Terri L. Orbuch
University of Michigan

John H. Harvey
University of Iowa

During the 1980s, several books, articles, and chapters evaluated methodological
and conceptual issues concerned with the study of sexuality (e.g., Callero &
Howard, 1989; Green & Wiener, 1980; Jayne, 1986; a special issue of the
Journal of Sex Research [Vol. 22, No. 1, 1986]; Weinstein, 1984). Compared to
previous discussions, however, this chapter focuses on research and method-
ological issues arising from the study of sexuality in close relationships. Little
research and theoretical emphasis have been given to the study of sexuality
within close relationships. In most studies of sexuality, the relationship is implicit
in the examination of the issue, yet relevant relationship aspects are not actually
documented. In addition, few studies go beyond the individual as the unit of
analysis.

In a poignant essay examining the social construction of sexuality, Weeks
( 1986) stated that sexual relations are but a form of social relations; sexuality is a
product of the social environment around us. An implicit assumption in Weeks'
essay, and a major theme of this chapter, is that in its most meaningful form
sexuality is but another social process, much like other social and relational
processes. Allport ( 1968) defined the study of social-psychological processes as
"the attempt to understand and explain how the thought, feeling, and behavior of
individuals are influenced by the real, imagined, or implied presence of others"
(p. 3). Given the breadth of this definition, one may be hard pressed to imagine

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