Sexuality in Older Women and Their Partners
Sexual Activity in Older People: The Survey Says...
In 1998, the National Council On Aging conducted a survey of 1300 "older" (over age 60) Americans and their sexual activities. The results indicate that sexual activity plays an important role in relationships among older men and women. Forty-eight percent report that they were sexually active (sex at least once per month). Of these respondents, 79% of men and 66% of women said that sex was an important component of their relationship with their partner. Seventy-four percent of the sexually active men and 70% of the sexually active women reported being as satisfied or even more satisfied with their sexual lives than they were in their 40's.
In 2002, the Pfizer Global Study of sexual attitudes and behaviors confirmed these data on a GLOBAL level. This study looked to assess the importance of sex and intimacy in men and women ages 40 to 80 across 29 countries. Researchers interviewed more than 26,000 people either in person or by phone and by mail-in questionnaire depending on the country. The results are consistent the smaller NCOA study. In this survey, the 26000 subjects were asked their level of agreement with the statement "older people no longer want sex". Sixty-four percent of the males and 56% of the females strongly disagreed and only 17% of males and 24% of females agreed. In response to the question "How important is sex in your overall life?" 83% of men and 63% women said very or at least moderately important. Sixty-five percent of males and 58% of females disagreed with the statement "older people no longer have sex." When asked if they had intercourse in the last year, 82% of men and 64% of women said yes. In addition, in response to a question on frequency of sexual activity within the past year, 57% men and 51% women answered at least 1-6 times per week! These results suggest that it would be fair to state that when older people are sexually abstinent, it is likely because they have no available partner or because of health problems.
The fact is that sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent in both men and women. The National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) (Laumann, Paik, & Rosen, 1999) surveyed 1410 men and 1749 women between the ages of 18-59 and reported that 31% of men and 43% of women had experienced a sexual dysfunction. The responses from the Pfizer Global Survey are even more striking when you compare them to the results of the National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) (Laumann, Paik & Rosen, 1999). This is the frequently cited survey of almost 1749 women and 1410 men that are a much younger sample-from the ages of 18-59. In this American sample, 43% of women and 31% of the men reported having had a sexual dysfunction at some time in their life. However, the NHSLS, similar to the Pfizer Survey also noted that the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in women, unlike that in men, tends to decline with age.
Last Modified: September 5, 2006
