Sex and aging: Perspectives of older adult women with experience of incarceration

Abstract

To explore perspectives on sexuality, sexual health, and sexual health care of older adult women with a history of criminal legal system involvement, we conducted phone interviews with women aged 50 years or older who were living in the community but had a history of jail and/or prison incarceration. Interview questions and initial analysis were guided by the sexual health framework for public health and Mitchell’s sexual wellness model. Data analysis followed a framework method. Nine women, aged 53–66, participated in phone interviews between December 2020 and December 2021. Slightly over half the participants were Black; none were Hispanic. Most were single. We formulated a sex-in-aging (SAGE) framework comprising three categories and two overarching themes. Women with a history of criminal-legal system involvement have heterogeneous views on sex and sexual health and describe a range of desire and sexual activity as they age, including shifting ideas about what they expect from partners, how they keep themselves safe in sexual and intimate relationships, and how life circumstances that are often associated with criminal legal system involvement (substance use, trauma) impact their interest in sex as they age. The SAGE framework integrates these categories and themes and offers a starting point for further research and intervention development.

Keywords:

• Older adults
• qualitative research
• sexual health
• sexual wellness
• vulnerable populations
• women’s health

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of the women who took time to share their thoughts and experiences. We also acknowledge Amanda Thimmesch in the School of Nursing at the University of Kansas Medical Center for her help revising the model graphic.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, Amanda Emerson. The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a subaward to Amanda Emerson by the Aging Research in Criminal Justice and Health (ARCH) Network, funded by the National Institute on Aging/National Institutes of Health [R24AG065175; PIs Brie Williams and Nick Zaller]; the National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health [R01CA226838; PI Megha Ramaswamy]; and a CTSA grant from NCATS, awarded to Frontiers Clinical and Translational Science Institute [KL2TR002367; Amanda Emerson]. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or NCATS.