Exploring the Complexities of Sexuality: Beyond Sex - Research Proposal

Introduction

When sexuality is reviewed in virtually any platform nowadays, great deals of concerns are raised as sexuality is an element of human behavior that is changing over time (Adams & Turner, 1985). Though a lot of our countries define sexuality in ways that are different, there's always confusion among individuals on the way they see and also explain sexuality. Because of this, it's vital to learn that it is not sex alone that determines sexuality. A proper sexual life includes the psychological, social, emotional, physical and cultural wellbeing of people. They all sum approximately one's attitude, individual values, daily interactions feelings and behaviors. Sexual life changes over the period as one develops to the adolescent age, adulthood and lastly, the old age (Turner & Adams, 1988). Sexuality is an essential aspect of human life and therefore, the reasons for variations with age need to be understood. An increase in the age of the population between 21 and 60 years has a significant effect on sexuality.

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There's undoubted proof that of the expression sexuality remains vital to both females and males while they grow older. Nevertheless, one will find significant gender differences in the likelihood of remaining sexually active when old. According to research by Kalra, Subramanyam & Pinto (2011), it was found out that while general for both genders there's a decrease in sex and intimacy with age and sexual interest, the quality of sexual life seems to be consistently much higher in males when compared with females.

It's becoming more intricacy that female sexual dysfunction stays distinct from the opposite gender. As females age, they have a far more marked decrease in activity in regards to sexual interest compared to males, though they likewise experience less distress than young women or men with the same signs. This aspect might well reflect different psychosocial factors. These include the presence or perhaps lack of a partner, life satisfaction, relationship and health status. While both genders clearly show a decline in sexual frequency every time someone loses interest in sex, females lose interest much more than males.

Literature Review

Aging is generally characterized by dependency, disability, illness, senility and also the inability to recognize the trends in contemporary world technology (Kalra, Subramanyam & Pinto, 2011). You can find numerous misconceptions and myths about aging sex with the most widely used myth being that older aged individuals are asexual. On the contrary, Yee (2010) suggests that the majority of the couples and individuals that are above sixty years old are sexually active. It's likewise a universal belief that the majority of the ancient individuals are sexually unattractive particularly the females. On the opposite hand, several of our countries depict old aged sex as gross and earlier age requires a large amount of sexual dysfunction. Nevertheless, Lesley Yee (2010) likewise says a lot of the older aged men that claimed to him are enjoying the sex life of theirs.

With clients that are old aged and are experiencing difficulties with the sexual life of theirs, the strategies which are going to be utilized in the treatment of theirs are bringing them together. There's nonetheless a necessity for friendship and intimacy for the existing and old aged therapy calls for bringing the couple together and also advising them in the most effective techniques they could use in enjoying a proper sexual life. Many mature-aged females reported being enjoying sex much more than if they were younger because there aren't any longer worries, for example, pregnancy, feeling more at ease with the experience of theirs and having more expertise in sexual life. On the opposite hand, the older aged males will additionally be suggested to keep showing intimacy and love to the lovers of theirs.

Sexual life among older people is usually not understood and many misconceptions and myths accompany it. It's time for individuals because of the world to alter the view on the old age of daily sexual life and embrace intimacy and the relationship of all the aging to market a happy and healthy aging life.

Purpose of the Study

As a human grows, they go through a lot of changes in their lives, and this explains why age plays an essential role in the activities that people do daily. This research is going to focus on how age and sexuality are related. Age plays a vital role in the activities of human beings (Lindau et al., 2007). One such aspect that is greatly influenced by age is sexuality. This research is set to identify whether and why an increase in age hurts human sexuality and how it varies between genders. The study shall establish and explain why people who are more than 40 years have a low level of sexual desire, while those who are below have a high appetite for sexual activities.

Research Questions

• How does aging affect sexuality among people aged between 21 and 60 years?
• What is the cause of decreased sexual vigor among older people?
• What is the prevalence and incidence rate of decreasing sexual vigor with age among gender?

Hypothesis

An increase in age for the population between 21 and 60 years has a significant effect on sexuality.

Methodology

Research Design

Selecting the most appropriate research strategy is critical to ensuring that study questions are addressed in a manner that benefits and corresponds to the overall questions, topic, objectives, and purpose of the study (OsmoKontula, & Elina Haavio-Mannila, 2009). The research design used in this study is the survey. A survey is a common strategy in researching since it allows an extensive collection of data from a selected sample OsmoKontula, & Elina Haavio-Mannila, 2009). Principally, the survey is critical in gathering quantitative data where the investigator can use inferential statistics to analyze data quantitatively. It was chosen because of its usefulness in measuring attitudes, beliefs, and opinions.

