The intertwining of second couplehood and old age

The Spousal Unit and Dementia: Investigating the Relational Basis of the Couplehood Concept

A strong emphasis is consistently placed upon the relational basis of experience within social scientific dementia research. Within this research corpus, the concept of couplehood is increasingly employed, albeit in rather undefined and loosely theorised ways. Moreover, the evaluation highlights that couplehood is often defined by a normative position that seeks to convey an affirmative perspective on dementia and spousal relationships. The lack of theoretical foundation, however, weakens the explanatory potential of the concept, both for theorising dementia, as well as for empirical research. This article critically evaluates the utility of the couplehood concept by delineating three underlying theoretical conceptions: phenomenological, interactional and relational perspectives. It will be argued that those theoretical threads offer different analytical angles and research opportunities. More thorough ontological development, however, can guide understandings of the complexities that underpin the relational experience of dementia. This will promote a conceptual starting point that offers a more balanced and multifaceted accommodation of two persons and their relationship.

Exploring sexual dysfunction in care homes

Sexual needs and sexuality in older adults continues to be a neglected area of clinical intervention, particularly in longer term care settings. This is often due to older adults in long term care beds presenting with increased frailty, and often with significant neurocognitive disorders, making it difficult for care staff to evaluate the capacity of an older adult resident to participate in sexual activities or a sexual relationship. Talking about sexuality, intimacy and sexual health can be embarrassing at any age and sex is often still considered taboo for people who live in care homes. The World Health Organization recently declared that sexual health is a central aspect of life and that each individual has the right to love and be loved, to receive appropriate information and treatment, and to enable intimate relationships and personal control over sexual behavior. This chapter explores sexual behaviors, and barriers to this, in later life, and focuses on the sexual behavior of care home residents with Parkinson's disease. Reasons for sexual dysfunction, potential age-related changes to sexual functioning, along with issues such as changes to body image, intimacy and hyper sexuality, are examined for people with Parkinson's disease. Recommendations for practice are given, and acknowledge that older people may still want to be sexually active or intimate is the first step to addressing the issues and overcoming any barriers.

Associations among Sexual Activity, Relationship Types, and Health in Mid and Later Life

Despite a growing amount of research on sexuality in mid and later life, relatively little is known about the associations among sexual activity, relationship types, and health. This paper analyzes data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) for the subpopulation of respondents residing in the Czech Republic (N = 1304, 49% women; M_age = 69.1, SD_age = 8.0). Hierarchical ordinal regression models showed that persons who stayed in newly formed or less traditional relationship types, such as dating, Living-Apart-Together (LAT) relationships, and cohabitation, reported a higher frequency of sexual activity than married people. Overall, the dating and LAT relationship group displayed the highest sexual frequency and the lowest incidence of chronic diseases. People in marriages and cohabitation were comparable with respect to the number of chronic diseases. The findings suggest that sexual activity is intertwined with later-life relationships and sexual frequency may vary according to the relationship type. Future research may benefit from probing the extent to which partnered sex is important for maintaining bonds between older partners with separate households.

Acceptance of Love and Remarriage Among Older Adults in the Philippines

Objectives: Later-life re-partnership has been linked to healthy aging, but little is known about Philippine older adults' perception of love and remarriage in older age. Methods: Using two nationally representative surveys on aging in the Philippines, we estimated the proportion of older adults reporting acceptance. Using weighted logistic regression, we assessed sociodemographic and health factors associated with acceptance as well as the relationship of this acceptance with social activity and health behaviors. Results: Only seventeen percent of respondents reported acceptance. Per multivariable analyses, unmarried men and married women reported acceptance, and acceptance was associated with increased social activity and smoking in men, less smoking in women, and more drinking in both genders. Discussion: Most older adults in the Philippines reported love and remarriage in old age as unacceptable. Through these results, we can understand how attitudes toward later-life relationship impact older adults' health and well-being.

Baby boomers' attitudes to maintaining sexual and intimate relationships in long-term care

OBJECTIVES

Australian aged care policy is wholly focused on individual "consumers" and consequently neglects the needs of dyadic partners. This paper highlights partnered baby boomers' attitudes to maintaining sexual and intimate relationships in residential care.

METHODS

In 2016, cross-sectional data were collected using an online survey of partnered baby boomers recruited using social media. Qualitative data were analysed using word frequency, keywords-in-context and thematic analysis. Descriptive statistics were generated from quantitative data.

RESULTS

There were 168 participants (85% female), aged 51-71 years. Many reported that remaining together and continuing physical and sexual contact were important in aged care contexts-necessitating private couple's suites, shared beds, access to condoms, lubricants and sexual health professionals.

CONCLUSIONS

Considerable cultural change will be required to raise residential aged care to the standard expected by some partnered baby boomers. Shifting to a more couple-centred approach may benefit partnered residents' health and well-being.

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.

Intentions to Live Together Among Couples Living Apart: Differences by Age and Gender

One of the central questions about LAT (living apart together) is whether these partnerships are short-term arrangements due to temporary constraints, and should be viewed as part of courtship towards cohabitation and marriage, or whether they replace cohabitation and marriage as a long-term arrangement. The current study addresses this question and examines intentions to live together among people living apart by age and gender. This study uses Generations and Gender Study (GGS) data for eleven European countries. The findings reveal an interesting interaction of age and gender. More specifically, younger women have higher intentions to live together than younger men, but older women have lower intentions than older men. These gender differences remain significant also in the multivariate analyses. These findings suggest that older women in LAT may be undoing gender to a greater extent than younger women, who still intend to live in a more traditional (and probably gendered) arrangement of cohabitation and possibly marriage. Having resident children reduces intentions to live together among people younger than age 50, but the effect does not differ by gender. The effect of non-resident children on intentions to live together is statistically non-significant.

The partner in late-life repartnering: caregiving expectations from an intergenerational perspective

BACKGROUND

Late-life repartnering among functionally independent adults, resulting in complex stepfamilies, has emerged with increased life expectancy, and is likely to develop further. It is perceived as a chance for renewal and autonomy, enabling a release from dependency on offspring, whereas caregiving is associated with dependency and becoming a burden on family members. Thus, the experiences of late-life repartnering and caregiving are opposites. Using a life course perspective, we explore partner caregiving expectations in late-life repartnering from the viewpoints of three generations in complex stepfamilies in Israel, a society characterized by collectivist alongside individualist familial norms.

METHODS

Using criterion sampling, we recruited 19 stepfamily units (38 families) of functionally independent persons who repartnered at the official retirement age or older and had offspring from a lifelong marriage that ended in widowhood or divorce. One-hundred-seven semi-structured qualitative interviews with older partners, their adult children, and grandchildren were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis was based on grounded theory principles and dyadic analysis adapted to families.

RESULTS

Two themes emerged: caregiving commitment and decision making. Issues included: influences of partner-caregiving history; chronic versus temporary caregiving situations; caregiving strengthening partner relationships and influencing stepfamily relationships, and moral dilemmas, such as what happens when fun - a motive for repartnering - is no longer possible. Could abandonment become an option?

CONCLUSIONS

From a life course perspective, caregiving, as "on-time," and late-life repartnering, as "off-time," highlight the lack of norms and the need to establish normative behavior for caregiving in late-life repartnering in diverse cultural contexts along with its reservations.