“What Do You Mean by Sex?” A Qualitative Analysis of Traditional versus Evolved Meanings of Sexual Activity among Older Women and Men

Gore-Gorszewska, Gabriela

doi:10.1080/00224499.2020.1798333

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…contradictory societal scripts of ‘asexual old age’ and ‘sex as crucial in successful ageing’). As documented in some qualitative research, an individual's personal scripts might conform to the dominant societal norms or – if a disjuncture is too great – might evolve and go above and beyond the conventionally shared meanings (Masters et al , 2013; Murray, 2018; Gore-Gorszewska, 2020). It may be particularly interesting in older adults, for whom the accumulation of life experiences along with the socio-cultural transformations that have occurred over the course of their lives have potentially presented more opportunities for sexual script change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study analysis is centred exclusively on female participants’ experiences and narratives. As gendered differences on the meaning of sex or preferable types of sexual encounters have been observed, and the traditional sexual scripts give various instructions to women and men on how to be sexual, what to pursue and what sexual behaviour is (im)proper (Hinchliff and Gott, 2008; Masters et al , 2013; Gore-Gorszewska, 2020), it is reasonable to expect that the motives for sexual inactivity in later life may be different for ageing women and men. Relevant male narratives about not being sexual in older age are explored in a separate study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Why would I want sex now?’ A qualitative study on older women's affirmative narratives on sexual inactivity in later life

Gore-Gorszewska

2021

Ageing and Society

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The existing research tries to understand the reasons for discontinuing sex in later life with the assumption that people want to be sexual. Although the growing body of literature informs that sex remains an integral part of older adults’ lives, a substantial number of older adults declare not being sexually active. This study aimed at exploring motives for deliberately choosing sexual inactivity among older women. Semi-structured interviews with 16 Polish women (aged 65–82) were thematically analysed in relation to the sexual scripts theory and the participants’ specific socio-cultural background. Three main themes regarding the reasons for cessation of their sex life were identified: ‘I am glad that sex does not concern me anymore’, ‘I am satisfied with my memories’ and ‘The right one’ or no one. The results indicate that some women give up sex for good, with no regrets or feeling of a loss; for others, it may be a temporary decision, its duration dependent on meeting the right partner. Developing sexual agency may encourage discontinuing their sex life – a choice perceived as optimal and liberating. Personal factors and the memories of marital relationships seem to shape older women's (a)sexual expectations. Acknowledging these nuances may contribute to a better understanding of older women's sexual functioning; implications for consideration in further research and practice are also discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Why would I want sex now?’ A qualitative study on older women's affirmative narratives on sexual inactivity in later life

Gore-Gorszewska

2021

Ageing and Society

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“…However, Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that people aged 50 and older have many of the same HIV risk factors as younger persons (Center for Disease Control & Prevention, 2020). This report by the CDC may be due to the fact that the need for sexual conduct and relationships exists throughout life ( Gore-Gorszewska, 2020 ; Graham et al., 2020 ). This contrasts the assertion of graduating nursing students that old people lose interest in sexual relations (see Table 3 , Q17 above).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge of Ghanaian Graduating Undergraduate Nurses About Ageing

Atakro

2021

SAGE Open Nursing

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Introduction Knowledge on ageing has an impact on the quality of care provided to older people. Although older Ghanaians provide various forms of support to family and communities, many of them experience poor nursing care in the Ghanaian health system. There is, however, dearth of evidence regarding knowledge of ageing among Ghanaian nurses. Objective This study therefore used a descriptive survey approach to investigate knowledge of graduating undergraduate nurses on physiological, and psychosocial changes in ageing. Methods Seventy graduating undergraduate nurses were surveyed to identify their knowledge on physiological and psychosocial changes leading to care needs of older people in Ghana. Three undergraduate nursing programs with gerontological nursing courses were purposively selected for the study. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data in order to present quantitative descriptions of variables in this study. Results The response rate in the study was 42%. Findings of the study show graduating undergraduate nursing students have inadequate knowledge on ageing. Several gaps in knowledge regarding ageing were identified. Although undergraduate nursing schools had gerontological nursing courses in their programs, over 90% of participating graduating nursing students indicated pain, anxiety and depression are normal aspects in the ageing process. Conclusion It is imperative to improve the current curricula content on gerontological nursing in Ghanaian nursing schools to equip nurses with knowledge and skills needed to provide quality healthcare to older people in Ghana. Improving knowledge on ageing through evidence-informed gerontological nursing curricula content will lead to better nursing care of older Ghanaians. Providing educational opportunities for improved quality nursing care of older Ghanaians is in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 3, which aims at providing equal and quality healthcare to all age groups by 2030.

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“…The most noticeable change is the decrease in sexual frequency (Lindau et al, 2007 ; Mercer et al, 2013 ). Lower sexual frequency predominately stems from the deterioration of physical health and sexual functioning; from ageist or negative beliefs (i.e., later-life sex as a redundant or pointless activity); and from barriers associated with the lack of a (sexual) partner (DeLamater, 2012 ; Erens et al, 2019 ; Gore-Gorszewska, 2020 ; Waite & Das, 2010 ). Nonetheless, prior research has shown that people value being in a relationship in later life and, at the same time, they vary in the extent to which they consider sexual expression to be an important part of couplehood (Fileborn et al, 2015 ; Gore-Gorszewska, 2020 ; Hinchliff & Gott, 2004 ; Koren, 2015 ; Ševčíková & Sedláková, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations among Sexual Activity, Relationship Types, and Health in Mid and Later Life

2021

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Despite a growing amount of research on sexuality in mid and later life, relatively little is known about the associations among sexual activity, relationship types, and health. This paper analyzes data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) for the subpopulation of respondents residing in the Czech Republic ( N = 1304, 49% women; M age = 69.1, SD age = 8.0). Hierarchical ordinal regression models showed that persons who stayed in newly formed or less traditional relationship types, such as dating, Living-Apart-Together (LAT) relationships, and cohabitation, reported a higher frequency of sexual activity than married people. Overall, the dating and LAT relationship group displayed the highest sexual frequency and the lowest incidence of chronic diseases. People in marriages and cohabitation were comparable with respect to the number of chronic diseases. The findings suggest that sexual activity is intertwined with later-life relationships and sexual frequency may vary according to the relationship type. Future research may benefit from probing the extent to which partnered sex is important for maintaining bonds between older partners with separate households. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10508-021-02040-6.

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“What Do You Mean by Sex?” A Qualitative Analysis of Traditional versus Evolved Meanings of Sexual Activity among Older Women and Men

Cited by 18 publications

References 55 publications

‘Why would I want sex now?’ A qualitative study on older women's affirmative narratives on sexual inactivity in later life

‘Why would I want sex now?’ A qualitative study on older women's affirmative narratives on sexual inactivity in later life

Knowledge of Ghanaian Graduating Undergraduate Nurses About Ageing

Associations among Sexual Activity, Relationship Types, and Health in Mid and Later Life

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