Gore-Gorszewska Gabriela, Ševčíková Anna, Bártová Klára, Krejčová Lucie, Kalenská Lucie, Androvičová Renáta, Weiss Petr, Klapilová Kateřina
Psychology Research Institute, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia.
Institute of Psychology, Department of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.
Front Psychol. 2025 Aug 5;16:1622872. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1622872. eCollection 2025.
Although sexual problems become more common with age, older adults rarely seek professional help. Understanding why is key to supporting sexual health in aging populations. This study assessed the prevalence of sexual difficulties, help-seeking behavior, and reasons for not seeking help among Czech adults aged 50-75, using nationally representative data from the 2023/2024 CzechSex survey ( = 2,927; 53% men). Logistic regression analyses examined the predictor role of sociodemographic factors, sexual activity frequency, sexual ageism, and distress over sexual problems on help-seeking. Lifetime sexual difficulties were reported by 59% of respondents, and 31% experienced them in the past 12 months. Among those with persistent issues, only 7.6% sought counseling or other professional help. Women were significantly more likely than men not to seek help (OR = 1.64, 95% CI [1.04, 2.61], < 0.05); lower distress was also associated with non-help-seeking (OR = 0.68, 95% CI [0.54, 0.86], < 0.001). The most common reasons for not seeking help were perceiving problems as not bothersome, followed by shame, embarrassment, and difficulty communicating (personal/emotional barriers). Systemic barriers (e.g., lack of services, long wait times) were rarely reported. Overall, help-seeking for sexual problems is uncommon in this age group, and personal barriers outweigh institutional ones, posing a challenge for effectively targeting no-help seekers and designing effective interventions.
虽然性问题随着年龄增长变得更加普遍，但老年人很少寻求专业帮助。了解其中原因是促进老年人群体性健康的关键。本研究利用2023/2024年捷克性调查（样本量=2927；53%为男性）的全国代表性数据，评估了50至75岁捷克成年人中性困难的患病率、求助行为以及不寻求帮助的原因。逻辑回归分析检验了社会人口学因素、性活动频率、性年龄歧视以及性问题困扰对求助行为的预测作用。59%的受访者报告有终生性困难，31%在过去12个月中经历过性困难。在那些存在持续性问题的人中，只有7.6%寻求过咨询或其他专业帮助。女性比男性更有可能不寻求帮助（比值比=1.64，95%置信区间[1.04，2.61]，P<0.05）；较低的困扰也与不寻求帮助有关（比值比=0.68，95%置信区间[0.54，0.86]，P<0.001）。不寻求帮助的最常见原因是认为问题不麻烦，其次是羞耻、尴尬和沟通困难（个人/情感障碍）。很少有人报告存在系统性障碍（如缺乏服务、等待时间长）。总体而言，这个年龄组中因性问题寻求帮助的情况并不常见，个人障碍比制度性障碍更为突出，这对有效定位不寻求帮助者和设计有效的干预措施构成了挑战。
