Religiousness, Spirituality, and Existential Well-being Among HIV-Positive Gay, Bisexual, and Other MSM Age 50 and Over

Abstract

The religious and spiritual experiences of HIV-positive gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are severely understudied, especially among those over 50. However, literature supports that religious/spiritual experiences are related to both physical and mental health among older adults. In this exploratory analysis we assessed the relations that exist among a sample of HIV-positive gay, bisexual, and other MSM over 50 in regard to sociodemographic factors and two established measures of religiosity/spirituality. Differences emerged in relation to both race/ethnicity and age for the Ironson-Woods Spirituality/ Religiousness (SR) Index, while, for the Existential Well-being subscale, differences emerged in relation to race/ethnicity and perceived socioeconomic status.

Religious relief: Exploring the role of religion and spirituality among a broad range of people living with HIV.

“…Preliminary analyses found that religious behaviors were higher for the African American and Latinx/Other participants in our sample relative to the White participants. These findings corroborate previous research suggesting a greater frequency of religious coping among African Americans and Latinx compared to Whites (Cotton et al, 2006; Hampton et al, 2013; Sutton & Parks, 2013).…”

Religious and spiritual journeys of LGBT older adults in rural Southern Appalachia

“…Gay and bisexual men may also have unique experiences that do not necessarily follow the same tragectory of being more relgious as they age. For example, a study with HIV positive gay and bisexual men found that the men were less likely to be spiritual or religious as they aged (Hampton et al, 2013). This suggests that there may be unique factors influencing the religious and spiritual beliefs of LGBT older adults that are worth investigating further.…”

“I never felt like there was a place for me:” Experiences of Bisexual and Pansexual Individuals with a Christian Upbringing

“…Although general research with bisexual individuals has increased over the past 40 years, much of it has focused on HIV or simply included bisexuals as an additional sexual category rather than the primary focus (Rust, 2009). Some research on faith and sexuality has included bisexual individuals as part of the population of study (Brennan-Ing, Seidel, Larson, & Karpiak, 2013;Buser, Goodrich, Luke, & Buser, 2011;Gold & Stewart, 2011;Hampton, Halkitis, Perez-Figueroa, & Kupprat, 2013;Page, Lindahl, & Malik, 2013;Rosenkrantz et al, 2016;Woodell, Kazyak, & Compton, 2015), but the percentages of participants in these studies who identify as bisexual range from 8% to 27%. Most do not include pansexual participants.…”