Mental Health of Older Adults by Sexual Minority Status: Evidence From the 2021 National Health Interview Survey
Public Deposited- Creator
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Masa, Rainier
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0484-3107
- Affiliation: School of Social Work
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Inoue, Megumi
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8077-6711
- Other Affiliation: Department of Social Work, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
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Prieto, Lucas
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7641-7713
- Other Affiliation: Department of Social Work, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
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Baruah, Dicky
- Affiliation: School of Social Work
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Nosrat, Sarah
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4800-9744
- Other Affiliation: Department of Social Work, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
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Mehak, Samreen
- Other Affiliation: Department of Social Work, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
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Operario, Don
- Other Affiliation: Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Abstract
- This study explored differences among older adults in mental health by sexual minority status. Data came from the 2021 U.S. National Health Interview Survey. The study sample included older adults (or those aged ≥50 years, N = 15,559), and of those, two percent (n = 380) self-identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB). Older LGB adults had significantly higher odds of reporting a diagnosis of depression and anxiety and experiencing serious psychological distress than older non-LGB adults. Additionally, older LGB adults reported higher odds of experiencing depression and anxiety more frequently than older non-LGB adults. Significant covariates included age, sex, housing, food security, and social support. Increased risk for mental illness may be long-term consequences of stigma and discrimination that this population has experienced over the life course. The combination of structural interventions and affirming mental healthcare that recognizes the cumulative negative experience among older LGB adults is necessary to achieve mental health equity.
- Date of publication
- March 2024
- Keyword
- DOI
- Identifier
- Resource type
- Article
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Rights holder
- Southern Gerontological Society
- License
- Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
- Journal title
- Journal of Applied Gerontology
- Journal volume
- 43
- Journal issue
- 3
- Page start
- 276
- Page end
- 286
- ISSN
- 0733-4648
- 1552-4523
- Copyright date
- 2023
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
Relations
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