Declining Sexual Activity and Desire in Women: Findings from Representative German Studies in 2005 & 2016

Declining Sexual Activity and Desire in Women: Findings from Representative German Surveys 2005 and 2016. Juliane Burghardt et al. Archives of Sexual Behavior, December 4 2019. DOI 10.1007/s10508-019-01525-9

Abstract: We estimate (1) sexual activity and sexual desire in women living with and without a partner across the age range in Germany and (2) changes over 11 years. A representative survey of 345 (response rate: 65%) women between 18 and 99 years from 2016 was compared to a survey of 1314 women age 18–91 from 2005 (response rate: 53%). Sexual activity was assessed as having been physically intimate with someone in the past year; frequency of sexual desire was rated for the past 4 weeks. In 2016, the great majority of women living with a partner were sexually active and indicated sexual desire until the age of 60, which decreased thereafter. Compared to 2005, fewer women cohabited with a partner. Across the age range, women living without a partner reported considerably less sexual activity and desire. The overall proportion of women reporting partnered sexual activity decreased from 67% to 62% in 2016, and absent sexual desire increased from 24% to 26%. Declines of sexual activity and desire affected mostly young and middle-aged women. The decline of sexual activity and desire seems to be due to a reduced proportion of women living with a partner. There was also a generation effect with younger and middle-aged women without a partner becoming less sexually active and experiencing less desire compared to the previous survey. While surveys were methodologically comparable, interpretations are limited by the absence of longitudinal data.

Keywords: Sexual desire Sexual activity Partnership Representative sample

Discussion
In 2016, 60% of women from a population-based German
sample reported sexual activity during the last year. Partnership
was an important factor: Eighty-seven percent of women
with a partner reported having been sexually active in the past
year, this applied to only 37% without a partner. A considerable
proportion of women living with a partner reported
sexual activity in old age (27% > 70 years), whereas among
women without a partner sexual activity decreased earlier.
For instance, over 41 years, the majority of women (59%)
reported having been sexually inactive during the past year,
and hardly any were active among the elderly.
Between 2005 and 2016, the overall proportion of sexually
active women decreased by 5%. However, this reduction did
not occur among women with a partner, whose sexual activity
remained high and stable between 2005 (85%) and 2016
(87%). The decline in sexual activity can be attributed to
both a decline of women living with a partner by 7%, which
manifested itself among all age groups except for the oldest
(over 71 yr.) and a decrease in sexual activity among women
living without a partner. Among these women, sexual activity
decreased from 42 to 37%. This decline was most pronounced
among women aged 18–60; no decline occurred among older
women regardless of partnership.
Our findings of reduced sexual activity are consistent
with American studies (Twenge et al., 2016, 2017). Thus,
despite differences between Germany and the U.S. regarding
cultural norms and use of contraception, the decrease seemed
to be a more general development. In contrast to Twenge
et al. (2017), we found this decline to occur mostly among
individuals living with a partner. The difference between
these findings could be based on differences in the way of
measuring sexual activity. While Twenge et al. (2017) asked
participants how often they did “have sex during the last
12 months,” we asked whether participants “were (physically)
intimate with someone” within this period.
Our findings on frequency of sexual desire mirrored those
of sexual activity, with desire also decreasing between 2005
and 2016. Overall, the frequency of absent sexual desire
increased by almost 3% (23.5–26.4%). This decline was the
strongest among women below 50 years and those living
without a partner. The decrease in sexual interest contrasts
with Lindau and Gavrilova (2010), who reported constant
sexual interest in women between 1995 and 2002, which
might be an artefact of using different items to measure
sexual interest within the two compared surveys or a more
recent development.
The similarity between the findings regarding sexual
activity and sexual desire was also marked by a strong correlation
between the two variables. The correlation was higher
among non-partnered women than among partnered women.
Though this correlation does not allow causal interpretations,
it attests to the relevance of the partner to prolonged sexual
activity. Further, the correlation decreased between 2005 and
2016. This may be the first evidence that a change in sexual
desire does not fully explain the decrease in sexual activity
over this decade.
It remains unclear, whether the decline in sexual activity
in women without a partner is compensated by increased
individual, non-partnered sexual activity (e.g. online sex use
with masturbation) or maybe increasing acceptance of absent
sexual interest. Alternatively, the decrease in women living
with a partner may indicate social changes, which decreased
the value of partnered activity and increasing solitary recreational
activities, for instance by media use (Stiftung Zukunftsfragen,
2016). Another important question is whether the
decrease in both sexual activity and interest creates sexual
distress or dissatisfaction (Hayes et al., 2008) or is instead
accepted as a different form of lifestyle.
Our data mirror the general trend of decreasing numbers
of married and cohabitating couples (Fry, 2016). The analysis
included all cohabiting couples by combining the variables
“married, living together” and “living with a partner”. However,
this did not include unmarried committed couples who
do not live together. Comparing committed couples that do
versus do not live together might distinguish between effects
of commitment and partner availability. Further, it remains
unclear whether the availability of a partner preserves sexual
activity and interest, or whether sexual desire sustains/
establishes a partnership, or alternative processes intervene.
However, the findings are in line with the previous models
on women’s sexual desire, which stated that women’s sexual
desire is often responsive and relies on positive non-sexual
outcomes provided by the partner (e.g. trust, emotional intimacy,
communication). These outcomes motivate women
to seek sexually arousing cues to trigger responsive desire in
addition or in the absence of spontaneous desire. This behaviour
has the potential to stabilize sexual activity in a partnership
even in the absence of spontaneous desire (Basson,
2000). The lower correlation of desire and activity among
partnered women fits with Basson’s observation that women
do not perceive responsive desire as “true” desire. Future
research should elaborate on these perceptions.
The cross-sectional design of our two surveys limits the
data interpretation. Despite including the entire age range,
we cannot analyse individual’s life trajectories. In contrast
to Lindau and Gavrilova (2010), we used identical measures
and sampling procedures to create representative samples
in both surveys. Unlike studies that limit sexual activity to
intercourse, our items purposefully included a wide range of
potentially relevant sexual behaviours (“have you been intimate
with someone…”) to cover a broad range of partnered
sexual activities (Mercer et al., 2013). Twenge et al. (2016)
argued that the decreased sexual frequency may be explained
by differences in definitions of sex (in contrast to including
only vaginal-penile penetration). However, our results match
their findings using a broader measure of sexual activity. The
low non-responder rate (< 1%) indicates that participants felt
comfortable to answer the questions, which we believe to be
based on the item introduction. This supports the validity of
the findings. Future studies should evaluate socioeconomic,
social, ethical and religious influences as well as working
conditions on sexuality and their interplay with partnerships.