Therapists and Marital Counseling for the Elderly INTRODUCTION What attitudes do thera

By the year 2000, Americans aged 65 and over are expected to constitute 13 percent of the total population of the United States; this compared with 7 percent in 1950 and 12 and 1/2 percent in 1988 (American Association of Retired Persons, 1989; U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1989). By the year 2030, the proportion of older Americans is expected to have risen to 20 percent (Neidhardt & Allen, 1993).

Moreover, Longino (1988) reports that the population of the "oldest old" (people 85 years and above) has increased 165 percent in the last 22 years. Specifically, Longino notes that in 1980, people over 85 numbered 2.3 million; in 2000, they are expected to number 5.4 million, and in 2040, 13 million.

This "graying" of the American population is believed to have two causes. The first cause is the high birthrates of the late 1800s and the mid-1900s in combination with the high immigration rates of the twentieth century. The second cause is the medical advances that have lengthened life expectancy. In other

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accustomed, unwilling, or unable to address such matters. There have been numerous myths attached to the aging human sexual response. Some people assumed that sexual desire just faded away. Others believed that males had a limited number of sperm cells, so that either intercourse or masturbation will use them up, causing impotence in later years (Comfort, 1982). Some felt it was sinful or evil to have sexual desire or activity in old age (McKenzie, 1980). There was a cultural myth that impotence was a natural phenomenon of aging (Sviland, 1975). Some purported that sexual activity in old age caused insanity; that it used up one's blood (a drop of semen was equal to forty drops of blood) (Brier & Rubenstein, 1979). People often tended to do what was expected of them. Pfeiffer (1977) found that strong negative attitudes held by society in reference to sex in old age were extensions of the incest taboo. In many children, a great deal of anxiety was generated by the thought that their parents engaged in sexual activities. Because the aged represented the parent generation, ideas of sexual activities among this group evoked similar unpleasant feelings of anxiety or discomfort. It is important to note that the foregoi
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