ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences2014
Sexuality and physical contact in National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project Wave 2.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Changes in Older Adults' Sexual Expression: A Latent Transition Analysis.Journal of sex research · 2026Article
- It is not what you weigh, it is how you present it: body size, attractiveness, physical functioning, and access to partnership and sexuality for older men and women.Social forces; a scientific medium of social study and interpretation · 2025Article
- Sex Differences in Sexual Motivation Among U.S. Residents 57-85 Years of Age.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Androstadienone sensitivity is associated with attention to emotions, social interactions, and sexual behavior in older U.S. adults.PloS one · 2023Article
- Physical Intimacy in Older Couples' Everyday Lives: Its Frequency and Links With Affect and Salivary Cortisol.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2022Article
- Takes Two to Tango: Cognitive Impairment and Sexual Activity in Older Individuals and Dyads.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2022Article
- Social Health in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2021Article
- Associations among Sexual Activity, Relationship Types, and Health in Mid and Later Life.Archives of sexual behavior · 2021Article
- Olfaction Is Associated With Sexual Motivation and Satisfaction in Older Men and Women.The journal of sexual medicine · 2021Article
- A National Longitudinal Study of Partnered Sex, Relationship Quality, and Mental Health Among Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2020Article
- The role of body image in sexual satisfaction among partnered older adults: a population-based study in four European countries.European journal of ageing · 2020Article
- Sexual healthcare knowledge, attitudes, and practices among primary care physicians in Trinidad and Tobago.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2019Article
- A National Dyadic Study of Oral Sex, Relationship Quality, and Well-Being among Older Couples.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2019Article
- Sensory Dysfunction and Sexuality in the U.S. Population of Older Adults.The journal of sexual medicine · 2018Article
- Sexuality in Older Couples: Individual and Dyadic Characteristics.Archives of sexual behavior · 2017Article
- Is Sex Good for Your Health? A National Study on Partnered Sexuality and Cardiovascular Risk among Older Men and Women.Journal of health and social behavior · 2016Article
- Empirical redefinition of comprehensive health and well-being in the older adults of the United States.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2016Article
- Marriage, Social Networks, and Health at Older Ages.Journal of population ageing · 2015Article
- Comorbidity and chronic conditions in the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP), Wave 2.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2014Article
- Survey field methods for expanded biospecimen and biomeasure collection in NSHAP Wave 2.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionWave 2 of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) includes new measures of sexual interest and behavior, as well as new measures of the context of sexual experience and the frequency and appeal of physical contact. This is the first time many of these constructs have been measured in a nationally representative sample.
methodWe describe the new measures and compare the distributions of each across gender and age groups, in some cases by partnership status.
resultsTwo components of sexuality decrease with age among both men and women: frequency of finding an unknown person sexually attractive and receptivity to a partner's sexual overtures. In contrast, the inclination to make one's self sexually attractive to others was a more complicated function of partner status, gender, and age: partnered women and unpartnered men made the most effort, with the more effortful gender's effort decreasing with age. Both men and women find nonsexual physical contact appealing but sexual physical contact is more appealing to men than women. Finally, two fifths of men and women report dissatisfaction with their partner's frequency of caring behaviors that make later sexual interactions pleasurable, and a fifth of women and a quarter of men who had vaginal sex in the past year report dissatisfaction with amount of foreplay. DISCUSSION: These data offer the opportunity to characterize sexual motivation in older adulthood more precisely and richly and to examine how the context of sexual experience and the nonsexual aspects of physical intimacy correlate with sexual behavior, enjoyment, and problems.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.