A qualitative study examining the social network types of older sexual and gender minority (SGM) women and gender non-binary adults

Abstract

Limited research has examined the social network types of older SGM women and gender non-binary adults. To better understand their social network types, 37 semi-structured interviews were conducted with SGM women and gender non-binary adults, ages ranged from 50 to 84 years old. Five previously identified social network types were examined: diverse, diverse/no children, friend-centered/restricted, immediate family-focused, and fully restricted. Participants were grouped based on their current social network and common network themes were identified. Results offer insights that can help identify individual characteristics of those in each network to develop interventions to increase social resources and reduce social isolation.

Keywords:

• Aging
• LGBT
• life course
• qualitative methods
• social networks
• social support

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the study participants for their time and sharing their stories. A special thank you to the Montrose Center.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Includes those who identify as genderqueer.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported through research grants by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health and the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.