Older men more than older women report interest in a greater number of sexual partners; need less time before consenting to sex; have higher frequency of sexual arousal & sexual fantasies

Later life sex differences in sexual psychology and behavior. Gavin Vance et al. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 157, 15 April 2020, 109730. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.109730

Abstract: Several sex differences in sexual psychology and behavior have been documented across cultures and across historical periods. These differences have been investigated almost exclusively in young adult samples, however. Using data secured from an older adult sample of retirement center residents in Southeast Florida, USA (n = 186, M = 67.00 years), we assessed the replicability of several sex differences in sexual psychology and behavior in later life. Results replicate the sex differences identified in younger adult samples, including: (1) older men more than older women report interest in a greater number of sexual partners; (2) older men require less time before consenting to sex than do older women; (3) older men more than older women prioritize attractiveness in a prospective romantic partner, whereas older women more than older men prioritize good financial prospects; and (4) older men report a higher frequency of sexual arousal and sexual fantasies than do older women. Discussion addresses limitations of the current research and directions for future research addressing later life sex differences in sexual psychology and behavior.

Keywords: Older adultsLater lifeSexual psychologySexual behaviorSex differencesSexual fantasies

6. Discussion

The results of the current study provide a compelling argument for
the persistence of several sex differences in sexual psychology and
behavior among older adults, replicating the results of parallel research
on young adults. Older men desire a greater number of sexual partners
than do older women, require less time before consenting to sex, and
fantasize about more sexual partners, indicating that sex differences in
sexual psychology and behavior identified in young adulthood persist
into later life.

6.1. Factors in choosing a long-term partner
Older men report a preference for attractive long-term partners, as
well as good housekeepers, whereas older women report a preference
for prospective partners with access to resources. Younger men also
prefer attractive long-term partners more than do younger women,
indicating that attractiveness in a long-term partner remains important
for men into later life. Older women more than older men, in contrast,
report preferences for financial prospects, emotional stability, and
ambition in a prospective long-term partner. These findings are consistent with sex differences documented in younger adults; however,
unlike younger women, older women placed greater importance than
did older men on emotional stability in a long-term partner (Buss et al.,
2001). These results suggest that emotional stability in a long-term
partner becomes more important to women as they age, or less important to men as they age. This could be because older women, relative
to younger women, associate emotional stability more closely with
earning potential or because older women perceive emotional stability
as indicative of a partner's ability to provide adequate care for them in
their old age.

6.2. Sexual behaviors and attitudes
Older men are more likely than older women to report sex with
someone other than their committed romantic partner at some point in
their lives, but were just as likely as older women to report that they
had been unfaithful to their current romantic partner. Because participants were asked about behaviors in the past, it is perhaps not surprising that older men's reported frequencies of infidelity and lifetime
sexual partners are similar to reports by younger men (Blumstein &
Schwartz, 1983; Buss, 1989; Wiederman, 1997).
Consistent with sex differences identified in younger adults, older
men desired more sexual partners than did older women for every future time interval from 6 months to the remainder of their lives
(Buss, 1989). Although nearly all (95.5%) of the older men reported
that they were currently in a romantic relationship, they also reported a
desire for more sexual partners than did older women, only 63.7% of
whom reported that they were currently in a romantic relationship.
Regardless of age or relationship status, men desire a greater number of
sexual partners than do women.
Relative to older women, older men report a greater likelihood of
consenting to sex with a desirable person after knowing that person for
time periods ranging from one second to three months. Replicating sex
differences documented in younger adults, older men appear to be less
interested in spending time getting to know a prospective sexual
partner than are older women (Buss, 1989). Given that older men desire
more sexual partners than do older women, it follows that they are
more eager than older women to have sex with a person they have
known for a relatively short period of time.

6.3. Sexual fantasies
Asking participants about their sexual fantasies provided further
insight into the sexual desires of older people, in addition to affording
an opportunity to investigate whether these desires differ between older
men and older women in ways paralleling sex differences identified in
younger adults. Older men, relative to older women, report a greater
frequency of sexual arousal and sexual fantasy, more imagined sexual
partners during their fantasies, and place greater importance on the
facial and genital features of their imagined partners. From these survey
items, we documented not only that older men engage in certain sexual
behaviors more frequently than do older women, but also that the sexes
differ markedly in reported sexual arousal and desire. These results are
notable because they indicate that, even if older adults are inaccurate in
their estimates of lifetime sexual partners, older men currently desire
more sexual partners than do older women. These sex differences in
sexual fantasy replicate those documented in younger adults (Ellis &
Symons, 1990).

6.4. Limitations and future directions

The current results may not be generalizable to older people outside
of Southeastern Florida or, indeed, to older people not living in retirement communities. Moreover, further research might investigate
whether the sex differences observed among older people in the current
research are replicated in non-Western countries.
Self-report items assessing past sexual behaviors may be subject to
biases to appear more or less sexually promiscuous, for example
(Schmitt & Buss, 1996). Such biases may result in underreporting or
overreporting of lifetime sexual partners, or dishonest reports of infidelities. Similarly, items assessing past sexual behaviors may be vulnerable to recall errors, resulting in unintentionally inaccurate responses (Shaw, Bjork, & Handal, 1995; Zaragoza & Lane, 1994).
Problems of recall might be especially concerning for older people
(Gilewski, Zelinski, & Schaie, 1990). Asking participants to report on
the behaviors of their current romantic partner (rather than providing
self-reports) and conducting a prospective longitudinal study may meliorate some bias in reports and problems with recall, respectively. Finally, the stability of the effects observed in the current research would
be improved with a larger sample, especially by securing responses
from a larger sample of older men, who were considerably outnumbered by older women in the current study.
Previous research has provided evidence that partner preferences in
younger adults shift in response to the sex ratio, or the number of men
to women available as potential partners (Stone, Shackelford, & Buss,
2007). As is the case in other populations of older adults given the
greater life expectancy of women, women in the current sample outnumbered men (Barford, Dorling, Smith, & Shaw, 2006). The impact of
sex ratio on the sexual psychology and behavior of older adults may,
therefore, be of interest to future researchers.
In summary, identifying whether and to what degree older men and
older women differ in their sexual psychology and behaviors is as important as investigating whether and to what degree older adults differ
from younger adults in sexual psychology and behaviors, not least because such sex differences can inform counseling and treatment programs (Camacho & Reyes-Ortiz, 2005; Nicolosi et al., 2004).