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Abstract
This study examines behaviors associated with sex frequency and sexual satisfaction in a national sample of partnered older adults, age 50 to 85 (N = 9,164), together for over one year. The results indicate that older adults with active and satisfying sex lives engage more frequently in open sexual communication and setting the mood for sexual activity. Additionally, synchronicity in sexual desire and activities is related to a high-frequency and highly satisfying sex life in older adulthood. An expansive sexual repertoire, as measured by the number of sexual activities used during the last sexual encounter and the incorporation of sexual variety, is also associated with greater sex frequency and sexual satisfaction.
Notes
Market research shows that at the time of the survey, the website routinely ranked as one of the most popular websites in the United States. Its 58 million unique monthly visitors included a broad diversity of people in terms of age, income, and political orientation. Data collected through this site have been used to examine sexual satisfaction and passion (Frederick, Lever, Gillespie, & Garcia, 2016), sexual jealousy (Frederick & Fales, 2016), sexual regrets (Galperin et al., 2016), online sexual activity (Grov, Gillespie, Royce, & Lever 2010), the use of online dating sites (Lever, Grov, Royce, and Gillespie), and close friendships (Gillespie, Lever, Frederick, & Royce, 2014; Gillespie, Frederick, Harari, & Grov, 2015).
To test whether event-level data were predictive of overall sexual practices, sexual activities were cross-validated with similar variables in the data. For example, 93.4% of partnered older adults who reported usually or always receiving oral sex in the past month reported receiving oral sex during their last sexual encounter.
Some studies have suggested that differential access to the Internet has decreased as Internet use has grown more commonplace (Rainie & Horrigan, Citation2005).
Additional sensitivity analyses (not shown) included a dichotomous variable that assessed potential cohort differences among people 65 and younger and those over age 65. However, the coefficients for this variable were nonsignificant in all statistical models, with each category omitted for reference.