The psychosocial sources of sexual interest in older couples

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 615-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Iveniuk ◽  
Linda J. Waite
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Sexual Interest ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sex Characteristics ◽  
Large Network ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

Sexual activity with one’s partner is an important component of well-being and is linked to physical, emotional, and cognitive health. However, it is unclear why some older adults are more interested in sex and some less so. Their own characteristics, those of their partner, and characteristics of the relationship may all be important. We define sexual interest as consisting both of the motivation to seek sex with a partner and willingness to have sex when asked. We measure this construct using data from both members of 953 couples in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. We focus in this article on the impact of psychological and social factors on older adults’ interest in sex, as well as the impact of their partners’ characteristics on their own interest in sex. We find that individuals with high perceived positive marital quality, a more positive and open personality, a large network of family, and better physical health showed greater interest in sex. Characteristics of their partner generally had little association with sexual interest.

The Influence of Family and Friend Confidants on Marital Quality in Older Couples

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruixue Zhaoyang ◽  
Lynn M Martire
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Objectives Relationships with confidants play an important role in older adults’ health and well-being. Particularly, family and friend confidants could significantly support or interfere with older adults’ marital relationships. This study used a dyadic approach to examine the influence of the structural features of both spouses’ family and friend confidant networks on older couples’ marital quality over 5 years. Methods Analyses used dyadic data from Wave 2 (2010–2011) and Wave 3 (2015–2016) interviews of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling older adults. Longitudinal actor–partner interdependence models were used to examine the influence of spouses’ family and friend confidant networks on couples’ marital quality. Results Having a larger friend confidant network or closer connections with friend confidants predicted greater marital quality for wives and husbands 5 years later. Larger family confidant networks of both spouses predicted greater marital quality for wives over time. However, husbands reported worse marital quality over time if wives reported having closer connections with their own family confidants at baseline. Discussion This study demonstrates the importance of family and friend confidant networks for older couples’ marital quality and highlights the benefits of having a larger or closer friend confidant network. Future research should examine mechanisms that account for the effects of spouses’ family and friend confidant networks on older couples’ marital quality.

Marital Quality and Well-Being Among Older Adults: A Typology of Supportive, Aversive, Indifferent, and Ambivalent Marriages

2020 ◽  
pp. 016402752096914
Author(s):  
Yingling Liu ◽  
Laura Upenieks
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Multiple Indicators ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Synergistic Relationship

A large body of work has linked marital quality to the health and well-being of older adults, but there is a lack of agreement on how to best measure dimensions of marital quality. Drawing on a stress-process life course perspective, we construct a typology of marriage type that captures the synergistic relationship between positive and negative marital qualities and health. Using data from Wave 1 (2005/2006) and Wave 2 (2010/2011) of the NSHAP survey from the United States, we examine the association between supportive, aversive, ambivalent, and indifferent marriages for older adults that remained married over the study period on multiple indicators of well-being (depression, happiness, and self-rated health; N = 769 males and 461 females). Results suggest that older adults in aversive marriages reported lower happiness (men and women) and physical health (men). There was less evidence that those in ambivalent and indifferent marriages reported worse well-being.

scholarly journals Gender Differences in the Longitudinal Association Between Husbands' and Wives' Depressive Symptoms Among Korean Older Adults: The Moderating Effects of the Spousal Relationship

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiwon Baek ◽  
Yoosik Youm ◽  
Hyeon Chang Kim
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Marital Relationship ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Spousal Relationship ◽  
Spousal Relationships ◽  
Spousal Concordance ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Purpose: The mutual effects of depressive symptoms between couples have long been reported; however, it remains unknown whether the spousal concordance of depression differs depending on spousal relationships.Method: Data on 291 married couples from the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP) were examined. The KSHAP collected global network data from the target population living in one Korean village over eight years and across five waves. A seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) model in the panel data was employed to address correlation and heterogeneity.Results: If one spouse (husband or wife) had depressive symptoms, the other spouse tended to have depressive symptoms. However, the effect of marital relations on spousal concordance for depression was different in husbands and wives. This study demonstrated both spousal support aspects and spousal network aspects of spousal relationships. Depression concordance was more substantial for couples with a more negative marital relationship. A supportive marital relationship mitigated the impact of a husband's depression on his wife's depression but did not work in the opposite case. Spousal network overlap decreased the effect of a wife's depression on her husband's depression, but rather directly increased a wife's depression and failed to mediate the impact of a husband's depression on his wife's depression. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that approaches to helping older adults deal with mental health disorders should proceed not only on an individual but on a couple-level. Also, gender-specific strategies need to be constructed to enhance the mental well-being of the older population.

