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Sexual desire changes with age

Research on how sexual desire changes in women as they get older

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5 results
Jan 20, 2026
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Are there common patterns in the intensity, frequency, and themes of women's sexual fantasies from young adulthood to later life?

Across decades of research there are reproducible patterns: many studies report that women’s sexual fantasies rise in number and intensity from young adulthood into the late 20s and peak around the ea...

Jan 25, 2026
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Differences in sexual preferences between younger and older men

Research across large samples and lab/date experiments finds that are not monolithic: men commonly show an enduring interest in younger partners (often concentrated around the twenties) while their ac...

Jan 14, 2026
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How does relationship status (single vs partnered) alter sexual desire and preferences across women’s 20s and 40s?

Single versus partnered status reshapes women's sexual desire and preferences in their 20s and 40s through intersecting biological, relational, and contextual forces: younger women in long-term partne...

Jan 27, 2026

What demographic and relationship factors most strongly predict changes in women’s sexual desire over the lifespan?

Large-sample and longitudinal research converges on a few clear demographic and relationship predictors of women’s sexual desire: age (with a steeper decline for women than men) and gender are the str...

Jan 6, 2026

How do partner erectile dysfunction and chronic illness influence sexual activity and satisfaction among women over 50?

Partner erectile dysfunction (ED) and chronic illness both reduce sexual activity and satisfaction among women over 50, but they do so by overlapping biological, psychological and relational mechanism...