Time as a structuring condition behind new intimate relationships in later life

Mobility in and out of intimate relationships has become more common in late modern societies also in later life. However, it has been a neglected issue in social gerontology and sociological studies on ageing. 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? Qualitative interviews was used with a strategical sampel,  consisting of 28 Swedes, 63–91 years, who have established a new intimate heterosexual relationship after the age of 60 or who are dating. The results showed Time constituting a central structuring condition for new intimate relsionships in later life. In the results three aspects of time – Available free time, Lived time and Remaining time – which all have a constituting and an important 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.