The Social Context of Disablement among Older Adults

2012 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F. Warner ◽  
Jessica Kelley-Moore
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Functional Limitations ◽  
Stress Buffering ◽  
The Social ◽  
Buffering Hypothesis ◽  
Using Data

Prior research has not adequately considered that disablement occurs within a web of relationships that provides socioemotional resources to and/or places demands on older adults. Drawing on the stress process and life course perspectives, we considered the social context of disablement by examining the influence of marital quality on the association between disability and loneliness among married older adults. Using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, we found (1) functional limitations were associated with higher levels of loneliness; (2) neither positive nor negative marital quality mediated this association, contrary to the stress-deterioration hypothesis; and (3) positive (but not negative) marital quality moderated this association, consistent with the stress-buffering hypothesis. These associations were similar for women and men. Our findings indicate the importance of the social context of disablement, as interpersonal resources offer protection from the deleterious socioemotional consequences of disability.

scholarly journals Sleep and Loneliness as Mechanisms Through Which Marital Quality Predicts Depression Among Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 34-35
Author(s):  
Christina Marini ◽  
Lynn Martire ◽  
Orfeu Buxton
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being

Abstract Pathways through which spousal support and strain influence older adults’ well-being are poorly understood. We examined sleep quality and loneliness as mechanisms through which support and strain predict depressive symptoms across ten years utilizing National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project data. Our sample included partnered participants at waves 1 and 2 (N = 1,293; 39% female, M age = 66, SD = 6.93). Support (e.g., rely on spouse) and strain (e.g., spouse criticizes you) were measured at W1, loneliness (UCLA) and sleep quality (restless sleep) were measured at W2, and depression (CES-D) was measured at W3. We estimated latent-variable structural equation models, controlling for age, gender, and W1 depression. Indirect effects of support and strain on depressive symptoms through loneliness were significant. There was an additional trend-level indirect effect of spousal strain on depressive symptoms through restless sleep. Findings highlight multiple pathways through which marital quality predicts later-life well-being.

scholarly journals AFFECTIONATE TOUCH AND RELATIONAL, MENTAL, AND PHYSICAL WELL-BEING IN OLDER COUPLES: A NATIONAL LONGITUDINAL STUDY

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S792-S792
Author(s):  
Ruixue Zhaoyang ◽  
Lynn M Martire
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Unique Role ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental Well Being

Abstract Recent theories suggest that non-sexual physical contact with close others plays a key role in promoting health and well-being in adulthood. However, the impact of non-sexual physical contact in later life, especially the affectionate touch between romantic partners, has been largely unexplored. Using two waves of dyadic data (N=953 couples, Mage=71 years) from National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), we examined whether shared affectionate touch between spouses prospectively predicted both partners’ relational, mental and physical well-being five years later, independent of sex activity. Dyadic analyses results indicated that frequency of shared affectionate touch with the partner predicted increases in spouses’ own relationship satisfaction, life satisfaction and mental health, but not in physical health, over five years. No interpersonal (i.e., partner) effect of shared affectionate touch was found. Findings underscore the unique role of non-sexual physical contact between spouses in promoting relational and mental well-being for older couples.

Beyond Depression: Yearning for the Loss of a Loved One

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Stroebe ◽  
Georgios Abakoumkin ◽  
Margaret Stroebe
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Older Couples ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Critical Life Events ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Grief Reactions

