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LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) older adults are more likely than their heterosexual peers to age with limited support in stigmatizing environments often poorly served by traditional social services challenging their preparedness for end of life. Fourteen focus groups and three individual interviews were conducted in five Canadian cities with gay/bisexual men (5 groups; 40 participants), lesbian/bisexual women (5 groups; 29 participants), and transgender persons (3 interviews, 4 groups; 24 participants). Four superordinate themes were identified: (a) motivators and obstacles, (b) relationship concerns, (c) dynamics of LGBT culture and lives, and (d) institutional concerns. Several pressing issues emerged including depression and isolation (more common among gay and bisexual men), financial/class issues (lesbian and bisexual women), and uncomfortable interactions with health-care providers (transgender participants). These findings highlight the challenges and complexities in end-of-life preparation within LGBT communities.

Abstract:Friendship is not institutionalized in American society; hence, perceptions of it vary. Rather than studying sources of this variation, most scholars ignore the complexity, bemoan the difficulty it causes in analysis, or eliminate it. We examined the frequency of use of previously studied and emergent characteristics of friendship as definitional criteria and the age, gender, and cultural patterns associated with them. Data are from two North American cities: the Andrus Study of Older Adult Friendships in southeastern United States (28 women and 25 men, age 55 to 84), and the Social Relations Project in western Canada (39 women and 25 men, age 55 to 87). Definitions of friendship differed across age and gender groups within each culture, but most striking is cross-cultural variation.

Social stress resulting from stigma, prejudice, and discrimination-"minority stress"-negatively impacts sexual minority individuals' health and relational well-being. The present study examined how being in a same-sex couple can result in exposure to unique minority stressors not accounted for at the individual level. Relationship timeline interviews were conducted with 120 same-sex couples equally distributed across two study sites (Atlanta and San Francisco), gender (male and female), and relationship duration (at least six months but less than three years, at least three years but less than seven years, and seven or more years). Directed content analyses identified 17 unique couple-level minority stressors experienced within nine distinct social contexts. Analyses also revealed experiences of dyadic minority stress processes (stress discrepancies and stress contagion). These findings can be useful in future efforts to better understand and address the cumulative impact of minority stress on relational well-being and individual health.

Objectives We investigated associations between stress and mental health (positive affect, depressive symptoms) among HIV-negative and HIV-positive midlife and older gay-identified men, along with the mediating and moderating effects of mastery and emotional support. We also studied the mental health effects of same-sex marriage. Methods We obtained data from self-administered questionnaires completed in 2009 or 2010 by a subsample (n=202; average age=56.91 years; age range= 44–75 years) of participants in the University of California, Los Angeles component of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, one of the largest and longest-running natural-history studies of HIV/AIDS in the United States. Results Both sexual minority stress (perceived gay-related stigma, excessive HIV bereavements) and aging-related stress (independence and fiscal concerns) appeared to have been detrimental to mental health. Sense of mastery partially mediated these associations. Being legally married was significantly protective net of all covariates, including having a domestic partner but not being married. Education, HIV status, and race/ethnicity had no significant effects. Conclusions Sexual minority and aging-related stress significantly affected the emotional lives of these men. Personal sense of mastery may help to sustain them as they age. We observed specific mental health benefits of same-sex legal marriage.

Using data from Americans' Changing Lives: Wave 1, 1986, this study examined the long-term effects on the personal functioning of older women and men following the death of an adult child or a spouse. Guided by Weiss's (1993) theoretical framework, 41 bereaved parents and 143 bereaved spouses were compared to 407 nonbereaved adults on measures of perceived health, self-efficacy, depression, life satisfaction, and future orientation. Analyses revealed bereavement and gender effects and a consistent influence of the sociodemographic characteristics of education, income, and duration of bereavement on functioning.

Friendship occupies an important place in the growing body of literature in child development and gerontological research. As such, it may be useful for researchers from both fields to consider what can be learned from work carried out in each tradition. Therefore, we present a selected review of topics in friendship research across the life span. Through discussion of the value of friendship, the development of friendship, challenges to friendship, the gendered nature of friendship, and the connection between friends and family, points of commonality and contrast are identified. We conclude by presenting possible avenues for future investigation for researchers interested in friendship at any point in the life span.