Summary
The present paper aims to examine positive sexual functioning during different stages of the family lifecycle. In particular, the paper focuses on five stages, including single adulthood, committed long-term relationships, becoming parents, termination of relationships/remarriage, and older adulthood. The paper provides a description of interventions to assist clients.
Single Adulthood
During different stages, people go through a wide variety of sexuality-related stages. In single adulthood, a person starts to gain independence in professional and everyday life (Peace Health, 2021). There are two central concerns during this stage: risky sexual behavior and increased chances of being infected with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) due to having several sexual partners (Wendland et al., 2018). However, there are also positive changes, such as learning about oneself as open developing of intimate relationships with peers outside the family and “coming out” if a person is LGBT (Peace Health, 2021). During this stage, it is crucial to provide the client with teaching about STD prevention and teach about the dangers of risky sexual behavior.
Long-Term Relationships
Long-term relationships are associated with significant positive changes in sexual behavior. These changes include reducing the risks of STDs and improving sexual pleasure due to sexual self-disclosure (Hensel & Fortenberry, 2014). At the same time, there are several concerns, including growing conflicts about the frequency of sexual acts and sex initiation (Sutherland et al., 2019). During this stage, it is central to provide the clients with the knowledge to express their feelings to each other and talk through their problems.
Becoming Parents
During this stage, the primary concern with sexual behavior becomes lack of time and intimacy in the relationships due to the changing roles of the couple, increased stress, postpartum health problems, and sleep disturbances (Pacey, 2004). However, there may also be positive changes, such as increased tenderness in the relationships due to giving birth to a wanted child (Pacey, 2004). Moreover, if the transition to parenthood goes well, the parents may experience an increase in sexual interest in each other after having a long period of abstinence (Pacey, 2004). The couples at this period should be taught how to include a baby in the family’s emotional sphere and make necessary adjustments in physical space to ensure positive relationships (Peace Health, 2021).
Divorce and Remarriage
There may be several concerns with divorce and remarriage. On the one hand, divorce leads to negative changes in sexuality, such as increased risky sexual behavior and emotional problems with re-entering committed relationships (Zarei et al., 2013). At the same time, both men and women may experience increased interest and passion in sexual relationships with a new partner (Zarei et al., 2013). Thus, these couples are recommended to be given education about the problems of risky sexual behavior, such as STDs. Moreover, some people in this stage may need therapy to overcome the breakup problems, especially if the previous relationships were abusive.
Older Adulthood
During this stage in life, the primary concern is decreased interest and pleasure in sexual intercourse (Peace Health, 2021). Additionally, some people may be unable to have sex due to changes in their bodies, such as erectile dysfunction (Peace Health, 2021). However, some people at this stage may start to explore their sexuality further as they have more time. Thus, the couples at this stage are recommended to be given education on how to stay sexually active and adapt to the changes in the client’s body to avoid trauma.
References
Hensel, D. J., & Fortenberry, J. D. (2014). Life-span sexuality through a sexual health perspective. In D. L. Tolman & L. M. Diamond (Eds.), APA handbook of sexuality and psychology (Vol. 1) (385–413). American Psychological Association.
Pacey, S. (2004). Couples and the first baby: Responding to new parents’ sexual and relationship problems. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 19(3), 223-246.
Peace Health. (2021).Family Life Cycle. Web.
Sutherland, S. E., Rehman, U. S., & Fallis, E. E. (2019). A Descriptive Analysis of Sexual Problems in Long-Term Heterosexual Relationships. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 16(5), 701-710.
Wendland, E. M., Horvath, J. D. C., Kops, N. L., Bessel, M., Caierão, J., Hohenberger, G. F.,… & Benzaken, A. S. (2018). Sexual behavior across the transition to adulthood and sexually transmitted infections: findings from the national survey of human papillomavirus prevalence (POP-Brazil). Medicine, 97(33), e11758.
Zarei, F., Merghati Khoei, E., Taket, A. R., Rahmani, A., & Smith, T. G. (2013). How Does Divorce Affect Iranian Women’s Sexual Well-Being? Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 54(5), 381-392.