When a Partner Has a Sexual Problem: Gendered Implications for Psychological Well-being in Later Life

Abstract

Guided by symbolic interactionism, we examined (a) whether the psychological well-being of older adults might be threatened if they feel bothered by an intimate partner's sexual unresponsiveness and (b) whether such sexual unresponsiveness of a partner might be compensated by perceived supportiveness of significant others. We explored these questions separately by gender, anticipating that sexual unresponsiveness might affect men and women differently and that support from a partner might be more important for men and support from others more important for women. Using data from 1,346 participants in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, we conducted multiple group regression analysis and estimated models separately but simultaneously for women and men. Although feeling bothered by the sexual unresponsiveness of an intimate partner was significantly associated with both women's and men's depressive symptoms, the moderating effect of the partner's supportiveness was significant only for women. The results suggest that gender is a key dimension for understanding the relations among negative feelings about sexual relationships, socioemotional support from significant others, and psychological well-being in older age.