Following the work of E. O. Wilson, Desmond Morris, and David Buss, What Women Want--What Men Want offers compelling new evidence about the real reasons behind men's and women's differing sexual psychologies and sheds new light on what men and women look for in a mate, the predicament of marriage in the modern world, the relation between sex and emotion, and many other hotly debated questions. Drawing upon 2000 questionnaires and 200 intimate interviews that show how our sexual psychologies affect everyday decisions, John Townsend argues against the prevailing ideologically correct belief that differences in sexual behavior are "culturally constructed." Townsend shows there are deep-seated desires inherited from our evolutionary past that guide our actions. In a fascinating series of experiments, men and women were asked to indicate preferences for potential mates based on their attractiveness and apparent economic status. Women overwhelmingly preferred expensively dressed men to more attractive but apparently less successful men, and men were clearly inclined to choose more attractive women regardless of their professional status. Townsend's studies also indicate that men are predisposed to value casual sex, whereas women cannot easily separate sexual relations from the need for emotional attachment and economic security. Indeed, wherever men possess sexual alternatives to marriage, and women possess economic alternatives, divorce rates will be high. In the concluding chapter, Townsend draws upon the advice of couples who have maintained their marriages over the years to suggest ways to survive our evolutionary predicament. Lucidly and accessibly written, What Women Want--What Men Want shows us why we are the way we are and brings new clarity to one of the most intractable debates of our time.

"This extremely valuable collection of fourteen chapters is divided into two sections, with the first section covering research on physical abuse in dating relationships and the second section covering the issue of sexual abuse in dating relationships. With the increasing public awareness of and concern about acquaintance rape, this is an excellent and timely book. It should be in the library of any researcher who studies violence against women and it would also be an invaluable resource for any college faculty or administrator who seeks to provide a healthy educational environment for all students." The Community Psychologist

A scholarly handbook focusing on variables that assist in confronting and preventing the forms of sexual victimization, i.e. rape, child abductions, battering, sexual harassment, and incest. Resources include parent and teacher training, public education and awareness, and psychotherapeutic techniques for families and friends of victims as well as the victims themselves.

Westerners believe that love makes life worth living; that sex is a natural desire different in kind from love; and that only cynics reduce our love life to a calculation of economic or genetic factors. In this volume, essays explore these and other assumptions about the relationship between romantic love and sex. This represents the first interdisciplinary social science study of love and sex.

This pioneering monograph integrates the major research findings of the past four decades and offers a new model for the study of human sexuality. The author examines the empirical literature on sexuality for the developmental stages of childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood and for experiences of sexual aggression. He then uses symbolic interactionism to develop a theoretical model which integrates the research across the developmental periods and for instances of sexual aggression, providing one of the most comprehensive views of sexuality development that has yet been offered. The work investigates the role of family, peers, romantic partners, and personality in the development of sexual expression and offers a unique vision of how symbolic interactionism can inform one's understanding of sexual beliefs and behaviors through the developmental stages. By acknowledging developmental differences and changes in individuals and their interpersonal relationship context, a more integrated understanding emerges of how sexuality develops. This volume is intended for students and scholars interested in the influences on the development of sexual expression of youth and young adults. It will be of great interest to readers in psychology, family studies, communication, sociology, adolescent studies, and specialized areas of sexuality research. It is appropriate for undergraduate seminars and graduate-level courses on human sexuality, close relationships, family theory, sociology, communication, social psychology, developmental psychology, and related areas.

Developmental and clinical researchers have only just discovered the phenomenon of adolescent romance as a topic of serious scientific inquiry. This discovery may be related to the overwhelming evidence that adult romantic relationships are failing at alarming rates. Dramatic increases in the rates of divorce, out of wedlock childbirth, and relationship violence lead to questions about the developmental precursors of romantic love and commitment. What's wrong with love and can it be fixed? This book brings together a diverse group of experts from various disciplines to address a serious gap in the understanding of adolescent development. Part I focuses on romantic relations and sexual behavior from the perspective of normative adolescent development. Part II centers on high-risk adolescents and Part III explores the practical implications of current theory and research for clinicians, educators, and health administrators. Together the chapters in this integrative and clinically useful book lay a foundation for understanding how adolescents successfully navigate the tumultuous waters of young love.