A Study on Sexual Unwellness in Old Age: Assessing a Cross-National Sample of Older Adults

Objectives: To analyze the contributors to Sexual Unwellness (SU) and to explore the latent constructs that can work as major determinants in SU for a cross-national older community-dwelling population.

Methods: Study design: Complete data were available for 109 English and Portuguese older adults, aged between 65 and 87 years old (M=70.1, SD=5.99). Data was subjected to content analysis. Representation of the associations and latent constructs were analyzed by a Multiple Correspondence Analysis. A socio-demographic and health questionnaires were completed, assessing participants’ background information. Interviews were completed, focused on the contributors to SU.

Results: The most frequent response of these participants was “lack of intimacy and affection” (25.1%) whereas “poor sexual health” was the least referred indicator of SU (11.2%). A two-dimension model formed by “poor affection, intimacy and sexual health”, and “poor general health and financial instability” was presented as a best-fit solution for English older adults. SU for Portuguese older adults were explained by a two-factor model: “daily hassles and health issues”, “poor intimacy and financial instability”.

Conclusions: These outcomes uncovered the perspective of older adults concerning SU and the need of including these factors when considering the sexual well-being of older cross-national samples.