IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jocnur/v25y2016i5-6p672-681.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Demographic and psychosocial correlates of sexual activity in older Chinese people

Author

Listed:
  • Shuyan Yang
  • Elsie Yan

Abstract

Aims and objectives This study examines sexual activity and associated psychosocial factors in older Chinese people. Background Sexuality continues to play a pivotal role in our lives even as we grow old. There is, however, very limited research on the topic in older populations. Design Cross‐sectional survey. Methods A representative sample of 688 older Chinese people (>60 years old) were individually interviewed on their demographic characteristics; their interest in, knowledge of and perceived control over sexual activities; and their engagement in sexual activity. Results The results show that 51·32% of men and 41·26% of women reported engaging in some form of sexual activity. Sexual intercourse and caressing were commonly reported. A multiple regression analysis also showed that a higher level of sexual activity was associated with being younger, living with a spouse, having a strong interest in sex, having sufficient knowledge of elder sexuality and a high perceived control over sex. Distinct predictive factors in each gender were observed. A high level of perceived control was associated with a higher level of sexual activity in males but not females. A series of binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the demographic and psychosocial correlates of sexual activity. With the exception of the use of objects (sex toys), sexual activities were consistently associated with being younger; living with a spouse; and having high levels of interest, knowledge and perceived control. Conclusions A sizable amount of older Chinese people engage in varying degrees of sexual activity, and most are still interested in sex. Relevance to clinical practice Frontline health professionals need to be aware of the growing needs for sex education in older persons, particular attention should be paid to discuss the limitations brought about by various chronic conditions associated with ageing and their relevance to elder sexuality.

Suggested Citation

  • Shuyan Yang & Elsie Yan, 2016. "Demographic and psychosocial correlates of sexual activity in older Chinese people," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5-6), pages 672-681, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:25:y:2016:i:5-6:p:672-681
    DOI: 10.1111/jocn.12998
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12998
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jocn.12998?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gott, Merryn & Hinchliff, Sharron, 2003. "How important is sex in later life? The views of older people," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(8), pages 1617-1628, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matthew Lee Smith & Caroline D. Bergeron & Heather H. Goltz & Tammy Coffey & Ali Boolani, 2020. "Sexually Transmitted Infection Knowledge among Older Adults: Psychometrics and Test–Retest Reliability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-10, April.
    2. Hordern, Amanda Jane & Street, Annette F., 2007. "Constructions of sexuality and intimacy after cancer: Patient and health professional perspectives," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(8), pages 1704-1718, April.
    3. Speer, Susan A. & Tucker, Samantha R. & McPhillips, Rebecca & Peters, Sarah, 2017. "The clinical communication and information challenges associated with the psychosexual aspects of prostate cancer treatment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 17-26.
    4. Bob Erens & Kirstin R Mitchell & Lorna Gibson & Jessica Datta & Ruth Lewis & Nigel Field & Kaye Wellings, 2019. "Health status, sexual activity and satisfaction among older people in Britain: A mixed methods study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(3), pages 1-20, March.
    5. Ieva Stončikaitė & Núria Mina-Riera, 2020. "A Creative Writing Workshop on Sexuality and Ageing: A Spanish Pilot Case Study," Societies, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-12, July.
    6. Alison Pullen & Torkild Thanem & Melissa Tyler & Louise Wallenberg & Andrew King, 2016. "Queer Categories: Queer(y)ing the Identification ‘Older Lesbian, Gay and/or Bisexual (LGB) Adults’ and its Implications for Organizational Research, Policy and Practice," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 7-18, January.
    7. Ana Carvalheira & Cynthia Graham & Aleksandar Stulhofer & Bente Traen, 2020. "Predictors and correlates of sexual avoidance among partnered older adults among Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and Portugal," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 175-184, June.
    8. Hyojung Park & Sunhwa Shin, 2015. "Development and psychometric testing of a semantic differential scale of sexual attitude for the older person," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), pages 526-532, December.
    9. Ieva Stončikaitė, 2020. "On the Hunt for Noble Savages: Romance Tourism and Ageing Femininities," Societies, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-10, June.
    10. Félix Neto & Maria da Conceição Pinto, 2013. "The Satisfaction with Sex Life Across the Adult Life Span," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 767-784, December.
    11. Ieva Stončikaitė, 2017. "‘No, My Husband Isn’t Dead, [But] One Has to Re-Invent Sexuality’: Reading Erica Jong for the Future of Aging," Societies, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-11, May.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:25:y:2016:i:5-6:p:672-681. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2702 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.