ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences2020
A National Longitudinal Study of Partnered Sex, Relationship Quality, and Mental Health Among Older Adults.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- 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
- Older Adults' Behaviors and Preferences for Seeking Sexual Health Information.International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · 2025Article
- Maternal caregiving stress and metabolic health: Sexual activity as a potential buffer.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2024Article
- Sexuality and sexual activity in older age: an age old issue?The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2023Article
- Cognitive Impairment Leads to Increased Feelings of Sexual Obligation Among a National Longitudinal Sample of Sexually Active Adults Aged 62 and Older.The Gerontologist · 2023Article
- Is Sex Good for Your Brain? A National Longitudinal Study on Sexuality and Cognitive Function among Older Adults in the United States.Journal of sex researchArticle
- Is There Really a Sex Recession? Period and Cohort Effects on Sexual Inactivity Among American Men, 2006-2019.American journal of men's healthArticle
- Sex and aging: Perspectives of older adult women with experience of incarceration.Journal of women & agingArticle
- Sexual Obligation and Perceived Stress: A National Longitudinal Study of Older Adults.Clinical gerontologistArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesWe worked from a life course perspective to examine the relationship between partnered sex and older adults' trajectories of mental health as well as the potential mediating role of relationship quality in this association.
methodWe analyzed nationally representative data from three waves of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (2005/2006 to 2015/2016). The sample included 1,911 married and cohabiting respondents aged 57 to 85 at the baseline survey. We examined four factors related to partnered sex: being sexually active, sexual frequency, feeling okay with sexual frequency, and sexual quality. Mental health was measured by self-rated poor mental health, unhappiness, and psychological distress. The relationship quality measures considered both relationship support and relationship strain.
resultsResults from mixed-effects models suggest that being sexually active, having sex more frequently, feeling okay with sexual frequency, and reporting better sexual quality were all related to better mental health outcomes. Relationship quality partially explained the effects of sex on mental health. DISCUSSION: This study highlights the importance of sex for mental health and relationship quality among older adults. The findings have implications for health policy and programs that seek to promote healthy aging.
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Registered trials
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