Test Prep Courses / Course

Sexual Functioning in Middle Adulthood

Lesson Transcript
Instructor Natalie Boyd

Natalie is a teacher and holds an MA in English Education and is in progress on her PhD in psychology.
Sexuality is an important part of most adults' lives, but as people age, they can experience changes in their sexuality. Learn about sexual functioning and the changes regarding sex that often occur in middle adulthood, including sexual dysfunction and changes in the frequency of sex. Updated: 11/03/2024

Table of Contents

Show

Middle Adulthood

Billy and Betty are married, and they love each other very much. They've been together for almost 30 years, since they were in their mid-20s, and they are still going strong.

But lately, there have been some issues in the bedroom. Sometimes, Billy has trouble performing. His doctor says this is a normal part of aging, but Billy feels really insecure about it.

An error occurred trying to load this video.

Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support.

Your next lesson will play in 10 seconds
  • 0:01 Middle Adulthood
  • 0:59 Frequency
  • 2:18 Dysfunction
  • 3:41 Lesson Summary
View Video Only  Save Timeline

Frequency

Billy and Betty have been together for a very long time. When they first got together, during early adulthood, they couldn't keep their hands off each other. They were really attracted to each other and had a healthy, frequent sex life.

Frequency is an issue for Billy and Betty but not the main issue. Remember that Billy struggles sometimes with sexual dysfunction, or difficulty during sex. For some people, sexual dysfunction can happen during the arousal stage of sex. Billy, for example, has a difficult time getting an erection. Sometimes Betty, too, can't seem to get aroused enough for sex.

Other times, sexual dysfunction might occur during the orgasm stage of sex. For example, some males might find that they reach orgasm too soon, and some females might find that they have trouble ever reaching orgasm.

Middle adulthood is the time of life between ages 40 and 65. During this time, people's sexuality changes. Many people find that they have sex less frequently, and others find that they struggle with sexual dysfunction at either the arousal stage or the orgasm stage of sex. It's important to recognize that these changes are a normal part of aging.

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

Register to view this lesson

Are you a student or a teacher?

Unlock Your Education

See for yourself why 30 million people use Study.com

Become a Study.com member and start learning now.

Become a Member  Back

Resources created by teachers for teachers

Over 30,000 video lessons & teaching resources‐all in one place.
Video lessons
Quizzes & Worksheets
Classroom Integration
Lesson Plans

I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. It’s like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. I feel like it’s a lifeline.

Jennifer B.
Teacher
Jennifer B.
Try it now
Create an account to start this course today
Used by over 30 million students worldwide
Create an account

Explore our library of over 88,000 lessons

Browse by subject