Abstract
The purpose of this investigation was to examine how older aged men and women perceived diabetes mellitus as affecting relationship to spouse/partner and sexual function. The sample consisted of 105 persons, 36 men and 69 women, who ranged in age from 40 to 83 years. The relationship (RS) score and Sexual Function (SF) score provided measures for the major study variables. T-test results revealed that women perceived diabetes as having a greater effect on the RS score. In contrast, men perceived diabetes as affecting the SF score greater than women. Nonhierarchical stepwise regression examined the effect of multiple variables on the RS and SF scores.