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22 - Sexuality in Relationships: Highlights and Oversights from Recent Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2026

By
Jessica A. Maxwell ,
Auguste Harrington ,
Amanda Denes ,
Justin J. Lehmiller ,
Amy Muise  and
Emily A. Impett
Edited by
Anita L. Vangelisti ,
Daniel Perlman  and
Susan Sprecher
Anita L. Vangelisti
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin
Daniel Perlman
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Susan Sprecher
Affiliation:
Illinois State University
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Summary

Research on sex in relationships has proliferated in recent years, yielding valuable insights about sexuality in different types of relationships. In this chapter, we highlight recent work that has strengthened our understanding of couples’ everyday sexual experiences and their links to relational and broader well-being. We review how sexual experiences are shaped by individual differences (e.g., attachment orientation) and by the interplay of both romantic partners. We further highlight how the field has adapted to societal changes in relationships (e.g., consensual non-monogamy, casual sex, technology). Although existing research has discovered many important findings, much of it is limited in its generalizability to diverse populations beyond Western, monogamous, and cisgender man–woman couples. To address this oversight, we offer many minor but meaningful adjustments researchers can make to help ensure their measures and theories are inclusive, thereby helping to ensure future research on sex in relationships is representative of a broader population.

Keywords

sexualitysexual satisfactionsexual frequencygeneralizability

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The Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships , pp. 463 - 483
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2026

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