DETERMINANTS OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR ACROSS THE LIFE CYCLE
Activity, as measured by frequency of sexual contact, shows more age-related decrement than interest. Males typically demonstrate high levels of interest; when partners are available to them, activity follows fairly closely. With age, physical capacity changes are accompanied by activity and interest declines, although interest is affected less than activity. Sexual interest among males of all ages is considered to be socially desirable. Before old age, relatively strong levels of interest and general availability of partners lead to sexual contact. These contacts in turn reinforce interest which again motivates contact. This general interest-activity feedback mechanism presumably also operates in older males. Interestingly this seems to be less characteristic of females at every age. For older women, the lower levels of interest in sexual activity and fewer culturally acceptable sexual partners, do not usually motivate sexual contact, and lower activity levels result.
Why there are differences in male and female patterns of sexuality in adulthood and old age has not been answered. Variables affecting sexuality at all ages can be categorized as physical (general health, state of the nervous system, hormones) and psychosocial (experience, learning, and societal factors). Many researchers have suggested that experiential antecedents are important in determining sexual behavior for both males and females in old age. The level of sexual activity and interest of the older person is strongly related to his or her activity and interest in earlier years. Men who were sexually active as young and mature adults tend to be sexually active in old age (Newman and Nichols; Freeman; Rubin). Women who have regular sexual activity before old age are likely to enjoy sexual activity in old age (Masters and Johnson). Those who as young and middle-aged adults are more sexually active than their same-age cohorts also will be more active than their cohorts in old age.
Kaplan and Sager suggest that as early as puberty and throughout the mature years, males are more dependent than females upon physical factors. Males probably also need less specific learning for fully functioning sexual responsiveness or at least they have earlier opportunities for learning. The fact that males are most sexually active and responsive in adolescence but females are, in their thirties and forties (Kinsey; Masters and Johnson) lends some support to this hypothesis.
Young males are extremely sexual; they are highly genitally oriented and masturbate earlier than females do. The male peer-support system in adolescence reinforces early sexual experimentation, and societal mores suggest that seeking sexual satisfaction with a variety of partners is not only permissible but desirable. Parents are less restrictive with sons than with daughters in dealing with adolescent sexual experimentation (Wake). Parents also are more likely to emphasize to daughters than to sons that love is an integral part of sexual relationships (McCary).
There are basic differences in the perception of sex early in development which continue throughout life. Females tend to view sexual activity as it is associated with romantic relationships. For females, sexual involvement is preceded by emotional or romantic attachment, but for males sexual attraction precedes emotional involvement (Calderone; Ehrmann; Kronhausen and Kronhausen). Females at puberty are less interested in sex per se than in boys and romantic relationships (Kaplan and Sager). Females at all ages tend to be more interested in relationships than in genital sex, and sexual contact represents the meaning of a relationship. Females are more likely to measure the success of a marital relationship by factors other than sexual satisfaction (Adams), but males place more importance on sexual gratification. In one study (Bell and Bell), when married females were asked from which aspect of sexual activity they derived the most satisfaction, the most frequent response was closeness or feeling of oneness with the partner.
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Tags: Men’s Health