ADAPTING SEXUAL SCRIPTS FOR OLDER ADULT INTIMACY AND RELATIONSHIP INITIATION: A FEMINIST FRAMEWORK

Abstract

Sexual intimacy plays a significant role throughout every developmental life stage, and is incredibly important in the later stages of life when relationships with loved ones are vital, and there is increased risk of social isolation, loneliness and high rates of depression. The desire for sexual expression is often ignored or even actively discouraged in older adults. This avoidance could be partially caused by sexual scripts about sexual intimacy that deter intimacy in older people. Practitioners must recognize individual factors that impact the interest, need, or desire for sexual expression in later life stages. Sexual intimacy is beneficial in older adults, nevertheless, barriers can exist to intimate and sexual expression for some older adults due to scripts about sexuality that deter physical intimacy and sexual encounters in later life. A theoretically-based conceptualization of sexual intimacy and aging is useful to inform practitioners and researchers where support and advocacy may be implemented to foster health intimacy for older adults. Understanding the sexual scripts within the levels of cultural/historical, social/ interactive, and personal/intra-psychic provides a unique opportunity for clinicians to assess the experience of sexuality as social and learned interactions. The experience of relationship initiation can be deconstructed to examine how relationships evolve to be sexually intimate. These learned scripts can then be re-constructed to aid older clients to increase the level of sexual intimacy to their desired level.