Sexual and gender minoritized (SGM) elders who have lost or expect to lose a partner or loved one are at elevated risk for experiencing hidden or disenfranchised grief due to historical and current stigmatising social structures that lead to identity concealment. Identity concealment is associated with a range of negative health (e.g. depression, anxiety) and psychosocial (e.g. social isolation, lower sense of belonging) outcomes that may adversely affect one’s ability to cope with and recover from loss, yet little is known about the association between identity concealment and complicated grief. Guided by two empirically supported, complementary frameworks (i.e. minority stress theory and relational-cultural theory), this theoretical review increases understanding and awareness of identity concealment as a risk factor for complicated grief and other poor bereavement outcomes among SGM elders, with special consideration for intersections of gerodiversity. Such knowledge can help health professionals, policymakers, and other agents of change develop culturally responsive interventions that foster social, psychological, and physical well-being among bereaved SGM elders.

A number of unique physical, psychological, and social factors affect individuals as they achieve late life including, unfortunately, societally imposed, and internalized ageism. Women face a unique challenge in this regard, as this “-ism” often intersects with and compounds lifelong disempowering social forces (Rosenthal, 1990 Rosenthal, E. R. (1990). Women and varieties of ageism. Journal of Women & Aging, 2, 1–6. doi:10.1300/J074v02n02_01 [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] ; Saucier, 2004 Saucier, M. G. (2004). Midlife and beyond: Issues for aging women. Journal of Counseling & Development, 82, 420–425. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2004.tb00329.x [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ). Furthermore, a majority of caregivers are women, which places additional burdens on this group. The current article proposes a time-limited, skills-based cognitive-behavioral treatment model based on feminist principles that targets the myths and misconceptions regarding aging in order to improve quality of life and decrease depressive symptoms in older adults and their caregivers.

Multimorbidity, or the presence of two or more co-occurring chronic medical conditions, is extremely prevalent within the United States (US), with disproportionately high incidence rates in individuals with minoritized identities. Sleep disturbances are an empirically supported risk factor contributing to disease status and maintenance throughout the lifespan. Given this, this study examines the relationship between disturbed sleep and multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) in adults using cross-sectional data from (n = 1013) participants enrolled in the Survey of Midlife Development in the US Study (MIDUS-2). Participants within this study were predominantly female (54.9%), white (93.2%), middle-aged (M_AGE = 58 years old), and experienced multimorbidity (56.6%) by having two or more (M_CHRON = 2.25) chronic health conditions in the past year. A negative binomial regression indicated that sleep disturbances significantly predict the number of chronic health conditions, with sleep-disturbed individuals reporting a 41% increase in reported health conditions (IRR = 1.407, p < 0.001). Findings suggest that disturbed sleep is significantly related to disease presence in aging populations and should be addressed through early intervention to mitigate negative health consequences.

Participation within gay communities can foster belonging but also intraminority stigma, potentially leading to avoidance, smaller social networks, and worse mental health. Guided by temporal intersectional minority stress theory and intraminority gay community stress theory, this cross-sectional study examined age differences in gay-specific intraminority stigma experiences, community involvement, and their associations among 2,159 gay men aged 19-79 years (M_age = 40.49, SD = 13.43). Compared to younger gay men, older gay men experienced more age stigma from other gay men, but less stigma related to body size/shape, gender expression, race/ethnicity, and nonconformity to mainstream community norms. However, older gay men with lower socioeconomic status (SES) and higher weight reported more intraminority socioeconomic and body stigma, respectively, relative to their younger counterparts. Intraminority body stigma was negatively associated with community involvement among gay men under 30 and positively associated among gay men over 59. Additionally, older gay men with lower status in gay spaces (i.e., lower masculinity, lower SES, higher weight, non-White, non-Democrat) experienced more intraminority gender expression stigma and less community involvement, but less acutely than their younger counterparts. Longitudinal and intersectional research is needed to better understand the clinical implications of intraminority stigma for the psychosocial well-being of gay men across the lifespan.