ATTITUDES TOWARDS SEXUALITY IN ELDERS LIVING ALONE IN A SAMPLE OF NON-INSTITU- TIONALIZED PEOPLE

SUSANA CABRERA FERNÁNDEZ¹, MARTA ELENA LOSA IGLESIAS^2*, INMACULADA CORRAL LIRIA³, RAQUEL JIMÉNEZ FERNÁNDEZ⁴, ROCÍO RODRÍGUEZ VÁZQUEZ⁵, RICARDO BECERRO DE BENGOA VALLEJO⁶

¹Professor, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Alcorcón-Madrid (Spain) - ²Professor, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Alcorcón-Madrid (Spain) - ³Professor, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Alcorcón-Madrid (Spain) - ⁴Professor, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Alcorcón-Madrid (Spain) - ⁵Professor, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Alcorcón-Madrid (Spain) - ⁶Professor, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Alcorcón-Madrid (Spain)

Introduction: One of the inherent aspects to humans is sexuality. Those age 65 and older are in a vulnerable position when discussing sexuality due to their concern over society’s perception of them. The objectives of this study were to evaluate older per- sons’ attitudes toward sexuality in people over 65 years old and determine whether associations exist between these attitudes.

Material and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of attitudes and knowledge about affective and sexual behaviors among older people who attended two senior centers in Madrid, Spain. Sixty-seven participants from 65 to 95 years old responded. A self-administered questionnaire about sexuality developed by Corominas and colleagues we collected (cronbach’s α of 0.85).

Results: Participants tended to talk with others about sexuality, and this was especially so for men and those aged 65 to 80 years. Women and men and participants of all ages generally did not consider it indecent for older persons to show interest in sex. Men were less bothered by being naked in front of their partners than women were.

Conclusion: Those over age 65 remain interested in sex; women and men think different about their level of comfort at being naked in front of a partner and their desire to receive sexual information; younger participants were more likely to talk about sex than older ones.