The substantial increase in life span since the beginning of the twentieth century has had notable consequences for the social relationships of older individuals. As society norms and attitudes have become less restrictive, there has been increased fluidity in the development and realignment of partnerships encompassing marriage, separation, divorce, remarriage, extramarital, and same-sex relationships. Although this range of possibilities has greatly expanded sexual options, marriage remains the most prevalent social arrangement within which normatively sanctioned sexual experiences take place. Because women have a longer life expectancy and men tend to be older when they marry, and marry more frequently, there are marked age-related gender differences in opportunities for sexual partnerships (Figure 5.1). The percentages of men married at ages 55–69, 75–79 and 85 and older are 93, 82 and 80% respectively. In contrast, the percentages of women who are married within the same age spans are 66, 40 and 18% respectively (US Bureau of the Census, 1985).

Marital status is associated with marked differences in the number of sexual partners. In a full-probability cross-sectional survey of the adult population of the United States conducted in 1989 (Smith, 1991), the widowed reported the fewest sexual partners during the preceding year (a mean of 0.21), followed by the married (0.96), the divorced (1.31), the never married (1.84) and the separated (2.41). There was a gradual decline with age in the mean number of sexual partners from 1.7 partners among individuals younger than 30 years of age to 0.35 among those older than 70. The age-related decreases in the number of partners and the frequency of intercourse remained significant even when marital status and gender were controlled for.