Abstract
ABSTRACTIn 2012/2013 the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) included a comprehensive Sexual Relationships and Activities Questionnaire (SRA-Q). A total of 7,079 men and women mainly aged 50 to >90, primarily heterosexual and in a coupled relationship, completed the SRA-Q, answering a series of questions about their attitudes to sexual relationships, their own sexual activities, problems and concerns with sexual functioning, and quality of intimate relationships. The questions aimed to gain insights into the ways in which sexual relations and activities related to health, wellbeing and other lifestyle factors change as people grow older. The primary mode of data collection was a tick box response to a series of questions. However, at the end of the questionnaire an open comment box was provided, which asked respondents whether there was anything else that they would like to say; 1,084 respondents provided additional information and these comments created a unique qualitative data-set. The analysis of the data then illustrated how people's health, relationships, experiences and perceptions of ageing, along with sexual satisfaction, impact on sexual relationships and activities.
Highlights
Older people are living longer, but research on sexual activity and relationships in later life has maintained its focus on issues of decline, dysfunction and dissatisfaction (Domoney ; Hayes and Dennerstein ; Karraker, DeLamater and Schwartz ; Syme et al )
The analysis of the data revealed how health and sexual relations were affected by long-term conditions and gendered aspects of sexual health such as erectile problems and the menopause
The analyses presented in this paper show that a range of inter-related factors impact on older people’s sexual activities, experiences and attitudes
Summary
Older people are living longer, but research on sexual activity and relationships in later life has maintained its focus on issues of decline, dysfunction and dissatisfaction (Domoney ; Hayes and Dennerstein ; Karraker, DeLamater and Schwartz ; Syme et al ). A primarily biomedical discourse in the literature has focused on a suggested normality of sexual function as penetrative sex, with an emphasis on erections, failing to acknowledge the heterogeneity of sexual experiences across the lifespan (DeLamater and Koepsel ; Katz and Marshall ) This is a pertinent issue when considering that older couples may increasingly value emotional intimacy, such as kissing and cuddling, over penetrative sex (Galinsky and Waite ; Hinchliff and Gott ). A recently published paper based on the statistical evidence gathered by the SRA-Q identified the prevalence of sexual activity and reported levels of sexual health concerns (Lee et al a), the SRA-Q included space for qualitative comments to be made These qualitative data are important as they provide an opportunity to make sense more fully of subjective understandings of sexuality-related transitions and relationships in later life
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