Resiliency Among Aging Sexual Minorities

By: Dr. Maria Glover Wallace

I’m always pleased to see great activists and icons of the Civil Rights Movement, inventors, artists, academics and musicians celebrated during Black History Month. Historically, most have experienced interlocking oppressions of race, class and gender, and have shared stories through biopics and documentaries, while unsung heroes and survivors among us share their stories in small communities throughout the country. 

Many older adult minorities continue to report facing minority stressors within and outside of our communities. While we are remembering significant people and events in the history of the African diaspora, let’s take a closer look at the stress, struggle and resilience that continues to impact the lives of aging older adults in our LGBTQ communities.

One of the leading concerns reported by aging sexual minorities is good physical and mental health through mid-life and into retirement. Older sexual minority adults desire to maintain physical activity along with continued community and social engagement during retirement. Mental health factors include feelings of loneliness and depression in older sexual minority adults and access to adequate treatment services. Ageism, racism and sexism increase the likely experience of isolation, loneliness and depression for older adult minorities. Social statuses all intersect to form different meanings and experiences. 

The Meyer minority stress model was developed by Dr. Ilan Meyer, a psychiatric epidemiologist. It was created from wide-ranging ideas of social stress theory, and it aims to highlight the distinctive traumatic experience of individuals whose place is or is assumed to be within a socially disadvantaged group. The basic tenets of minority stress can be applied to all persons with minority status coping with difficult social situations that potentially impact health and well-being.

The minority stress model was later expanded by Meyer to include the stressor of identity concealment for LGBTQ persons. Minority stress processes are likely to operate differently for sexual minority people of color compared with white sexual minority people, and for higher socioeconomic status versus lower socioeconomic status sexual minority people. Mental health, well-being and coping for older adult LGBTQ populations are often examined using the minority stress model considering the impacts of prejudice and discrimination stressors. 

Older adult sexual minorities are coping with the challenges of difficult social situations and face adverse health outcomes due to minority stress. Research confirms that exposure to direct and indirect stressors additionally causes individuals to suffer adverse health outcomes. 

Sociocultural dishonoring of sexual minority individuals promotes the identified minority stressors. These stressors are found significant to the psychological well-being and welfare of this marginalized group.

Although there is a concentration on health problems in the lives of sexual minorities, there still exist positive affirming accounts of well-being and resilience among this aging population. Scholarly research reports validate that most are aging well, feel healthy, and living contently with solid personal and community ties. Remaining actively engaged socially and continuing to be productive in retirement and old age includes embracing new social settings. 

Resiliency also includes the retention and cognitive abilities to understand, and problem-solve everyday situations. To ease the potential negative health outcomes for older adult sexual minorities, the stigmatization must continue to be addressed. Hopefully, a better understanding of diverse older adult communities will impact practitioners’ delivery of service and improve well-being and adjustment to normative aging.

About the Author

Maria A. Glover-Wallace, PhD, has over 20 years of social and human service work with marginalized urban populations. Her completed doctoral research explores the reported wellness for LGBTQ seniors and people of color. She is currently serving on the steering committee for HRC Nashville and volunteers with Nashville Queer History. Maria is an author, freelance writer and life coach facilitator. She actively works with several organizations that fight for adequate services and fair treatment of marginalized populations across this country. She is currently employed as a Higher Education Enrollment Coordinator for Pearson. Maria is married to Cynthia Wallace and they have 6 children and 5 grandchildren.