Štulhofer, A., Hinchliff, S. orcid.org/0000-0002-6180-1165, Jurin, T. et al. (2 more authors) (2018) Successful aging and changes in sexual interest and enjoyment among older European men and women. Journal of Sexual Medicine. ISSN 1743-6095
Abstract
Introduction Despite the popularity and analytical relevance of the concept of successful aging, little efforts have been made to address its relationship to sexuality in older individuals.
Aim To explore the relationship between successful aging and the (retrospectively assessed) change in sexual interest and enjoyment in the past 10 years, using a new multidimensional model of successful aging.
Methods The data for this study was collected in 2016 using national probability-based surveys in four European countries (Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Portugal). In total, information from 2,461 sexually active and inactive participants aged 60–75 years was used for analyses. Multigroup structural equation analysis was employed to address the associations between key constructs.
Main Outcome Measure The dependent variable was a composite (two-item) indicator of change in sexual interest and enjoyment in the past 10 years; a multifaceted model of successful aging predicted the change by country and gender.
Results Tested cross-culturally, the proposed model of successful aging demonstrated a good fit to the data. Furthermore, its metric characteristics enabled direct comparisons across gender and national cultures. Controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, higher successful aging scores were consistently related to lower reduction in sexual interest/enjoyment among men and women across the 4 countries.
Clinical Implications Given an increased life-expectancy and focus on healthy aging in many countries, the findings about the associations between sexual expression, quality of life and aging well are valuable to professionals working in the area of healthy sexual aging.
Strength & Limitations This is the first study to systematically address the relationship between successful aging and sexuality. Furthermore, it provides a multidimensional measure of successful aging for a wide range of sexologic studies. Among limitations, possible self-selection bias (toward more sexually permissive and sexually active participants) and the fact that the findings are restricted to older heterosexual individuals, should be considered.
Conclusion Without stigmatizing the absence of sexual expression in aging individuals, the findings from this cross-cultural study point out that sustained sexual interest and sexual enjoyment are linked to successful aging in both genders.
Metadata
Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Successful Aging; Sexual Interest; Sexual Enjoyment; Cross-Cultural Assessment; Gender |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Nursing and Midwifery (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 13 Sep 2018 11:30 |
Last Modified: | 20 Sep 2019 00:38 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2018.08.011 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2018.08.011 |
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Filename: Štulhofer, Hinchliff, Jurin, Hald and Træen (author accepted version) Journal of Sexual Medicine.pdf
Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0