A National Dyadic Study of Oral Sex, Marital Quality and Psychological Well-being among Older Couples

• In Event: 582 - Section on the Sociology of the Family. Families, Health, and Well-being

Abstract

Oral sex, a highly intimate sexual behavior, is largely understudied in sociological and other scientific communities. We use a gendered power perspective to examine giving versus receiving oral sex, two distinct processes that shape and are shaped by marital quality, and how they are implicative for older men’s and women’s psychological well-being. Based on the couple-level data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP), we provide the first nationally representative evidence on the patterns of oral sex activity among older heterosexual couples in the U.S. as well as on the dyadic processes linking oral sex, marital quality, and psychological well-being from both husband’s and wife’s perspectives. We find that older husbands and wives have similar likelihood of giving and receiving oral sex in their relationship. Results from the Actor–Partner Interdependence Models (APIM) suggest that those who experience higher marital quality tend to give oral sex to their partner more often than those who experience lower marital quality; this is more relevant to husbands than wives. Moreover, receiving oral sex may enhance individuals’ own perception of marital quality for both genders, while only wives’ marital quality has further “spillover” effects on their partners’ well-being.

Authors

• Hui Liu, Michigan State University

• Shannon Shen, Michigan State University

• Ning Hsieh, Michigan State University