Participants

The research focuses on bringing onboard participants of both genders between the age of 21 and 61 years. Each year shall be represented with one person unless they are of opposite gender. For instance, there shall be no two or more men aged 35 years but there can be one man, one woman or both representing a certain age. This measure will ensure an even distribution of the age of the research subjects. A total of 40 people will take part in the research.

Ethical Considerations

The study sample is an integral part of this study. Therefore, the involved individuals have to be treated well so that the experiment can be successful. The review is subject to various ethical issues. One of them is getting permission from the participants before subjecting them to the time-consuming study. Sexual matters are not easily conveyed in public; therefore, it will take time to assure the correspondents of the security of their private information. This occurrence may affect the study since the research requires that the data from the field is immediately recorded after it has been accessed. Besides, the researchers cannot be able to obtain information from the participants before they get the participants' consent.

Another ethical issue concerns the approval of the research authorities to carry out a study on private matters in which its results could be published. Sometimes, one may need to work with locals of people familiar with the study area to gain confidence in answering questions and participating in the research and give accurate information hence; it will be infeasible for the analysis. Equally, it is not easy for participants to provide honest answers to some private and personal information.

Dependent and Independent Variables

For this study, the independent variable is the age while the dependent variable is sexuality. The independent and dependent variables can be conceptualized in different forms. When there is an increase in age, the level of sexual desire tends to go down (Chenail, 2011). People who are over the age of 40 years are likely to have a negative impact on the frequency in which they have sex. On the other hand, people who are below 40 years have a positive effect on the rate in which they have sex because their sexual desires are still high (Roberts, Russell & Paltiel, 2012).

The operational definition of the dependent variable can be derived from the number of times that the people within the age bracket have sex. In this case, the sexuality of people within the ages of 21-60 can be seen from the number of times they are having sex. As age increases, there is a high chance that the number of times that people are having sex will reduce. The second aspect that explains the operational definition of the dependent variable is the minutes that the people between the ages of 21-60 engage in having sex. Older people tend to spend less time when having sex compared to younger people. Time, frequency and level can be used to measure the dependent variable. The dependent variable will have to be experimented to identify its outcome.

Data Collection

Data collection encompasses gathering essential and relevant data needed for carrying out given research work. Data collection will be taken in different formats. Questionnaires focus groups and interviews will be the three main ones in this study. There will be evaluations of various officers in local hospitals to get a glimpse of erectile dysfunction and other related cases in case they are received or diagnosed at the facilities. The study shall use both closed and open-ended questionnaires and the participants will be required to fill their biodata except their names for privacy purposes and to enhance honesty.

There will be four focus groups of ten participants, each with half for each gender. There will be emails sent out to participants explaining the purpose of the study and also request to reach out to our researchers to guide them through the process. Focus groups can also provide information uncovering factors that influence opinions, behavior, or motivation, as well as providing a collective vision from multiple perspectives regarding sexuality and bedroom matters (Chenail, 2011).

Another method of data collection that shall be used is personal interviews to collect primary data by incorporating semi-structured interview questions asked directly to the participants. A semi-structured interview is a qualitative method that entails combining opening questions and structured questions (Chenail, 2011). The semi-structured interview will be essential for this research because it will not limit answers from the participants. Besides, it will also provide clear and direct information on the perceptions and experiences of aging in regards to sexuality. The interviews will be based on the focus groups' data and those who are confident and ready to take it to the next level are chosen for the interview. There will standard questions asked to identify critical points and themes. There will be email set out to participants, so they can know what type of study this and explain how the process work.

References

Adams, C. G., & Turner, B. F. (1985). Reported change in sexuality from young adulthood to old age. Journal of Sex Research, 21(2), 126. https://doi-org.proxy.ccis.edu/10.1080/00224498509551254

Chenail, R. J. (2011). Ten Steps for Conceptualizing and Conducting Qualitative Research Studies in a Pragmatically Curious Manner. Qualitative Report, 16(6), 1713-1730. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ956240

Kalra, G., Subramanyam, A., & Pinto, C. (2011). Sexuality: desire, activity, and intimacy in the elderly. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 53(4), 300-306. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.91902

Lindau, S. T., Schumm, L. P., Laumann, E. O., Levinson, W., Omuircheartaigh, C. A.,...