Social Network Types and Mental Health Among LGBT Older Adults
Social Network Types and Mental Health Among LGBT Older Adults
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DOI：
10.1093/geront/gnw169
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发表时间：
2017-02-01
期刊：
影响因子：
5.7
通讯作者：
Muraco, Anna
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Kim, Hyun-Jun;Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen I.;Muraco, Anna
研究目的：本研究旨在确定女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋和变性者（LGBT）老年人的社会网络类型，并研究社会网络类型与心理健康之间的关系。设计和方法：我们分析了2014年50岁及以上的LGBT成年人（N = 2，450）的调查数据，这些数据来自“自豪的老龄化：国家健康，老龄化和性/性别研究”。潜在的配置文件进行了分析，以确定集群的社会网络关系的基础上，11个指标。多元回归分析发现，社会网络类型与心理健康之间存在显著的相关性。按照与家人、朋友和其他非家庭网络关系的接触从多到少排列，他们是多样化的，多样化/没有孩子，以直系亲属为中心，以朋友为中心/受限制，完全受限制。以朋友为中心/受限制（33%）和多样化/无子女网络类型（31%）最普遍。在以朋友为中心/受限制类型的个体中，社交网络的访问仅限于朋友，而在这两种类型中，儿童都不存在。最不常见的类型是完全受限网络类型（6%）。社会网络类型与心理健康显着相关，控制后的背景特征和总的社会网络的大小;那些与完全限制型表现出最差的心理health.Implications：独特的社会网络类型（多样/没有孩子和朋友为中心/限制）出现在LGBT老年人。此外，社交网络完全受限的个人由于健康需求增加和社会资源有限，面临的风险特别大。这项研究强调了理解异质社会关系和制定量身定制的干预措施，以促进LGBT老年人的社会联系和心理健康的重要性。
Purpose of the Study: This study was designed to identify social network types among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults and examine the relationship between social network type and mental health. Design and Methods: We analyzed the 2014 survey data of LGBT adults aged 50 and older (N = 2,450) from Aging with Pride: National Health, Aging, and Sexuality/Gender Study. Latent profile analyses were conducted to identify clusters of social network ties based on 11 indicators. Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the association between social network types and mental health.Results: We found five social network types. Ordered from greatest to least access to family, friend, and other non-family network ties, they were diverse, diverse/no children, immediate family-focused, friend-centered/restricted, and fully restricted. The friend-centered/restricted (33%) and diverse/no children network types (31%) were the most prevalent. Among individuals with the friend-centered/restricted type, access to social networks was limited to friends, and across both types children were not present. The least prevalent type was the fully restricted network type (6%). Social network type was significantly associated with mental health, after controlling for background characteristics and total social network size; those with the fully restricted type showed the poorest mental health.Implications: Unique social network types (diverse/no children and friend-centered/restricted) emerge among LGBT older adults. Moreover, individuals with fully restricted social networks are at particular risk due to heightened health needs and limited social resources. This study highlights the importance of understanding heterogeneous social relations and developing tailored interventions to promote social connectedness and mental health in LGBT older adults.