Sexuality Across the Life Course (John D & C T Macarthur FNDTN Ser Mental Health/DEV MF) - Hardcover

Rossi, A S

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226728331 ISBN 13: 9780226728339

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1994

Synopsis

When do youths begin to have sex? What is the relationship between sexuality and marriage? How does sexual behaviour change in later years? With the rise of the AIDS epidemic and the proliferation of sex in movies, TV and magazines, how have sexual attitudes changed in America since the 1960s? Alice S. Rossi brings together 14 essays on sexual behaviour, from adolescence to old age, and covering such groups as singles, married couples, homosexuals and African-American men and women. This volume also looks at the effects of chronic disease and medication on sexual functioning, recent developments in psychotherapy for sexual problems, and sexual abuse of children, incest and rape.

About this title

About the Author

Alice S. Rossi, editor of the volume and author of six of the thirteen chapters, is the Harriet Martineau Professor Emerita of Sociology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is a past president of the American Sociological Association and the author of many books, including Sexuality across the Life Course, also published by the University of Chicago Press. Both she and the contributing authors were members or associates of the Research Network on Successful Midlife Development, a network supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

From the Back Cover

How does sexual behavior change over the life course? When do youths begin to have sex? How does sexual satisfaction affect the quality and stability of marriage? With the rise of the AIDS epidemic and the proliferation of sex in movies, TV, and magazines, how have sexual attitudes changed in America over the past three decades? Distinguished sociologist Alice S. Rossi brings together fourteen diverse essays on sexual behavior, covering adolescence through old age and addressing such groups as singles, married couples, and homosexuals. This volume also looks at the effects of chronic disease and medication on sexual functioning, recent developments in psychotherapy for sexual problems, and sexual abuse of children, incest, and rape. Among the book's findings are the following: women who start their sex lives early remain sexually active longer; by the end of the first year of marriage, frequency of sex drops by almost half; although the frequency of sex declines steeply with age, the level of satisfaction with one's sex life changes very little over time; African-Americans tend to be more permissive than whites on premarital and extramarital sexual relations, but less permissive on homosexual relations; and married women today are just as likely today to complain of "too little" sex as "too much" - three decades ago, such women were more likely to complain of "too much" than "too little".

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226728331
• ISBN 13: 9780226728339
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 435