When a Partner Has a Sexual Problem: Gendered Implications for Psychological Well-being in Later Life

Guided by symbolic interactionism, we examined (a) whether the psychological well-being of older adults might be threatened if they feel bothered by an intimate partner's sexual unresponsiveness and (b) whether such sexual unresponsiveness of a partner might be compensated by perceived supportiveness of significant others. We explored these questions separately by gender, anticipating that sexual unresponsiveness might affect men and women differently and that support from a partner might be more important for men and support from others more important for women.