Study examines the sexuality in old age

How old people deal with their sexuality, is an issue to which little attention is paid to the wins in our rapidly aging society, however, is becoming increasingly important. A recent study has examined the sexual activity, the sexual thoughts and intimacy in old age.

Probably no one would like to discuss with grandma and grandpa about your sex life and also their desire to look by means of the other exchange, is likely to be limited in most cases. So it is not surprising that Sex up to the age of today is a taboo topic. A recent study by researchers at the Humboldt-University Berlin, the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Max-Planck-Institute for human development (MPIB) and the German Socio-economic panel (SOEP) has shed light on this topic scientifically. The results of the study were published in the journal “Psychology and Aging”.

Sexual behavior in the age group 60 to 80 years examined

So far, there is little research on sexuality in old age, although long known, the Sex is also 90 years is something quite normal. The research team led by first author Karolina Kolodziejczak from the Institute for psychology of the Humboldt-University has now used the data of 1,514 adults aged 60 to 82 years from the Berlin aging study II (BASE-II) to analyze their sexual activity, their sexual thoughts and intimacy, according to the Humboldt University, in a press release to the current study. As a control group 475 younger adults were aged 22 to 36 years. Also, the researchers have sexual behavior with factors that are associated with the healthy ageing in the context, such as, for example, physical Fitness, and the social embeddedness of the subjects.

Many older people are above average sexually active

The data analysis made it clear that older people are, on average, sex-less active and less sexual thoughts than younger ones, report the researchers. However, there is “in the Experience of emotions, such as intimacy and security, between Young and Old only minor differences.” And even if the average of the older adults to be less sexually active than the boys, so this was not the case for all. The individual differences are expressed, the researchers reported, and nearly a third of 60 is specified to have up to 80 – Year-old to be sexually active and to have more frequent sexual thoughts year as the average of the 20 – and 30 -.

Considerable individual differences

On the basis of the obtained data, it is clear that there is also the issue of Sex huge differences in the lives of older people, further emphasized by the Professor Dr. Denis Gerstorf, speaker of the Berlin aging study II, “to illuminate These differences and to examine the role of sexuality for the well-being and good health in old age, would be one of the next tasks,” says the Co-author of the current study.

Human factor in old age is particularly important?

Particularly interesting was also that psycho-social factors in the sexuality of the older study participants played a greater role than physical, according to the first author Karolina Kolodziejczak. The importance of psychological and interpersonal factors for a fulfilling sex life in old age, had long been underestimated. “This can’t be decisive, as long as physical limitations stand in the way,” says Kolodziejczak. What are the factors in the Sex, in the age of meaning, and what are the predictions about the behaviour of the sexual health derived, must now be clarified in further studies. (fp)