As much as I hate to spread the news, studies show that sexual desire negatively correlates with age in women. Also in length of relationship. For those readers who don’t get all hot and bothered over a multivariate regression analysis, that means the older a woman gets, the less she wants sex. And the longer she is in a relationship, the less she wants sex with her partner. We’re not alone in the last one. Men also show less interest in sex the longer they are in a relationship with someone. But it’s not just age that contributes to lack of desire in middle aged women.
- Depression: Depressed women are twice as likely as non-depressed women to report lower sexual desire, and lack of responsiveness to a partner’s overtures
- Body Image: Surprise! It’s not just older women on this one. Those 22-65 years of age with negative body image had significantly lower levels of sexual desire compared to those with a positive body image. Women who identified themselves as obese have the highest negative body image
- Relationship Issues: A 2002 study showed that women place greater emphasis on relationships as a context for sexual feelings and behaviors than men do. These findings agree with a 1998 study that revealed relationship factors were more strongly correlated with sexual desire in women than in men
- Interpersonal factors were shown to be key to desire in women
- These included relationship length, perceived quality of the relationship, and emotional intimacy
- Interpersonal factors were shown to be key to desire in women
- Biological and psychological factors were shown to be key to arousal and orgasm in women
- A long relationship duration contributed to lower desire for both men and women, as well as contributing toward lower levels of sexual activity and lower levels of sexual satisfaction
- Interestingly, women in long term relationships increasingly engaged in intercourse without the feelings of desire, compared with those in newer relationships
- Partner’s Sexual Dysfunction : A partner’s sexual dysfunction is shown to eventually cause women to lose interest in sexual intercourse.
But take to heart the fact that sexual desire and frequency makes an uptick in elder women. It’s the age of the sexy senior, the hot Grandma. Seventy is the new thirty. Stay tuned for the next blog post on Seniors Gone Wild.
Reference: Demographic and Psychological Factors Related to Sexual Desire among Heterosexual Women in a Relationship, Marita P. McCabe and Denisa L. Goldhammer, Journal of Sex Research, 49(1) 78-87.
Seniors Gone Wild | Debra Dunbar
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Amberr Meadows
Hubby is a total horn-dog, and I am sometimes, but most of the time I’m too busy thinking, “Did I write that down, does the kid have lunch, did I pick that up at the grocery store….???” If I could free my mind from all of my other shit, perhaps I’d be more ready. I have also been going to the gym for the last week. Will I become a tigress when I hit the goal weight and tone? I sure as hell hope so.
debradunbar
I have a hard time focusing too, Amberr. The trials and tribulations of a “type A” personality LOL. And weight, with the difficult expectations of our culture, is an issue. This study really hits home!
debradunbar
Yeah, after 10 years Sweetie is still a total horn-dog LOL. There are months where I give him a run for this money, and other ones when I”m “ehhh” on the whole thing. Must be a midlife thing!
Susan A.
A fascinating study and probably rather accurate for most women. I’m still waiting on the husband to lesson his interest in me. At five and a half years into our marriage, he still wants it as often as possible. As for me, I’m usually busy reading and get annoyed that he’s interrupting a really good scene, lol. I’ll never understand why there is such a vast difference between the sexes when it comes to level of desire.