Studies assessing the impact of relationship quality and social support on marital bereavement have typically focussed on depressive symptoms as the major (and often only) bereavement outcome. Although sadness and depression are important symptoms of grieving, they are neither the only nor necessarily the most important ones. We argue that in addition to measures of depression, grief measures need to be used in assessing bereavement outcome. However, grief measures do not only assess reactions that are specific to bereavement such as yearning, but also general responses that grief shares with other critical life events (e.g., anxiety, shock, anger, intrusive thoughts, and despair). We would expect marital quality to only affect yearning for the loved one who died, but not other more general grief reactions. In contrast, experiencing support from family and friends, though unlikely to reduce yearning, might ameliorate these general grief symptoms as well as depression. Using data on widows from the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) study, a large-scale prospective study of older couples, we assessed the relationship between marital quality and social support with depression and grief on the death of a spouse. Consistent with hypotheses, social support but not relationship quality was associated with depression and general grief reactions. In contrast, relationship quality but not social support was associated with yearning. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

scholarly journals Sex Difference in Self-Reported Sexual Functioning Among Frail Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 313-313
Author(s):  
Brianne Olivieri-Mui ◽  
Sandra Shi ◽  
Ellen McCarthy ◽  
Dae Kim
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sexual Function ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Sexual Functioning ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Males And Females

Abstract Frailty may differentially impact how older adult males and females perceive sexual functioning, an important part of well-being. We assessed the level of frailty (robust, pre-frail, frail) for anyone with data on 11 sexual functioning questions asked in wave 2 of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, 2010-2011 (n=2060). Questions covered five domains: overall sexual function (OSF), sexual function anxiety (SFA), changes in sexual function (CSF), erectile/vaginal dysfunction (EVD), and masturbation. Logistic regression identified sex differences in frailty and reporting worse sexual functioning. Linear regression predicted the number of domains reported as worse. Among males (n=1057), pre-frailty meant higher odds of reporting SFA (OR 1.8 95%CI 1.2-6.6), CSF (OR 1.7 95%CI 1.1-2.7), and EVD (OR 1.5 95%CI 1.0-2.2). Among females (n=1003), there was no difference in reporting by frailty. Females were more likely to report worse OSF (Robust: OR 7.4, 95%CI 4.8-11.4; Pre-frail: OR 6.2, 95%CI 3.9-9.9; Frail: OR 3.4 95%CI 1.7-6.6), but less likely to report SFA (Robust OR .3, 95%CI .2-.5; Pre-frail OR .2, 95%CI .1-.3; Frail OR .2 95%CI .1-.3). Pre-frail and frail females reported fewer domains as worse (Pre-frail coefficient -0.21 SE 0.09, Frail -0.43 SE 0.14). As frailty worsened, males reported more domains as worse (Pre-frail 0.24 SE 0.07, Frail 0.29 SE 0.08). Self-reported sexual functioning differs by sex at all levels of frailty, and reporting by males, but not females, changes with frailty. Providers should be aware that sexual functioning is of importance to both sexes despite varying degrees of frailty.

scholarly journals The impact of COVID-19 on the well-being and cognition of older adults living in the United States and Latin America

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 100848
Author(s):  
Ganesh M. Babulal ◽  
Valeria L. Torres ◽  
Daisy Acosta ◽  
Cinthya Agüero ◽  
Sara Aguilar-Navarro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals The impact of poly-traumatization on treatment outcomes in young people with substance use disorders

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidsel Karsberg ◽  
Morten Hesse ◽  
Michael Mulbjerg Pedersen ◽  
Ruby Charak ◽  
Mads Uffe Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Substance Use Disorders ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Traumatic Experiences ◽  
Treatment Entry ◽  
Trauma Types ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Drug Use Disorder

Abstract Background It is believed that clients with psychological trauma experiences have a poor prognosis with regard to treatment participation and outcomes for substance use disorders. However, knowledge on the effect of the number of trauma experiences is scarce. Methods Using data from drug use disorder (DUD) treatment in Denmark, we assessed the impact of having experienced multiple potentially traumatic experiences on DUD treatment efficacy. Baseline and follow-up data from 775 young participants (mean age = 20.2 years, standard deviation = 2.6) recruited at nine treatment centers were included in analyses. Results Analyses showed that participants who were exposed multiple trauma experiences also reported a significantly higher intake of cannabis at treatment entry, and a lower well-being score than participants who reported less types or no types of victimization experiences. During treatment, patients with multiple types of trauma experiences showed a slower rate of reduction of cannabis than patients with few or no trauma experiences. The number of trauma types was not associated with number of sessions attended or the development of well-being in treatment. Conclusion Overall, the results show that although traumatized youth in DUD treatment show up for treatment, helping them to reduce substance use during treatment is uniquely challenging. Trial registration ISRCTN88025085, date of registration: 29.08.2016, retrospectively registered.

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