Description:
The invisibility of older gay men from any readily identifiable sampling frame has contributed to a paucity of research about this population. A number of methodological challenges must be overcome to reach these older gay men and research their experiences. Factors thought to contribute to this invisibility include the abscence of older gay men who are more likely to live in surburban and regional areas. Research efforts to recruit these men have traditionally been resource in small sample sizes. Alternative recruitment methods are discussed including the use of Internet, email, newsgroups and snowball sampling.
Description:
The invisibility of older gay men from any readily identifiable sampling frame has contributed to a paucity of research about this population. A number of methodological challenges must be overcome to reach these older gay men and research their experiences. Factors thought to contribute to this invisibility include the abscence of older gay men who are more likely to live in surburban and regional areas. Research efforts to recruit these men have traditionally been resource in small sample sizes. Alternative recruitment methods are discussed including the use of Internet, email, newsgroups and snowball sampling.
Description:
This study sought to measure attitudes of lesbians and gay men toward lesbian and gay parents. Participants (126 gay men and 139 lesbians from 5 Australian states) were given one vignette featuring either a lesbian, gay, or heterosexual couple parenting a 16-year-old child. They rated the vignette parents in terms of their parenting competencies and suitability as parents. Findings suggest that overall, lesbian and gay parents were rated more positively than heterosexual parents, with lesbian participants being more likely to rate parents overall in more positive ways. Regression analysis did not find that the parent status of participants predicted their ratings of gay or lesbian parents per se, but a correlation was found between the number of children that participants had and their rating of the vignettes. This suggests the importance of future research including not only larger and more diverse sample sizes, but also research that examines the interaction of parenting status, gender, and number of children upon attitudes toward heterosexual, lesbian, and gay parents.
Description:
Sense of belonging to the general and broader gay communities has been shown to be beneficial for gay men’s mental health. This research investigated the interrelations between sense of belonging to three forms of gay community (the broader gay community, gay groups, and gay friends), sense of belonging to the general community, and depressive symptoms by examining a path model. A community sample of 177 gay men, aged 18 to 79 years, completed the Sense of Belonging Instrument–Psychological subscale, the Centre for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale, and the Sense of Belonging within Gay Communities Scale. The model provided excellent fit to the data in which sense of belonging to the general community mediated the relationships between a sense of belonging to gay groups and with gay friends and depressive symptoms. Results imply that enhancing gay men’s sense of belonging to gay groups and with gay friends is likely to be associated with fewer depressive symptoms, by virtue of their enhanced sense of belonging to the general community.
Description:
Internalized homophobia is a risk factor for depression among gay men and lesbians. The aim of the study was to test whether the internalized homophobia-depression relation was moderated by gender (stronger among gay men compared with lesbians), age (stronger among younger compared with older gay men and lesbians), and place of residence (stronger among gay men and lesbians who live in rural areas compared with those who live in urban areas). An Australian sample of 311 self-identified gay men and 570 self-identified lesbians, aged 18 to 70 years, completed the Internalized Homophobia Scale and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Results indicated that age and gender did not moderate the internalized homophobia-depressive symptoms relation. Place of residence was a significant moderator for gay men but not lesbians. In contrast to the hypothesis, the internalized homophobia-depression relation was significant only among gay men who resided in urban areas. Those who work with gay men should be particularly aware of the significant relationship between internalized homophobia and depressive symptoms among gay men who reside in urban areas.
Description:
Internalized homophobia is a risk factor for depression among gay men and lesbians. The aim of the study was to test whether the internalized homophobia-depression relation was moderated by gender (stronger among gay men compared with lesbians), age (stronger among younger compared with older gay men and lesbians), and place of residence (stronger among gay men and lesbians who live in rural areas compared with those who live in urban areas). An Australian sample of 311 self-identified gay men and 570 self-identified lesbians, aged 18 to 70 years, completed the Internalized Homophobia Scale and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Results indicated that age and gender did not moderate the internalized homophobia-depressive symptoms relation. Place of residence was a significant moderator for gay men but not lesbians. In contrast to the hypothesis, the internalized homophobia-depression relation was significant only among gay men who resided in urban areas. Those who work with gay men should be particularly aware of the significant relationship between internalized homophobia and depressive symptoms among gay men who reside in urban areas.
Description:
This research investigated the interrelations between gay men’s age, sense of belonging (to the general community, the broader gay community, gay groups and with gay friends) and mental health by testing four models: direct, mediation, additive and moderation.
Description:
This research investigated the interrelations between gay men’s age, sense of belonging (to the general community, the broader gay community, gay groups and with gay friends) and mental health by testing four models: direct, mediation, additive and moderation.
Description:
Background: Living alone is a risk factor for depressive symptoms among older adults, although it is unclear if it is a risk factor for older gay men. A sense of belonging to the gay community is protective and might compensate for living alone. This research investigated whether a sense of belonging with gay friends weakened the relationship between living alone and depressive symptoms among older gay men. Methods: A community sample of 160 Australian gay men aged 65-92 years completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and two visual analogue scales assessing a sense of belonging with gay friends. Results: Results supported the moderation model, with increasing levels of belonging with gay friends weakening the relationship between living alone and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Results imply that enhancing a sense of belonging with gay friends among older gay men who live alone is likely to be a protective factor in relation to depressive symptoms.
Description:
Objectives: Living alone is a risk factor for depressive symptoms among older men, and is likely to occur due to belongingness needs being unmet. It is proposed the living alone-sense of belonging and living alone-depressive symptoms relations are stronger for gay men than heterosexual men, due to different family circumstances. This research tested a moderated mediation model, specifically whether the relationship between living alone and depressive symptoms is mediated by sense of belonging, and whether the living alone-sense of belonging and living alone-depressive symptoms relationships are moderated by sexual orientation. Method: A community sample of 169 Australian gay men aged 65 to 93 years and 187 Australian heterosexual men aged 65 to 94 years completed the Psychological subscale of the Sense of Belonging Instrument and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Results: Results supported the simple mediation model, with living alone being associated directly and indirectly with depressive symptoms via sense of belonging. The conditional indirect effect of living alone on depressive symptoms via sense of belonging was not significant, and therefore the moderated mediation model was not supported. Conclusion: Results imply that older men who live alone are at increased risk of depressive symptoms directly and indirectly via lower levels of sense of belonging.
Description:
Sense of belonging has been regarded as important for mental health. This study investigated sense of belonging to the general community and sense of belonging to the gay community as predictors of depression among self-identified Australian gay men (N = 137). Participants completed the Psychological subscale of the Sense of Belonging Instrument and the Depression subscale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Results offered support for the additive model and suggested that sense of belonging to the general community partially mediated the relation between sense of belonging to the gay community and depression, as well as the reverse, that sense of belonging to the gay community partially mediated the relation between sense of belonging to the general community and depression. Findings failed to support a moderation effect model. Results indicate that increasing a sense of belonging to both communities will be associated with a decrease in levels of depression reported by gay men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Men's Health is the property of Men's Studies Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)