Vietnamese Aging and Marital Sexual Behavior in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This study examines marital sexual activity in relation to age and its significance for marital relationships in Vietnam with particular attention to older persons. Results are compared with Thailand and the US. Two regional surveys provide the first quantitative assessment of marital sex in Vietnam. As elsewhere, marital sexual activity declines with age. At older ages, substantial proportions of married Vietnamese are sexually inactive. Levels of activity among older Vietnamese and Thais are remarkably similar and substantially lower than in the US. Contrary to US studies, the frequency of sexual activity shows little relationship to marital satisfaction and harmony in Vietnam. Possible explanations for these differences are discussed in terms of biases in the data, differences in health and living arrangements, and societal, cultural and normative contexts. We speculate that a main reason underlying the differences is a lesser societal emphasis on sex in general and on the importance of sexual and physical intimacy in marital relationships in Vietnam and Thailand than in the US.

Sexual knowledge, attitudes and activity of older people in Taipei, Taiwan

“…conducted a quantitative study on marital sex in Vietnam and compared results with those for Thailand and the United States. Their study indicated that levels of sexual activity among older persons were similar between Vietnam and Thailand but substantially lower than in the United States (Knodel et al. 2005).…”

Sex, Breastfeeding, and Marital Fertility in Pretransition China

“…frequency, which casts some doubt on the Thai case. Knodel and colleagues find that coital frequency among post-reproductive couples is lower in Thailand and Vietnam than in European populations (Knodel and Chayovan 2001;Knodel et al 2007).…”