Are There Gender Differences in Successful Sexual Aging? An Exploration Using Three Statistical Approaches

A novel process-based conceptual model of positive sexual aging, the Successful Sexual Aging Model, was recently proposed. Given the developmental, epidemiological, and sexological literature on gendered aspects of human sexuality, the current study explored gender differences in successful sexual aging (SSA) among partnered older adults who participated in a cross-cultural research project on aging and sexuality. The assessment was also important for the model's conceptualization of the gendered micro, meso, and macro factors that were assumed to affect SSA.

Three analytical approaches were employed-(a) latent construct measurement invariance testing, (b) latent profile analysis, and (c) network analysis-to tackle the gender-specificity question from distinct analytical perspectives. In total, 773 older women (M _age = 69.9, SD = 4.2) and 1054 older men (M _age = 70.4, SD = 4.4) from Croatia, Germany, Portugal, and Japan participated in the survey. The data was collected between June 2024 and May 2025. The 9-item Successful Sexual Aging Scale was used as the latent outcome.

Overall, marked similarities in SSA among older partnered female and male adults were observed in the overall latent structure of SSA, the pattern and size of participants' latent SSA profiles, and the general topology of the network of SSA items. However, at a fine-grain level, several gender-specific differences emerged-most notably women's lower latent means on two of the three SSA facets, somewhat different configuration of latent profiles, and gender-specificity in the SSA network connectivity.

The recently introduced measure of SSA can be reliably used for direct gender comparisons. More research is needed to clarify if the observed (dis)similarities may be related to perceived quality of relationship, education, internalization of sexual ageism, or a combination of these factors. Dyadic studies might assist in illuminating some of the subtle gender differences that emerged in this study.