ArticleJournal of marriage and the family2021
Social Relationships and Loneliness in Late Adulthood: Disparities by Sexual Orientation.
Article in Journal of marriage and the family, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- "I Am Not Lonely; I Am Just No Longer Needed": Unnamed Loneliness, Masculinities, Intimacy, and Mental Health Among Older Men in Lisbon, Portugal.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2026Article
- Daily loneliness and subjective well-being as a function of older adults' sexual orientation.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Sexual Orientation and Social Isolation from Early Adulthood to Early Midlife.Journal of health and social behavior · 2026Article
- Constructing Wholeness in LGBTQ+ Healthcare Access: A Grounded Theory Model.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Problematic Pornography Use and Psychological Distress in the USA: A Nationally Representative Study.Archives of sexual behavior · 2026Article
- Stress and emotional wellbeing among LGBT older adults: a moderated mediation model for social network size, composition, and perceived social support.The Gerontologist · 2025Article
- Do sexual minority strengths buffer the association between sexual minority stressors and loneliness among midlife and older sexual minority cisgender men?Aging & mental health · 2025Article
- Sex Differences in Sexual Motivation Among U.S. Residents 57-85 Years of Age.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Romantic relationship status and internalized homophobia in LGB individuals: a parallel mediation model examining the roles of gender and coming out status.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Researching gender and loneliness differently.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Review
- The role of romantic relationships for sexual minority young adults' depressive symptoms: Does relationship type matter?Social science research · 2024Article
- Perceived Discrimination and Incident Dementia Among Older Adults in the United States: The Buffering Role of Social Relationships.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2024Article
- Marital Status and Happiness During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of marriage and the family · 2024Article
- Midlife Satisfaction Disparities by Sexual Orientation: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study.Journal of bisexuality · 2024Article
- Exploring the Unique Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelics to Reduce Chronic Shame Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adults.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2023Review
- The impact of social connectedness on mental health in LGBTQ + identifying individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.BMC psychology · 2023Article
- Emotional support among partnered sexual minority and heterosexual individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.Social science research · 2023Article
- Loneliness during the Pregnancy-Seeking Process: Exploring the Role of Medically Assisted Reproduction.Journal of health and social behavior · 2023Article
- Diversity in Social Communication and Support: Implications for Loneliness Among LGB Adults.The Gerontologist · 2023Article
- Trajectories of Loneliness Among Older Women and Men: Variation by Sexual Identity?The Gerontologist · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThis is the first national study to examine disparities in loneliness and social relationships by sexual orientation in late adulthood in the United States.
backgroundPrior studies have shown that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals often struggle with social relationships across the life course, likely because of stigma related to sexual orientation. However, little is known about whether loneliness is more prevalent among LGB people than among other groups in late adulthood, and if so, which relationships contribute to the loneliness gap.
methodWe analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of older adults from the 2015-2016 National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (N = 3,567) to examine the disparity in loneliness by sexual orientation and identify links between this disparity and multiple dimensions of social relationships, including partner, family, friend, and community relationships.
resultsOlder LGB adults were significantly lonelier than their heterosexual counterparts, primarily due to a lower likelihood of having a partner and, to a lesser extent, lower levels of family support and greater friend strain. While they were also disadvantaged in the size of close family and frequency of community participation, these factors were less relevant to their loneliness. Overall, the conventionally defined inner layers of relationships (partnership and family) contributed more to the loneliness disparity than the outer layers of relationships (friends and community).
conclusionThese findings suggest that strengthening the partnerships and family relationships of sexual minorities is essential to reducing the loneliness gap.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.