The Roles of Discrimination and Aging Concerns in the Mental Health of Sexual Minority Older Adults.

Abstract

Purpose: Sexual minority (SM) older adults report poorer mental health than their heterosexual peers. While all older adults can experience age discrimination and other aging concerns (e.g., functional decline), SM older adults also experience sexual orientation-related discrimination and aging concerns (e.g., that they will have to be less open about their sexual orientation to get support as they age). The goals of this study were to examine the roles of (1) sexual orientation and age discrimination and (2) sexual orientation-specific and general aging concerns in depression and anxiety among SM older adults. Methods: As part of a larger study, 477 SM older adults (aged ≥50 years) completed an online survey in September 2021. The majority were gay/lesbian (83%), cisgender men (40%) or cisgender women (34%), and non-Latinx White (39%) or Latinx (34%). Analyses controlled for age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and race/ethnicity. Results: Sexual orientation discrimination and age discrimination were positively associated with depression and anxiety. A significant interaction indicated that sexual orientation discrimination was positively associated with anxiety at low, moderate, and high levels of age discrimination, but the association was strongest at the low level. Sexual orientation-specific and general aging concerns were also positively associated with depression and anxiety. Significant interactions indicated that sexual orientation-specific aging concerns were associated with higher depression and anxiety at low and moderate, but not high, levels of general aging concerns. Conclusions: A range of factors contribute to mental health among SM older adults and there are complex relationships between general and sexual orientation-specific factors.