Summary: Researchers found that adults who feel closer to their chronological age tend to report lower satisfaction with their sexual lives.
Source: University of Waterloo.
The closer you feel to your actual age, the less likely you are to be satisfied with your sex life, a University of Waterloo study has found.
A longitudinal study of 1,170 adults followed over a decade found a clear link between subjective age and perceived sexual quality in mid- to later-life. Participants ranged from their mid-40s to their mid-70s and included people with diverse sexual orientations. While the frequency of sexual activity did not differ significantly by how old participants felt, those who felt older or closer to their actual age reported a lower quality of sexual experiences and less interest in sex over time.
Researchers analyzed data collected between 1995 and 2005 as part of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, a national, long-term study of health and well-being in the U.S. The MIDUS dataset allowed the team to track changes in subjective age, attitudes about aging, and multiple measures of sexuality across two assessment waves separated by approximately ten years.
“What was clear from the data is that feeling younger had a huge impact on how people felt about the quality of their sex life and how interested they were in having sex,” said Steven Mock, an associate professor in Recreation and Leisure Studies at Waterloo. “For people in mid to later life, feeling young at heart actually appears to make a difference in the bedroom.”
Amy Estill, who led this research while completing her Master’s degree at Waterloo, emphasized the importance of considering both psychological and biological influences on sexuality as people age. “It’s important to consider all of the different psychosocial and biological factors that might influence a person’s sexuality,” she said. “While feeling younger didn’t have an impact on how much sex people were having, it was quite clear that feeling older does impact the quality of the sex you’re having.”
Source: Matthew Grant – University of Waterloo
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Original Research: Abstract for “The Effects of Subjective Age and Aging Attitudes on Mid- to Late-Life Sexuality” by Amy Estill, Steven E. Mock, Emily Schryer & Richard P. Eibach, Journal of Sex Research. Published online March 3, 2017. DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2017.1293603
MLA: University of Waterloo. “Your Sex Life is Only as Old as You Feel.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 30 May 2017.
APA: University of Waterloo (2017, May 30). Your Sex Life is Only as Old as You Feel. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
Chicago: University of Waterloo. “Your Sex Life is Only as Old as You Feel.” NeuroscienceNews. Accessed May 30, 2017.
Abstract
The Effects of Subjective Age and Aging Attitudes on Mid- to Late-Life Sexuality
This study examined how subjective age and attitudes toward aging relate to three aspects of sexuality among middle-aged and older adults: frequency of sexual activity, perceived quality of sexual activity, and interest in sexual activity. Data were drawn from two waves of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, comprising 1,170 adults (mean age at Time 1 = 53.70 years, SD = 9.08). Regression analyses assessed how subjective age and aging attitudes predicted sexual frequency, enjoyment of sexual activity, and interest in sex over a ten-year period.
Findings showed that feeling older and holding more negative views of aging were associated with rating sexual activity as less enjoyable over time. Feeling older (but not attitudes about aging) also predicted reduced interest in sex. Neither subjective age nor aging attitudes predicted the frequency of sexual activity. Overall, the results suggest that how people perceive their age and how they view aging can influence the subjective experience of sex later in life, even when the actual frequency of sexual encounters remains unchanged.
“The Effects of Subjective Age and Aging Attitudes on Mid- to Late-Life Sexuality” by Amy Estill, Steven E. Mock, Emily Schryer & Richard P. Eibach, Journal of Sex Research. Published online March 3, 2017. DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2017.1293603