ArticleThe Gerontologist2023
Trajectories of Loneliness Among Older Women and Men: Variation by Sexual Identity?
Article in The Gerontologist, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Understanding the Association Between Substance Use and Loneliness in Midlife and Older Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Association of cumulative loneliness with all-cause mortality among middle-aged and older adults in the United States, 1996 to 2019.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Diversity in Social Communication and Support: Implications for Loneliness Among LGB Adults.The Gerontologist · 2023Article
- Loneliness and Frailty Among Middle-Aged and Aging Sexual Minority Men Living With or Without HIV: A Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis.Innovation in aging · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesThe aim of this study is to contribute to the literature on variation in later-life outcomes by sexual identity. Drawing on the Iridescent Life Course framework, we examined differences in loneliness trajectories, and tested the roles of social connectedness and support, and socioeconomic and health statuses in explaining any observed disparities. RESEARCH DESIGN AND
methodsUsing growth models, we analyzed 19 years of data (2001-2019) from adults aged 50 years and older from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (n = 5,500 individuals), where a question on sexual identity was asked twice in the study.
resultsOne percent of our sample reported a change in their sexual identity, which we grouped with individuals who reported as bisexual. Our sample comprised of 45.3% heterosexual men, 52.2% heterosexual women, 0.6% gay men, 0.6% lesbian women, 0.6% bisexual-plus men, and 0.6% bisexual-plus women. We found bisexual-plus men were vulnerable to loneliness as they aged. This group had the highest levels of loneliness at age 50, and differences compared with heterosexual men persisted over time. Loneliness of bisexual-plus men increased steeply from age 70. Socioeconomic and health statuses did not explain the increased loneliness of older bisexual-plus men. Lower social support and connectedness partly accounted for these disparities. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Findings are discussed with regards to existing research and theories on social disadvantage and resilience over the life course. We expand knowledge on factors explaining loneliness and how it varies in women and men by sexual identity.
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