James, Cheyenne M. and Pierce, Thomas W. and Tsai, Pei-Chun and Steele, Jenessa The Moderating Effects of Age and Sexual Attitudes on the Relationship Between Age-Related Stigma and Sexual Behavior in Older Adults. 2023. Radford University, Dissertation. Radford University Scholars' Repository.
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Abstract
Abstract According to Stereotype Embodiment Theory (Levy, 2009), age-related stigma (ARS) can cause the internalization of stereotypes in older adults, which is further associated with effects on health outcomes, life expectancy, and sexual behaviors. Sexual attitude measures have been shown to be associated with measures of ARS and sexual behaviors among older adults. This study investigated if sexual attitudes moderate the relationship between ARS and sexual behaviors. Secondary data analyses were collected from 422 participants aged 55 years and older using MTurk (Mean age = 59.00, SD = 4.69; White 83.4%, Black 11.8%, Hispanic/Latino/Latina 19.9%, Asian 1.4%, Other 1.2%) (Syme & Cohn, 2021). A moderation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro for SPSS (Hayes, 2013). Results indicated that sexual attitudes moderated the relationship between ARS and sexual behaviors among older adults, F(1, 418) = 6.97, p = .015, β = -.120. The main effect of ARS was significant, F(1, 418) = 32.061, p < .001, β = -.171, with lower levels of ARS associated with greater frequency of sexual behaviors. The main effect of sexual attitudes was significant, F(1, 418) = 27.35, p < .001, β = +.244, with more positive sexual attitudes associated with greater frequency of engaging in sexual behavior. The strength of the relationship between ARS and sexual behaviors was significantly stronger in individuals with more positive sexual attitudes. One clinical implication is that educational programs promoting lower levels of age-related stigma may result in greater frequency of sexual behaviors in older adults. Keywords: age-related stigma, sexual attitudes, sexual behaviors, stereotypes, ageism, intimate behaviors, age, stereotype embodiment theory
| Item Type: | Dissertation |
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | age-related stigma, sexual attitudes, sexual behaviors, stereotypes, ageism, intimate behaviors, age, stereotype embodiment theory |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology |
| Divisions: | Radford University > College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences > Department of Psychology |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Aug 2023 20:13 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Aug 2023 20:13 |
| URI: | http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/1014 |
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