This problem is also evident for seniors who live with their adult children or in shared senior housing. Even the Social Security Administration has been a barrier to remarriage, and consequently sexual activity, because widows who remarry are forced to give up their former husband's Social Security Benefits. The fear of death is another factor affecting sexuality in the elderly. There are many symbolic associations between sexual activity and death. Fears of the occurrence of heart attacks or strokes during sex frequently lead to older couples abstaining from such activities regardless of medical advice to the contrary.
Female longevity creates another barrier to sexual activity in later years.
Women tend to outlive their male counterparts by seven or more years, thus leaving many women without sexual partners in the later years. Society has condoned the relationships of older men and younger women, but tends to ostracize older women who establish relationships with younger men. The number of available men as sexual partners for older women is further limited by the lower numbers of eligible older males. Extramarital affairs are taboo for many elderly both religiously and morally. Masturbation, although increasingly more acceptable, is still considered shameful or harmful for many elderly.