Old age is nowadays becoming an increasingly important period of life. Settled relationship and satisfying one's sexual needs importantly contribute to the overall contentment in life, which is also essential for the quality of old age. The presented thesis is devoted to the research of the mutual influence between the quality of relationship and sexual activity in late life. In the theoretical part, I specify the period of old age, define the concept of the quality of old age and introduce prejudice towards old age and sex in this period of life. After that I describe different perspectives on sexuality and take a closer look on the link between the relationship and sexuality. In the end of the theoretical part, I focus on physical and psychological changes that are important for a better understanding of the sexuality of older people. In the empirical part, I present the results of a qualitative research within which I conducted interviews with six elderly people. I was interested in the connection between the relationship and the sexual activity in old age, how older people feel about the sexuality and whether the sexuality changes over the years. The results show that the relationship is closely associated with the sexual activity and with the overall sexual satisfaction. The perceptions of sexuality have not changed significantly over the years, however, the importance of touching, caressing, hugging and expressing any kind of affection came to the fore. The physiological changes that the elderly are facing, have an important additional effect on the latter.
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