Couples d’âge mûr et sexualité : comprendre l’impact des dynamiques relationnelles

Abstract

Increased life expectancy creates the prospect of prolonged marital intimacy. However, mature couples face many challenges — physiological, cultural, and familial — and they must be able to mobilize their individual and relational resources to maintain good levels of marital and sexual satisfaction. The aim of this study is to highlight various factors that contribute to the conjugal and sexual satisfaction of older couples, and to discuss the stressing of these factors in a crisis context. 534 participants aged between 18 and 74 years old answered several questionnaires measuring their degree of sexual and conjugal satisfaction as well as the areas of strength and fragility in the relational dynamics of their couple. In addition, five couples also accepted a semi-structured interview on their relationship dynamics and their vision of the ageing couple. The results highlight the major impact of several variables contributing to an increase in relational and sexual satisfaction within couples (e.g. health concerns, conflict management, fondness…). Furthermore, a comparison between the scores of the over-51s and the younger ones highlights the areas of strength of older partners. These different factors will be discussed. Finally, we will propone therapeutic advices aimed at supporting the areas of strength of mature couples in order to accompany them towards long-term relational and sexual fulfillment.