Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, Vol 51, Issue 3 M142-M146, Copyright © 1996 by The Gerontological Society of America
Sexuality and aging--usual and successful
D Wiley and WM Bortz 2nd
Active Living Institute, Palo Alto, California, USA.
BACKGROUND. As aging research increasingly reflects an effort to dissociate
true time-driven changes from those that can be improved, sexuality in
later life remains largely unexplored. Several problems are evident. There
is a lack of normative data, a lack of a conceptual framework relating to
the biology, psychology, and sociology of sex, and an attitudinal
resistance that obscures the entire topic. METHODS. We conducted a
three-part instructional series on major topics involved with sexuality and
aging. We surveyed our group of attendees (n 158, average age 68 for males,
65 for females) before and after the series. RESULTS. A remarkably robust
sex life was evidenced by both the men and the women, even until advanced
old age. Yet, a substantially decreased involvement was reported from 10
years earlier. Despite current activities, people of both sexes wished they
were participating even more than they currently were. Impotency was
identified as the major negative feature for the men; relationship problems
were for the women. A questionnaire 6 months after the series reported
improved sexual attitudes, but no change in sexual activities from the
earlier survey. CONCLUSION. Sexuality is a major quality-of-life issue
which persists into old age. Our study showed that the usual sexual
practices reported by our group were not considered by them to be ideal.
The intervention of this instructional series provided improved sexual
attitudes but not performance. Additional studies are encouraged.
