Midlife Satisfaction Disparities by Sexual Orientation: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study.

Midlife is a pivotal stage shaping healthy aging, and sexual minorities may face more challenges in midlife than heterosexual individuals, due to cumulative social, economic, and health disadvantages. Yet, few studies have examined how life satisfaction in midlife varies by sexual identity. Using data from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study (N=3,630), we conducted logit regressions and Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) decomposition analysis to examine how health-related, socioeconomic, and sociopsychological factors contribute to disparities in life satisfaction across sexual orientation groups The results show that bisexual individuals, but not gay or lesbian individuals, reported significantly lower life satisfaction than their heterosexual peers because of their poorer health status and behaviors, fewer social resources, and lower socioeconomic status.

Marital Status and Happiness During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: This study examines the long-observed marital advantage in happiness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic may have altered the marital advantage in happiness due to changes in social integration processes. However, this has not been explored in previous studies.

Perceived Discrimination and Incident Dementia Among Older Adults in the United States: The Buffering Role of Social Relationships.

Objectives: Recent studies have found that perceived discrimination as a chronic stressor predicts poorer cognitive health. However, little research has investigated how social relationships as potential intervening mechanisms may mitigate or exacerbate this association. Using a nationally representative sample of U.

Unpacking Intersectional Inequities in Flu Vaccination by Sexuality, Gender, and Race-Ethnicity in the United States.

Health care research has long overlooked the intersection of multiple social inequalities. This study examines influenza vaccination inequities at the intersection of sexuality, gender, and race-ethnicity. Using data from the 2013 to 2018 National Health Interview Survey (N = 166,908), the study shows that sexual, gender, and racial-ethnic identities jointly shaped flu vaccination.

Explaining Health Disparities in the Sexual Minority Population: The Role of Neighborhood Effects.

Individual health is affected not only by characteristics and behaviors of the individual, but also by the environment in which the individual lives. Although neighborhood effects are well-established in the health literature, whether these effects are different for sexual minority populations is unknown. There is evidence that the neighborhoods in which sexual minorities reside are distinct from those in which heterosexuals reside, which could give rise to differential neighborhood effects.

Couple Analysis in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project.

Objectives: Marital and intimate partner relationships are some of the most important social ties that shape older adults' health and well-being. This paper provides analytic guidelines for the couple data in Round 2 (2010-2011) and Round 3 (2015-2016) of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) to encourage more research on marriage and partnership in late life.

Method: First, we describe the recruitment of couples and outline how to identify partners in the data sets.

Sexual Identity and Self-Rated Health in Midlife: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study.

This study examined health disparities among U.S. sexual minority people in midlife-a critical life course stage that is largely overlooked in the sexual minority health literature.

Health and Health Care of Sexual and Gender Minorities.

Research on the social dimensions of health and health care among sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) has grown rapidly in the last two decades. However, a comprehensive review of the extant interdisciplinary scholarship on SGM health has yet to be written. In response, we offer a synthesis of recent scholarship.

Social Relationships and Loneliness in Late Adulthood: Disparities by Sexual Orientation.

Objective: This is the first national study to examine disparities in loneliness and social relationships by sexual orientation in late adulthood in the United States.

Background: Prior 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.

Disparities in Experience with Culturally Competent Care and Satisfaction with Care by Sexual Orientation.

Prior studies have identified health care providers' lack of cultural competency as a major barrier to care among sexual minority individuals. However, little is known about disparities in experience with culturally competent care by sexual orientation at the population level. This study assessed experiences with culturally competent care and satisfaction with care across sexual orientation groups in the United States.

Childlessness and Social Support in Old Age in China.

Although previous studies showed that children are the primary source of old-age support in China, much less is known about the availability and sources of social support among childless elders. Also, little research has explored how older adults' social support transitions over time by childless status. Using the 2005 and 2011 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (N = 14,575), this study examined the transition of living arrangement and sources of social support by childless status among adults aged 65 and older.

Same-Sex Couples and Cognitive Impairment: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study.

Objectives: We provide the first nationally representative population-based study of cognitive disparities among same-sex and different-sex couples in the United States.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study (2000-2016). The sample included 23,669 respondents (196 same-sex partners and 23,473 different-sex partners) aged 50 and older who contributed to 85,117 person-period records (496 from same-sex partners and 84,621 from different-sex partners).

Elevated Risk of Cognitive Impairment Among Older Sexual Minorities: Do Health Conditions, Health Behaviors, and Social Connections Matter?

