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As a woman gets older, physical problems are less likely to influence whether she is sexually active than her partner’s health or interest in sex, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente.

The study also showed significant differences in the frequency of sexual activity, as well as sexual desire and satisfaction, among racial groups of middle-aged and elderly women. Study results appear in the June 24, 2009 online version of the “Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.”

In the study of nearly 2,000 women, aged 45 to 80 years old, 43 percent reported at least moderate sexual desire, and 60 percent had been sexually active in the previous three months. Half of all sexually active participants described their overall sexual satisfaction as moderate to high. More than one quarter of women aged 65 years or older remained moderately or highly interested in sex, and more than one third of women in this age group had been sexually active in the past three months.

Among sexually inactive women in the entire group, the most common reason was lack of interest in sex (39 percent), followed by lack of a partner (36 percent), physical problem of partner (23 percent) and lack of interest by partner (11 percent). Only nine percent were inactive from personal physical problems.

Sexual activity was defined as any activity that was arousing, including masturbation.

“Our findings indicate that a substantial portion of women are interested and engaged in sexual activity as they age,” said lead author Alison Huang, MD, assistant professor in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “Clinicians should consider a woman’s overall health when addressing concerns about sexual inactivity. However, treatment directed solely at improving women’s sexual functioning, such as medications, may not substantially affect their activity if partner issues also are not addressed.”

The U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse and older, as the first wave of baby boomers is turning 65 years old. Researchers evaluated multiple dimensions of sexual functioning among a racially and ethnically diverse group of middle-aged and older women who self–identified demographic characteristics, medical history, medication use and health habits. More than half the women in the overall study were of non-white ethnicity — 20 percent were African American, 18 percent were Latina, and 19 percent were Asian – and over two-thirds of participants were married or living as married.

African American women were more likely than white women to report at least moderate desire but less likely to report weekly sexual activity, and sexually active Latinas were more likely than white women to report at least moderate sexual satisfaction.

“To date, research has focused rather narrowly on the physical factors that contribute to women’s sexual response, and very little analysis has explored sexual function among racially and ethnically diverse women. Further work is needed to understand the differences in self-reported sexual functioning by race, and how they change as women age. Ultimately, this information should help guide clinicians in discussing sexual problems with women of diverse backgrounds,” said Huang.

With thanks to Eurekalert

University of Miami study shows that physical attractiveness, personality, and grooming are good predictors of grades in high school and may indicate future success in college and labor markets

Do personal traits predict success in school? If so, which dimension of one’s outward appearance can tell the most about academic achievement? The answers to these questions are found in a new study by researchers from the University of Miami Health Economics Research Group. The study is the first to demonstrate that non-cognitive traits play an important role in the assignment of grades in high school.

Economists have examined the role that beauty plays on the type of employment, earnings, productivity and the likelihood of politicians being elected to office, and have wondered if “beauty premiums” and “plainness penalties” in the labor market come from an accumulation of differences in attention and rewards received from teachers throughout the school years. Findings from this peer-reviewed study titled: “Effects of Physical Attractiveness, Personality and Grooming on Academic Performance in High School” will be published in the next issue of Labour Economics.

The study offers a new perspective in an area of research that until now was almost exclusively focused on adults. It examines the effect of three personal characteristics–physical attractiveness, personality and grooming–on students’ grade point averages (GPA) in high school. The primary objective is to determine which aspects of these non-cognitive personal traits are more strongly linked to academic achievement, said Michael T. French, professor of health economics in the UM College of Arts and Sciences and one of the authors of the study.

“Several studies in the literature have found that physical attractiveness is significantly related to labor market earnings for men and women. Thus, we were somewhat surprised to find that physical attractiveness was not the most important non-cognitive predictor of grades,” French said. “Instead grooming and personality were stronger predictors of academic success in high school for boys and girls, respectively.”

Looking at GPA as a function of a long list of individual, familial, school, and environmental characteristics that are likely to affect academic performance, the researchers were able to make several significant observations, including:

* Physical attractiveness has a positive effect on GPA for both genders, but only when considered alone.
* When physical attractiveness is considered along with grooming and personality, the positive effect of physical attractiveness on high school GPA turns negative for both genders.
* For male students, grooming delivers the biggest overall effect on GPA.
* For female students, personality is positively related to GPA.
* Physical appearance can be a way for adolescents to either rebel or accept adult’s standards. However, whether the student is a “rebel” or a “conformist” does not have a significant independent effect on GPA.
* The findings suggest that some degree of teacher bias is present in favor of, or against certain types of students.
* All else equal, Hispanics and African Americans have lower GPAs than whites and girls have higher GPAs than males.
* Students living with a mother who attended college, those that live in a two-parent household and those attending a small school have higher GPAs than those in different circumstances.
* Receiving public assistance is negatively associated with GPA.

In conclusion, the study posits that students may be able to “trade-off” different personal characteristics to improve academic achievement and that this trend may affect future success in college, the labor market and family formation.

The University of Miami’s mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of the diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world. www.miami.edu