A National Dyadic Study of Oral Sex, Relationship Quality, and Well-Being among Older Couples

Hui Liu, Shannon Shen and Ning Hsieh

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2019, vol. 74, issue 2, 298-308

Abstract: Objectives We examine how giving versus receiving oral sex, 2 processes that are linked to relationship quality, are associated with older men’s and women’s well-being. Method We analyzed 884 heterosexual couples from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (2010–2011). We estimate Actor–Partner Interdependence Models using the SEM approach to assess three well-being outcomes: general happiness, psychological distress, and self-reported mental health. Results Older adults with better relationship quality gave oral sex to their partner more often than those with worse relationship quality; this association was stronger for men than for women. While receiving oral sex was positively related to both men’s, and women’s perceptions of relationship quality, women’s relationship quality was more strongly linked to their partners’ well-being than men’s. Correspondingly, men’s giving of oral sex (and thus their female partner’s receiving of oral sex) was positively related to their own well-being through increasing their female partner’s perceived relationship quality. Discussion Given the high prevalence of sexual dysfunctions among older adults, oral sex may play an important but overlooked role in maintaining an active sexual life, a high-quality relationship, and psychological vibrancy in late life.

Keywords: Family sociology; Marriage; Sexual behavior; Gender (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/geronb/gby089 (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:geronb:v:74:y:2019:i:2:p:298-308.

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://academic.oup.com/journals

Access Statistics for this article

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B is currently edited by Psychological Sciences - S. Duke Han, PhD and Social Sciences - Jessica A Kelley, PhD, FGSA

More articles in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B from The Gerontological Society of America Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().