Sex is linked to happiness among married and single seniors

During her long years of marriage Zia Agatha prided herself on being the aunt who counseled our mother and her sisters on how to please their husbands in the bedroom. Zia would have loved being alive today to learn that seniors are having as much sex as the 18-to-59 year-olds, oftentimes to the chagrin of their adult children.
Many of us grew up in a world of sexual “hush hush.” But as a fifth-grader in a Catholic school, I was one of those embarrassed by the epidemic of “change of life” babies when our own mother became plump and pregnant.
Furthermore, we had to endure the indignity of classmates   whispering about how our mothers could do such a thing!
Today, senior sex makes headline news. The adult children of those dating single, divorced, and widowed parents are oftentimes cringing.
The not-so-good news is that those enjoying sex in age groups from 50 to 70 appear to be foregoing the use of   condoms. Sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates have doubled over the past 10 years, according to a February report in the United Kingdom from researchers at Kings College and Saint Thomas’s Hospital. Rates are also escalating in the United States and Canada.
Here is the good news. Findings reported at the 64th meeting of the Gerontological Society of America noted that sex is a significant predictor of happiness among married persons over the age of 65. I talked with the research lead, Adrienne Jackson, assistant professor at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, and she said that the same holds true for the over 65 singles, but that   they were not part of her study.
The recent reports underscore what we learned from the University of Chicago in 2007 — Americans aged 57 to 85 are having as much sex as those between the ages of 18 and 59.
Do seniors have more time to “roll in the hay” or is the rest of society spending too much time in a 24/7 working world? While single older parents are dating, oftentimes adult children are shifting uncomfortably with dad’s or mom’s new squeeze. Instead they should be rejoicing.
Based on survey responses of 238 married people ages 65 years or older, Dr. Jackson found that the more sexual activity that took place the   stronger the predictor of both general and marital happiness — 60 percent happiness for those engaged in sexual activities more than once a month verses just 40 percent for couples who reported no sexual activity.
Despite the study findings, many adult children of dating seniors would be much happier if parents would stifle those “knowing glance giggles” and confine their affection to simple hugs and an occasional kiss on the cheek.    ‍
Rita ‍Watson, MPH, (  www.ritawatson.com  ) is a regular contributor to The Journal and a relationship columnist for our “All About You” section.