Cargando…
A qualitative study on perceived sexual intimacy and mental health in later life during the COVID-19 pandemic
INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic may affect sexual intimacy and have implications for overall sexual well-being. OBJECTIVES: This study comprised two main objectives: 1) To explore the influence of COVID-19 pandemic on older couples’ sexual intimacy; and 2) To assess how older couples’ sexual int...
Autores principales: | , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Cambridge University Press
2023
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10392977/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.545 |
_version_ | 1785083064829870080 |
---|---|
author | von Humboldt, S. Low, G. Leal, I. |
author_facet | von Humboldt, S. Low, G. Leal, I. |
author_sort | von Humboldt, S. |
collection | PubMed |
description | INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic may affect sexual intimacy and have implications for overall sexual well-being. OBJECTIVES: This study comprised two main objectives: 1) To explore the influence of COVID-19 pandemic on older couples’ sexual intimacy; and 2) To assess how older couples’ sexual intimacy during the COVID-19 pandemic influences mental health. METHODS: The sample of this qualitative study consisted of 391 older participants (between 65 and 87 years of age). RESULTS: For the first objective, semi-structured interview data yielded five main themes: (1) Less sexual satisfaction (68%); (2) Less sexual desire (67%); (3) Stronger affective relationships (34%); (4) Fear of contracting physical illness (29%); and (5) Less attractiveness (23%). Three main themes concerning mental health were reported by participants: (1) Less anxiety and distress (78%); (2) Greater attention to negative emotional states (55%); and (3) Less emotional outbursts (41%). CONCLUSIONS: The pandemic affected older adults’ sexual intimacy, mostly negatively. Less sexual satisfaction and desire were felt by these older couples. Conversely, stronger affective relationships were reported. In spite of these mostly negative influences, existing sexual intimacy was mostly linked to less perceived anxiety and distress, greater attention to negative emotional states, and less emotional outbursts. Sexual intimacy during COVID-19 has received little attention; however, these results highlight its positive contribution to mental health and therefore a relevant approach to this topic should be taken, especially in later life. DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST: None Declared |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10392977 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2023 |
publisher | Cambridge University Press |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-103929772023-08-02 A qualitative study on perceived sexual intimacy and mental health in later life during the COVID-19 pandemic von Humboldt, S. Low, G. Leal, I. Eur Psychiatry Abstract INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic may affect sexual intimacy and have implications for overall sexual well-being. OBJECTIVES: This study comprised two main objectives: 1) To explore the influence of COVID-19 pandemic on older couples’ sexual intimacy; and 2) To assess how older couples’ sexual intimacy during the COVID-19 pandemic influences mental health. METHODS: The sample of this qualitative study consisted of 391 older participants (between 65 and 87 years of age). RESULTS: For the first objective, semi-structured interview data yielded five main themes: (1) Less sexual satisfaction (68%); (2) Less sexual desire (67%); (3) Stronger affective relationships (34%); (4) Fear of contracting physical illness (29%); and (5) Less attractiveness (23%). Three main themes concerning mental health were reported by participants: (1) Less anxiety and distress (78%); (2) Greater attention to negative emotional states (55%); and (3) Less emotional outbursts (41%). CONCLUSIONS: The pandemic affected older adults’ sexual intimacy, mostly negatively. Less sexual satisfaction and desire were felt by these older couples. Conversely, stronger affective relationships were reported. In spite of these mostly negative influences, existing sexual intimacy was mostly linked to less perceived anxiety and distress, greater attention to negative emotional states, and less emotional outbursts. Sexual intimacy during COVID-19 has received little attention; however, these results highlight its positive contribution to mental health and therefore a relevant approach to this topic should be taken, especially in later life. DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST: None Declared Cambridge University Press 2023-07-19 /pmc/articles/PMC10392977/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.545 Text en © The Author(s) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
spellingShingle | Abstract von Humboldt, S. Low, G. Leal, I. A qualitative study on perceived sexual intimacy and mental health in later life during the COVID-19 pandemic |
title | A qualitative study on perceived sexual intimacy and mental health in later life during the COVID-19 pandemic |
title_full | A qualitative study on perceived sexual intimacy and mental health in later life during the COVID-19 pandemic |
title_fullStr | A qualitative study on perceived sexual intimacy and mental health in later life during the COVID-19 pandemic |
title_full_unstemmed | A qualitative study on perceived sexual intimacy and mental health in later life during the COVID-19 pandemic |
title_short | A qualitative study on perceived sexual intimacy and mental health in later life during the COVID-19 pandemic |
title_sort | qualitative study on perceived sexual intimacy and mental health in later life during the covid-19 pandemic |
topic | Abstract |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10392977/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.545 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT vonhumboldts aqualitativestudyonperceivedsexualintimacyandmentalhealthinlaterlifeduringthecovid19pandemic AT lowg aqualitativestudyonperceivedsexualintimacyandmentalhealthinlaterlifeduringthecovid19pandemic AT leali aqualitativestudyonperceivedsexualintimacyandmentalhealthinlaterlifeduringthecovid19pandemic AT vonhumboldts qualitativestudyonperceivedsexualintimacyandmentalhealthinlaterlifeduringthecovid19pandemic AT lowg qualitativestudyonperceivedsexualintimacyandmentalhealthinlaterlifeduringthecovid19pandemic AT leali qualitativestudyonperceivedsexualintimacyandmentalhealthinlaterlifeduringthecovid19pandemic |