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Is it all about intimacy? Age, menopausal status, and women’s sexuality
Author(s) -
BIRNBAUM GURIT E.,
COHEN OHAD,
WERTHEIMER VERED
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
personal relationships
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.81
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1475-6811
pISSN - 1350-4126
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6811.2006.00147.x
Subject(s) - human sexuality , psychology , association (psychology) , developmental psychology , sexual desire , sexual behavior , clinical psychology , gender studies , psychotherapist , sociology
Two studies examined the contribution of aging to various aspects of sexual functioning. Study 1 examined the association between age and sexual response among 289 women. Results showed that aging and relationship length were associated with relatively low sexual desire, excitement, and intimacy, with sexual intimacy mediating the association between relationship length and sexual excitement. Furthermore, the negative association between aging and sexual desire was particularly pronounced among women experiencing lower sexual intimacy. In Study 2, 93 women were classified according to menopausal status. Findings paralleled those of Study 1, indicating that postmenopausal state was negatively associated with sexual desire, mainly among women who experienced low sexual intimacy. Implications for the understanding of sexuality of women at midlife are discussed.