Where Does Sexuality Fit with Perceptions of Aging

A 2009 Pew research survey administered to 2,969 adults between the ages of 18 and 80 years found sizable differences between informal markers of old age. To the question: “WHEN DO YOU CONSIDER A PERSON OLD?” The percent breakdown for categories of informal markers (e.g., chronological age, memory lapses) by the % of people who endorsed each category was as follows:

79% of persons endorsed “turning 80 years old” as a sign of “being old”. Lack of sexual activity was endorsed by only 33% of respondents as a sign of being old. To conclude: Lack of sexuality was only a minor informal marker endorsed by this group of respondents that a person is old. For these people other things; years of age, independent function, memory loss are more prominent informal markers that a person is old.  

Pew Research Center (2012), Washington, DC 20036   p 202.419.4300

Does sexual orientation change through adulthood?

Lisa Diamond a professor at the University of Utah, has followed a group of 79 women for 15 years, tracking shifts in their sexual identity. The women she chose at the start of the study had all experienced some same-sex attraction – although in some cases only fleetingly – and every two years Diamond recorded how they generally viewed themselves plus whether their sexual identity was straight, lesbian, or bisexual.  20-30% of the sample changed their sexual identity over time. Diamond reported that among these women, some who were heterosexual but tended to believe other women were physically attractive were likely at some point later in life to actually fall in love with a woman – maybe after the loss of a male marital partner. Diamond’s findings raise questions about whether sexual identity is stable or shifts over the life course and what factors influence those shifts?

Source: Diamond, L. M. (2008). Female bisexuality from adolescence to adulthood: Results from a 10-year longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 44, 5-14.

Statistics: Age Differences in Couples

What do we know about the Couples of different ages, young and old, in long-term partnerships. Why? What are the consequences?

A recent study reported from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (May, 2010), Sven Drefahl, sven.drefahl@sociology.su.se, reported that:

Women with much younger husbands may die younger on average because they experience more stress, Drefahl speculates.

Women marrying a partner seven to nine years younger increase their relative mortality risk by 20% compared with couples where both are the same age. But the relative mortality risk of a husband who is seven to nine years older is reduced by 11%.

Source: http://www.demogr.mpg.de/files/press/1813_Press_Release_Drefahl.pdf

WHAT ABOUT IN THE UNITED STATES?

Is Erectile Dysfunction Normal?

Erectile Dysfunction is the inability to develop and maintain an erection for satisfactory sexual intercourse or activity.

A 2003 article by
Constance G. Bacon, ScD;
Murray A. Mittleman, MD, ScD
and colleagues from the Harvard School of Public Health

Sexual Function in Men Older Than 50 Years of Age: Results from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, August 5, 2003 vol. 139 no. 3 161-168

Found that:

Among 31, 742 men, age 53 to 90 years and after excluding those with prostate cancer the prevalence of erectile dysfunction in the previous 3 months was 33% (one in three men). They also found that many aspects of sexual function including desire and the ability to achieve orgasm decreased sharply by decade after 50 years in these men.

They did find that physical activity was associated with lower risk for erectile dysfunction. Obesity as well as smoking cigarettes, alcohol consumption, and television viewing time were linked to increased erectile dysfunction.

Read the full article at: http://www.annals.org/content/139/3/161.full

What is Good Sex in Later Life?

 

Good sex in old age is sex that you enjoy. When sex brings you personal pleasure, helps you get closer to someone you care about, helps you feel you are still vibrant and able, builds your self-esteem, helps you feel renewed.

Good sex might also be helping a partner feel satisfied, being connected to something personally meaningful, engaging in an activity that takes your mind off worries.

Good sex can help you escape your troubles for a while, help you change your routines, help you think deeper about life, help you enjoy your body and the pleasures that your body can still bring you.

Good sex can help you feel OK about yourself and your body when you might have some worries about health. It can help you feel a temporarily healthy even though you might be sick and in pain. It can be reassurance that you still have life left in you.

This Blog explores good sex or how positive aging is linked to sexuality.