postpartum-focused chapters relevant to their case conceptualization. Health professionals and policymakers who shape services for new parents or couples facing relationship strain will also find the handbook a credible scholarly reference.
Scholars who review the handbook praise it for bringing together knowledge that "no other single book" had previously assembled in one place. The interdisciplinary structure makes it useful across departments rather than within a single disciplinary silo.
Why This Research Still Matters
The questions the handbook addresses have not grown less important in the two decades since its publication. Research on sexuality and close relationships has continued to expand across all five areas the volume covers, and the foundational frameworks the editors established remain reference points for scholars working in these fields today.
The perinatal chapters, in particular, retain relevance because the clinical picture has grown more rather than less complex. Depressive symptoms, partner support, body image, and sexual function during the transition to parenthood are now understood to interact in ways that require the kind of dyadic, biopsychosocial framing the handbook anticipated.
Sexual satisfaction among new parents functions as a proximal mechanism through which body image and mood affect overall couple adjustment, a finding that has direct implications for how clinicians approach perinatal couples work.
For researchers, the handbook remains a citation anchor for the argument that sexuality and close relationships must be studied together rather than separately. For practitioners, it offers a scholarly foundation for clinical decisions in areas where evidence-based guidance can be difficult to locate in a single accessible source.
Dr. Wenzel's Broader Scholarship on Perinatal Distress and Close Relationships
This handbook represents one contribution within a larger body of work Dr. Wenzel has produced on the intersection of psychological distress, close relationships, and evidence-based clinical care. Her scholarship consistently brings research rigor into contact with the practical needs of clinicians and the people they treat.
For practitioners and researchers working specifically in perinatal mental health, Dr. Wenzel's book on cognitive behavioral therapy for perinatal distress provides a clinically focused companion to the research frameworks introduced in this handbook. It translates the evidence base into structured CBT interventions for anxiety and depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Dropping the Baby and Other Scary Thoughts addresses the intrusive thoughts that many new parents experience but rarely discuss. It is written to be accessible for parents themselves as well as for clinicians providing psychoeducation and cognitive behavioral interventions in the perinatal period.
For those working with pregnancy loss, infertility, and neonatal bereavement, Coping With Infertility, Miscarriage, and Neonatal Loss extends Dr. Wenzel's perinatal work into grief and loss, areas where the intersection of intimate relationships and psychological distress is particularly acute.
Together, these books reflect the consistent thread in Dr. Wenzel's scholarship: evidence-based frameworks applied with clinical precision to the points in human life where relationships, reproduction, and emotional well-being converge.
Explore Dr. Wenzel's Scholarship and Clinical Work
The Handbook of Sexuality in Close Relationships reflects the same commitment to rigorous, research-informed thinking that runs through all of Dr. Wenzel's scholarly work. If you are a clinician, researcher, or graduate student working at the intersection of sexuality and close relationships, this handbook belongs in your reference library.
To explore the full scope of Dr. Wenzel's academic contributions, visit her Dr. Wenzel's biography and scholarship archive. For a complete list of journal articles, book chapters, and editorial contributions, browse her peer-reviewed publications. To discuss speaking engagements, professional training, or clinical consultation, contact Dr. Wenzel directly.
