Who Helps Older Adults With Sexual Problems? Confidants Versus Physicians

OBJECTIVES. Guided by symbolic interactionism, we explored whether confiding in significant others, discussing with a physician, or doing both might moderate the influence of older adults' concerns about sexual functioning on their psychological well-being. Using data from 861 older participants in the National Social Life, Aging, and Health Project, we conducted multiple sample regression analyses to examine simultaneously the moderating effect of confidant relationships and that of physician communication. The results indicated that confidant relationships with spouse or partner and with friends moderate the association between sexual stress and psychological well-being, although these effects varied for women and for men. The results suggest that existing findings on the effect of social relationships on health and well-being are applicable to research on sexual health among older adults.