Comparison of Sexual Attitudes of Young and Older Adults

Abstract

Sexual attitudes refer to views and opinions pertaining to sex and sexuality and are influenced by many factors. As such, like any other opinion and perception, they are susceptible to change as a result of people’s lived experiences. Previous studies conducted have explored gender differences, parental influences, cross-cultural differences, etc. The present study aims to compare the sexual attitudes of young adults and older adults and observe the differences that arise. A total 213 participants from Chennai took part in the study among which 112 young adults and 101 older adults. There were 108 males, 101 females and 4 non-binary participants. Among the participants, majority of the young adults were female and majority of older adults were male. The tools used were the socio-demographic sheet and the Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale. The study revealed that young adults endorsed permissiveness more, indicating that they have a more casual and open attitude towards sex, and older adults endorsed communion more, showing they viewed sex as an ideal and emotional bond. Both young and older adults endorsed birth control and had a neutral stand regarding instrumentality which implied sex was primarily physical and self-centred. Findings of the current study posit that there exist differences and similarities in sexual attitudes of young and older adults showing that while age may play an important role in the formation of these sexual attitudes, it is not the only factor that influences them. Future studies can extrapolate further on these findings by scaling up or exploring other factors alongside age.