Background And Objectives: Little research has examined cognitive health disparities between sexual minority and heterosexual populations. Further, most extant studies rely on subjective measures of cognitive functioning and non-probability samples. This study uses a performance-based cognitive screening tool and a nationally representative sample of older Americans to examine the disparity in cognitive impairment by sexual orientation and the potential mechanisms producing this disparity.

Social Networks in Later Life: Similarities and Differences between Sexual-Minority and Heterosexual Older Adults.

Community-based research suggests that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) older adults are more socially isolated than their heterosexual counterparts. However, little is known about how social networks in late adulthood differ between LGB and heterosexual people at the population level. Using data from the 2015-16 National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (N=3,929), we compare the size, frequency of contact, composition, diversity, and density of core discussion networks as well as family and friend support across sexual orientation groups.

Bisexuality, Union Status, and Gender Composition of the Couple: Reexamining Marital Advantage in Health.

It has long been documented that married individuals have better health outcomes than unmarried individuals. However, this marital advantage paradigm has been developed primarily based on heterosexual populations. No studies to date have examined the health effects of marriage among bisexuals, one of the most disadvantaged but understudied sexual minority groups, although a few have shown mixed results for gays and lesbians.

Disability, Psychological Well-Being, and Social Interaction in Later Life in China.

Many studies show that disability predicts lower social participation and poorer psychological well-being. However, few have examined how disability, social interaction, and psychological well-being interrelate with one another. We use diary data from World Health Organization's Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health, 2007-2010 ( N = 8,771) and mediation analysis to examine the links between disability, daily social interaction, and the momentary and global well-being of older adults in China.

Loneliness in the older adult marriage: Associations with dyadic aversion, indifference, and ambivalence.

Marriage protects against loneliness, but not all marriages are equally protective. While marriage is a highly interdependent relationship, loneliness in marital dyads has received very little research attention. Unlike most studies proposing that positive and negative marital qualities independently affect loneliness at the individual level, we used a contextual approach to characterize each partner's ratings of the marriage as supportive (high support, low strain), ambivalent (high support, high strain), indifferent (low support, low strain), or aversive (low support, high strain), and examined how these qualities associate with own and partner's loneliness.

A National Dyadic Study of Oral Sex, Relationship Quality, and Well-Being among Older Couples.

Objectives: We examine how giving versus receiving oral sex, 2 processes that are linked to relationship quality, are associated with older men's and women's well-being.

Method: We analyzed 884 heterosexual couples from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (2010-2011). We estimate Actor-Partner Interdependence Models using the SEM approach to assess three well-being outcomes: general happiness, psychological distress, and self-reported mental health.

Despite Increased Insurance Coverage, Nonwhite Sexual Minorities Still Experience Disparities In Access To Care.

Previous studies suggest that members of sexual minority groups have poorer access to health services than heterosexuals. However, few studies have examined how sexual orientation interacts with gender and race to affect health care experience. Moreover, little is known about the role in health care disparities played by economic strains such as unemployment and poverty, which may result from prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Functional Status, Cognition, and Social Relationships in Dyadic Perspective.

Objectives: Health limitations can change older adults' social relationships and social engagement. Yet, researchers rarely examine how the disability of one's spouse might affect one's social relationships, even though such life strains are often experienced as a couple. This study investigates the association between functional and cognitive limitations and social experience in a dyadic context.

Sexual Minority Health and Health Risk Factors: Intersection Effects of Gender, Race, and Sexual Identity.

Introduction: Although population studies have documented the poorer health outcomes of sexual minorities, few have taken an intersectionality approach to examine how sexual orientation, gender, and race jointly affect these outcomes. Moreover, little is known about how behavioral risks and healthcare access contribute to health disparities by sexual, gender, and racial identities.

Methods: Using ordered and binary logistic regression models in 2015, data from the 2013 and 2014 National Health Interview Surveys (n=62,302) were analyzed to study disparities in self-rated health and functional limitation.

Economic Security, Social Cohesion, and Depression Disparities in Post-transition Societies: A Comparison of Older Adults in China and Russia.

Although both China and Russia have experienced several decades of market reform, initial evidence suggests that this structural change has compromised mental and physical health among the Russian population but not the Chinese population. Using data from the World Health Organization Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (2007-2010), this study examines the factors associated with the disparity in depression between older adults in China and their Russian counterparts, all of whom experienced market transition in the prime of their lives (N = 10,896). Results show that the lower level of depression among Chinese respondents is attributable to higher levels of economic security and social cohesion as well as stronger effects of economic and social resources on depression, while health-rating style is likely a minor factor.