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The Effect of Sexual Life of Elderly and Emotional Intimacy between Spouses on Life Satisfaction

노인의 성생활과 배우자 간 정서적 친밀감이 생활만족도에 미치는 영향

  • 주현숙 (고려대학교 사회복지학과)
  • Received : 2021.05.06
  • Accepted : 2021.06.04
  • Published : 2021.06.30
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Abstract

This study analyzed 'how the elderly's sexual relations and marital intimacy affect the elderly's life satisfaction'. Interviews and visits were conducted for 11 days targeting 309 elderly people aged 65 years or older. As a result of the analysis, 51% were male, 49% were female, and 84.7% were in their 60s and 70s. Approximately 60.1% of them were religious, of which 24.7% were protestants. In the region, 42.9% lived in rural and fishing villages. The percentage of those who answered that their health status was above average was 87.6%. Regarding the frequency of sexual life, 41.4% of the respondents said they had sex once or twice a month. Males had a higher frequency of sexual life than females. A lower age, higher education, living in small and medium-sized cities, better health status, and higher income level were associated with a higher frequency of sexual life. The factors that showed a significant difference in sex life satisfaction were gender, region, and health status. Those with religion as Protestantism, residing in a small or medium-sized city or over, with better health and higher income levels were found to have higher life satisfaction. The satisfaction with sex life had a positive correlation with emotional intimacy (p<.01) and life satisfaction (p<.01). Based on the above results, the sexual life satisfaction of the elderly has a positive effect on life satisfaction, and emotional intimacy between spouses had a positive influence on life satisfaction.

본 연구는 '노인의 성관계와 부부친밀감이 노인의 생활 만족에 어떻게 영향을 미치는가'를 분석하고자 한 것이다. 서울특별시 마포구, 경기도 남양주시와 가평군에 거주하는 만 65세 이상 유배우자가 있는 노인 309명을 대상으로 2019년 10월 10일부터 10월20일까지 11일 동안 면접 및 방문 조사를 실시하였다. 분석 결과 남성 51%, 여성은 49%로 나이는 60, 70대가 전체의 84.7%로 나타났으며, 학력은 초졸과 중졸의 비율이 각각 26%로 가장 높았다. 종교가 있는 사람이 60.1%, 그중 개신교가 24.7%이다. 지역은 농어촌에 사는 비율이 42.9%이고. 건강 상태는 보통 이상이라고 답한 비율이 87.6%로 나타났다. 성생활빈도에 있어서는 1개월에 1~2회 성생활을 한다고 답변한 비율이 41.4%로 에 달했으며, 남성이 여성보다, 연령은 낮을수록, 학력은 높을수록, 지역은 중소도시 이상에 사는 노인들이, 건강상태는 좋을수록 그리고 소득수준이 높을수록 그 빈도가 높은 것으로 조사되었다. 성생활만족도에서 남성이, 중소도시 이상에 거주, 건강상태가 좋을수록 성생활만족도가 높게 나타났으며, 유의미한 차이를 보였다. 배우자 간 정서적친밀감은 농·어촌 지역에 거주, 건강상태가 좋지 않을수록 높게 나타났다. 생활만족도의 경우 개신교와 같은 종교를 가지고 있는 경우, 중소도시 이상에 거주, 건강상태가 좋을수록 그리고 소득수준이 높을수록 높게 나타났다. 상관관계 결과 성생활 만족도는 정서적친밀감(p<.01), 생활 만족도(p<.01)와 양의 상관관계를 가지는 것으로 나타났다. 위의 결과를 토대로 노인들의 성생활 만족도가 생활만족도에 긍정적 영향을 보이고, 배우자 간 정서적 친밀감도 생활만족도에 긍정적 영향을 끼친다고 볼 수 있다.

Keywords

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