Women narrate later life remarriage: Negotiating the cultural to create the personal

New partnerships among single older adults: a Q methodology study

BACKGROUND

The social structure is changing with an increase in the ratio of the older population, resulting in a growing number of older people being faced with singlehood. This study identified and described single older adults' differing perspectives on new relationships.

METHOD

We used a Q methodology approach for data collection and analysis, following in-depth interviews with 10 participants. Q statements were developed through content analysis of the interview data, which were then subjected to Q sorts performed by 49 older adults. A factor analysis was then completed on the collected data using PQ Method software.

RESULTS

Five factors regarding common attitudes toward pursuing a new partner, which accounted for 53% of the total variance, were obtained in the final model: (1) being single, a companion, and already acquainted with the other person/potential partner; (2) high spiritual compatibility and a caring disposition; (3) an emphasis on physical intimacy and companionship; (4) easily influenced by others' comments and highly concerned about being alone; and (5) physical and financial independence.

CONCLUSIONS

Clustering older adults according to their attitudes can help in acknowledging their expectations about new relationships in later life.

IMPLICATIONS

Practitioners can engage in successful consultations based on the recognition.

The intimate lives of older adults living with HIV: a qualitative study of the challenges associated with the intersection of HIV and ageing

Older adults living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at risk of experiencing difficulties in their intimate lives due to the combined effects of HIV and ageing. To date, little research has focused on the lived experience of sexuality. This article seeks to fill in the gap by documenting the challenges faced by this population with respect to their intimate relationships and sexual lives. Based upon the results of a qualitative study conducted in Montreal (2010–2012) using semi-structured interviews with a diverse sample of 38 people aged 50–73 and living with HIV, this study revealed several difficulties, including those related to their social location, whereby HIV and ageing intersect with other social determinants (including gender, sexual orientation and drug use). Difficulties that were identified include lower sexual desire linked to ageing, erectile changes, difficulty in using condoms, stigma related to HIV and/or ageism, changes in appearance caused by HIV and/or ageing, along with the impact of their lifecourse experiences. Our results shed light on the specific nature of the difficulties experienced by older adults living with HIV with regard to their intimate lives, as well as on the importance of using an analysis that combines the theoretical approaches of intersectionality and lifecourse to enhance our capacity for understanding complex and unique experiences.

Women's attitudes toward forming new partnerships in widowhood: The search for "your own someone" and for freedom

This text is based on an analysis of 20 biographical interviews with women who are both retired and have been widowed. The text discusses women's attitudes toward beginning new intimate relationships and the kinds of partnerships some of them have formed in old age. The author discusses the role of gender and gendered behavior in the institution of marriage as an important factor influencing women's attitudes toward remarrying. The experience of being widowed is an important transition that, besides trauma and difficulties, also presents an opportunity to escape from the previous gender norms and expectations. The significance of these changes, which often open up opportunities for alternative forms of self-fulfillment, become part of the strategies that women select when entering future partnership arrangements.

Relationship goals of middle-aged, young-old, and old-old Internet daters: an analysis of online personal ads

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Research on courtship patterns and romantic relationship in later life has not kept pace with the burgeoning number of older adults interested in dating.

DESIGN AND METHODS

We conducted content analyses of themes arising from 450 personal ads written by middle-aged (40-54), young-old (60-74), and old-old (75+) participants.

RESULTS

Significant differences between the young-old and the middle-aged were few; those between the young-old and old-old were numerous. Compared to the old-old, the young-old and middle-aged were more likely to mention adventure, romance, sexual interests, and seeking a soul mate and less likely to mention health.

IMPLICATIONS

This study increases our understanding of relationship goals in later life and highlights the error of treating all older adults as a homogeneous group. Practice and policy can benefit from more nuanced distinctions between age groups and an enhanced recognition of the vibrant emotional, romantic, and sexual lives of older adults.

Dating for older women: experiences and meanings of dating in later life

Research over the last 20 years has provided an increased understanding of intimate relationships in later life; however, dating in later life remains largely unexplored. The purpose of this study was to examine the meanings of dating for women in later life. In this study, dating was examined through semistructured, in-depth interviews with 14 women ages 64 to 77 who had all dated in later life. Themes that emerged from an interpretative phenomenological analysis included multiple meanings of dating in later life, how dating in later life compared to earlier points in life, and dating in the future.