CABS Public Seminar Series 2024-25 : Intimacy and Later Life

Dr Diana Teggi (University of Bath) , Dr Jessica Carr (The Open University) and Dr Torbjörn Bildtgård (Uppsala and Stockholm Universities, Sweden) shared findings from their research on intimacy and intimate relationships in later life, conducted in the UK and Sweden, with older people and health and social care practitioners.

Intimacy and ageing – results from three Swedish studies (Dr Torbjörn Bildtgård)

Generational replacement, normative shift and the extension of the average healthy life span have all contributed to changes in the intimate lives of older people. In Sweden it has become increasingly common both to separate and to repartner in later life. In this presentation Dr Torbjörn Bildtgård uses data from three Swedish projects on late life intimacy, carried out together with Professor Peter Öberg, that resulted in the book “Intimacy and ageing” (Policy press). He discusses the experiences of older Swedes who have either divorced or repartnered late in life, focusing on their motives for dissolving and/or entering unions in later life and how later life turned out. It is suggested that both an “awareness of finality” and the cultural context of the “third age” are central concepts for understanding late life partnership choices.

The significance of intimacy in later life: findings from a recent qualitative enquiry (Dr Diana Teggi and Dr Jessica Carr)

As people grow older, moments of intimacy, of emotional and physical affection, are just as important as ever — but they can also be more fleeting and unreliable: partners die, couples separate, and friendships can fall away. Conversely, some people find increased intimacy with partners, family and close friends in later life. Dr Diana Teggi and Dr Jessica Carr shared findings from surveys and interviews with people aged 65+ and also with health and social care practitioners who work with older people. They discussed the implications of their findings for people working with older people, including counsellors and therapists in order to improve the support offered to older people who are experiencing challenges with intimacy.

Consent was gained from all participants at registration for the recording to be made available online.