Time as a structuring condition for new intimate relationships in later life A qualitative study of elderly Swedes

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition, health & aging Vol. 17; no. Suppl. 1; p. 109
• Main Authors: Öberg, Peter, Bildtgård, Torbjörn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: intimacy; later life; time
• ISSN: 1279-7707; 1760-4788

Introduction : Social gerontology about intimacy in old age has almost exclusively focused on institutionalized life-long marriages. However, mobility in and out of intimate relationships has become more common in late modern societies also in later life. In this paper the research questions are: What characterizes the formation of new intimate relationships in later life? Are there any specific, more or less universal, conditions that separate them from relationships in earlier life phases? Method : Qualitative interviews were used with a strategical sample of 28 6-?91 year old Swedes, who have established a new intimate heterosexual relationship after the age of 60 or who are dating. Results: The results showed time as constituting a central structuring condition for new intimate relationships in later life. In the results three aspects of time: Available free time, Lived time and Remaining time ? which all have a constituting and formative power on new late in life relationships are discussed in relation to theories of late modernity and the Third Age and in relation to changing demographical conditions. Conclusion : The concluding discussion will be about the time theoretical frame as a model for understanding experiences of ageing.