Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-r5zm4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-21T19:27:54.702Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A cross-national comparison of the relative influence of male and female age on the frequency of marital intercourse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

J. Richard Udry
Affiliation:
Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
Fred R. Deven
Affiliation:
Population and Family Study Center, Brussels, Belgium
Samuel J. Coleman
Affiliation:
Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

Summary

Parallel analyses of recent data from the United States, Thailand, Belgium, and Japan all confirm the finding that female age and not male age is the more important contributor to the decline in frequency of marital intercourse during the childbearing ages. The most probable explanation is the decline in female (but not male) androgen levels during the age span examined.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Eysenck, H. (1976) Sex and Personality. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Gartrell, N.K., Loriaux, D.L. & Chase, T.N. (1977) Plasma testosterone in homosexual and heterosexual women. Am. J. Psychiat. 134, 1117.Google ScholarPubMed
Kinsey, A., Pomeroy, W., Martin, C. & Gebhard, P. (1953) Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. Saunders, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Persky, H., Lief, H.I., Strauss, D., Miller, W.R. & O'brien, C.P. (1978) Plasma testosterone level and sexual behavior of couples. Arch. Sex. Behav. 7, 157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pfeiffer, E., Verwoerdt, A. & Wang, H. (1968) Sexual behavior in aged men and women. Arch. Gen. Psychiat. 19, 753.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Udry, J.R. (1980) Changes in the frequency of marital intercourse from panel data. Arch. Sex. Behav. 9, 319.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Udry, J.R. & Morris, N.M. (1978) Relative contribution of male and female age to the frequency of marital intercourse. Social Biol. 25, 128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vermeulen, A. (1979) Decline in sexual activity in aging men: correlation with sex hormone levels and testicular changes. J. biosoc. Sci. 6, 5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westoff, C. (1974) Coital frequency and contraception. Fam. Plann. Perspect. 6, 136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed