459
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

The Experience of Loneliness Among Gay Men in Israel: A Qualitative Study

, MSW & , MSW, MFA, PhDORCID Icon

References

  • Aggarwal, S., & Gerrets, R. (2013). Exploring a Dutch paradox: An ethnographic investigation of gay men’s mental health. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 16(2), 105–119. doi:10.1080/13691058.2013.841290
  • Anderson, J. R., Holland, E., Koc, Y., & Haslam, N. (2018). iObjectify: Self‐and other‐objectification on Grindr, a geosocial networking application designed for men who have sex with men. European Journal of Social Psychology, 48(5), 600–613. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2350
  • Barbour, R. S. (2001). Checklists for improving rigour in qualitative. research: A case of the tail wagging the dog? British Medical Journal, 322(7294), 1115–1117. doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7294.1115
  • Barry, C. A., Britten, N., Barber, N., Bradley, C., & Stevenson, F. (1999). Using reflexivity to optimize teamwork in qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 9(1), 26–44. doi:10.1177/104973299129121677
  • Beutel, M., Klein, E., Brähler, E., Reiner, I., Jünger, C., & Michal, M. (2017). Loneliness in the general population: Prevalence, determinants and relations to mental health. BMC Psychiatry, 17(1), 97. doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1262-x
  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
  • Butler, J. (1996). Imitation and gender insubordination. In A., Garry & M., Pearsall (Eds.), Women, Knowledge, and Reality: Explorations in Feminist Philosophy (pp. 371–387). ‏New York: Routledge.
  • Chan, L. S. (2018). Ambivalence in networked intimacy: Observations from gay men using mobile dating apps. New Media & Society, 20(7), 2566–2581. doi:10.1177/1461444817727156
  • Colorafi, K. J., & Evans, B. (2016). Qualitative descriptive methods in health science research. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 9(4), 16–25. doi:10.1177/1937586715614171
  • DeLonga, K., Torres, H., Kamen, C., Evans, S., Lee, S., Koopman, C., & Gore-Felton, C. (2011). Loneliness, internalized homophobia, and compulsive internet use: Factors associated with sexual risk behavior among a sample of adolescent males seeking services at a community LGBT center. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, 18(2), 61–74. doi:10.1080/10720162.2011.581897
  • Dyussenbayev, A. (2017). Age periods of human life. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 4(6). doi:10.14738/assrj.46.2924
  • Eick, U., Shilo, G., Hertz, S., Ketzef, I., & Slater, A. (2019). Developmental landscapes: Milestones in the development of sexual orientation of lesbian, gay and bisexual adolescents in Israel. In T., Jones, L., Coll, L., van Leent & Y., Taylor (Eds.), Uplifting gender and sexuality education research (pp. 71–85). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-24205-3_4
  • Eres, R., Postolovski, N., Thielking, M., & Lim, M. H. (2020). Loneliness, mental health, and social health indicators in LGBTQIA+ Australians. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 91(3) Advance online publication, 358–366. doi:10.1037/ort0000531.
  • Erikson, E. (1959). Identity and the life cycle. New York: International Universities Press.
  • Fink, A. S., & Press, J. (1999). Independence Park: The lives of gay men in Israel. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
  • Fish, J., & Weis, C. (2019). All the lonely people, where do they all belong? An interpretive synthesis of loneliness and social support in older lesbian, gay and bisexual communities. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 20(3), 130–142. Crossref doi:10.1108/QAOA-10-2018-0050
  • Fogiel-Bijaoui, S., & Halperin, D. (2018). Does it all stay in the (normative) family? Attitudes about family among female Jewish and Muslim health-profession students in Israel. Journal of Family Nursing, 24(3), 345–373. doi:10.1177/1074840718780699
  • Fokkema, T., & Kuyper, L. (2009). The relation between social embeddedness and loneliness among older lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in the Netherlands. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38(2), 264–275. doi:10.1007/s10508-007-9252-6
  • Freedman, A., & Nicolle, J. (2020). Social isolation and loneliness: The new geriatric giants. Approach for primary care. Canadian Family Physician Medecin de Famille Canadien, 66(3), PubMed, 176–182.
  • Frost, D. M., Meyer, I. H., & Schwartz, S. (2016). Social support networks among diverse sexual minority populations. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 86(1), 91–102. 10.1037/ort0000117
  • Garcia, J., Vargas, N., Clark, J. L., Magaña Álvarez, M., Nelons, D. A., & Parker, R. G. (2020). Social isolation and connectedness as determinants of well-being: Global evidence mapping focused on LGBTQ youth. Global Public Health, 15(4), 497–519. Crossref. PubMed doi:10.1080/17441692.2019.1682028
  • Goldenberg, D. (2019). Disconnected connectedness: The paradox of digital dating for gay and bisexual men. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 23(3), 360–366. doi:10.1080/19359705.2019.1620071
  • Gorczynski, P., & Fasoli, F. (2021). Loneliness in sexual minority and heterosexual individuals: A comparative meta-analysis. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 1–18. doi:10.1080/19359705.2021.1957742
  • Hatzenbuehler, M., Slopen, N., & McLaughlin, K. (2014). Stressful life events, sexual orientation, and cardiometabolic risk among young adults in the United States. Health Psychology, 33(10), 1185–1194. doi:10.1037/hea0000126
  • Hawkley, L., & Cacioppo, J. (2010). Loneliness matters: A theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 40(2), 218–227. doi:10.1007/s12160-010-9210-8
  • Hawkley, L. C., Thisted, R. A., Masi, C. M., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2010). Loneliness predicts increased blood pressure: 5-year cross-lagged analyses in middle-aged and older adults. Psychology and Aging, 25(1), 132. doi:10.1037/a0017805
  • Holt, M. (2011). Gay men and ambivalence about “gay community”: From gay community attachment to personal communities. Culture, Health and Sexuality, 13(8), 857–871. doi:10.1080/13691058.2011.581390
  • Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., Baker, M., Harris, T., & Stephenson, D. (2015). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality. Perspectives on Psychological Science: A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 10(2), 227–237. doi:10.1177/1745691614568352
  • Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (2019). Aochlusia [population]. Retrieved June 2021 from https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/doclib/2019/2.shnatonpopulation/diagrams2.pdf
  • Jackson, S. E., Hackett, R. A., Grabovac, I., Smith, L., & Steptoe, A. (2019). Perceived discrimination, health and wellbeing among middle-aged and older lesbian, gay and bisexual people: A prospective study. Plos one, 14(5), e0216497. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0216497
  • Jacobs, R. J., & Kane, M. N. (2012). Correlates of loneliness in midlife and older gay and bisexual men. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 24(1), 40–61. doi:10.1080/10538720.2012.643217
  • Kama, A. (2011). Parading pridefully into the mainstream: Gay & lesbian immersion in the civil core. In G., Ben-Porat & B., Turner (Eds.), The contradictions of Israeli Citizenship (pp. 196–218). London: Routledge.
  • Kama, A., & Ram, Y. (2020). “Hot Guys” in Tel Aviv: Pride tourism in Israel. Israel Studies Review, 35(1), 79–99. doi:10.3167/isr.2020.350106
  • Kaniuka, A., Pugh, K. C., Jordan, M., Brooks, B., Dodd, J., Mann, A. K., … Hirsch, J. K. (2019). Stigma and suicide risk among the LGBTQ population: Are anxiety and depression to blame and can connectedness to the LGBTQ community help? Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 23(2), 205–220. doi:10.1080/19359705.2018.1560385
  • Kawamoto, T. (2019). Personality change in middle adulthood: With focus on differential susceptibility. The Journal of Psychology, 153(8), 860–879. doi:10.1080/00223980.2019.1632251
  • Kelly, B., Carpiano, R., Easterbrook, A., & Parsons, J. (2014). Exploring the gay community question: Neighborhood and network influences on the experience of community among urban gay men. The Sociological Quarterly, 55(1), 23–48. doi:10.1111/tsq.12041
  • Kertzner, R. M. (2007). Developmental issues in lesbian and gay adulthood. In I. H., Meyer & M. E., Northridge (Eds.),The health of sexual minorities (pp. 48–64). Boston, MA: Springer.
  • Kim, H., & Fredriksen-Goldsen, K. (2014). Living arrangement and loneliness among lesbian, gay, and bisexual older adults. The Gerontologist, 56(3), 548–558. doi:10.1093/geront/gnu083
  • Kneale, D. (2016). Connected communities? LGB older people and their risk of exclusion from decent housing and neighbourhoods. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 17(2), 107–118. Crossref doi:10.1108/QAOA-04-2015-0019
  • Lambert, V. A., & Lambert, C. E. (2012). Qualitative descriptive research: An acceptable design. Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research, 16(4), 255–256.
  • Li, M. J., Hubach, R. D., & Dodge, B. (2015). Social milieu and mediators of loneliness among gay and bisexual men in rural Indiana. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health, 19(4), 331–346. doi:10.1080/19309705.2015.1033798
  • Machtei Samov, I. C., & Yishai, Y. (2018). Fragmented citizenship in a religious-national democracy: Homosexuals in Israel. Citizenship Studies, 22(1), 70–85. doi:10.1080/13621025.2017.1414154
  • Mark, K. P., Garcia, J. R., & Fisher, H. E. (2015). Perceived emotional and sexual satisfaction across sexual relationship contexts: Gender and sexual orientation differences and similarities. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 24(2), 120–130. doi:10.3138/cjhs.242-A8
  • Meanley, S. P., Stall, R. D., Hawk, M. E., Surkan, P. J., Shoptaw, S. J., Matthews, D. D., … Plankey, M. W. (2020). Multifactorial discrimination, discrimination salience, and prevalent experiences of internalized homophobia in middle-aged and older MSM. Aging and Mental Health, 24(7), 1167–1174. doi:10.1080/13607863.2019.1594161
  • Mearns, G. W. (2020). Queer geographies of spatial media. Geography Compass, 14(3), e12481. doi:10.1111/gec3.12481
  • Mehta, C. M., Arnett, J. J., Palmer, C. G., & Nelson, L. J. (2020). Established adulthood: A new conception of ages 30 to 45. American Psychologist, 75(4), 431–444. doi:10.1037/amp0000600
  • Mereish, E. H., & Poteat, V. (2015). A relational model of sexual minority mental and physical health: The negative effects of shame on relationships, loneliness, and health. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(3), 425–437. doi:10.1037/cou0000088
  • Meyer, I. H. (2013). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 1(S), 3–26. doi:10.1037/2329-0382.1.S.3
  • Meyer, I. H., & Dean, L. (1998). Internalized homophobia, intimacy, and sexual behavior among gay and bisexual men. Psychological Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Issues, 4, 160–186.
  • Miller, B. (2015). “Dude, where’s your face?” Self-Presentation, self-description, and partner preferences on a social networking application for men who have sex with men: A content analysis. Sexuality & Culture, 19(4), 637–658. doi:10.1007/s12119-015-9283-4
  • Morris, S., McLaren, S., McLachlan, A. J., & Jenkins, M. (2015). Sense of belonging to specific communities and depressive symptoms among Australian gay men. Journal of Homosexuality, 62(6), 804–820. doi:10.1080/00918369.2014.999491
  • National Insurance Institute (2021) The average salary. Retrieved July 2021 from https://www.btl.gov.il/Mediniyut/GeneralData/Pages/%D7%A9%D7%9B%D7%A8%20%D7%9E%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%A2.aspx
  • Offer, S., & Bear, L. (2020). Testing the social exclusivity of marriage thesis in the context of high familism: Do social involvement and support vary by marital status in Israel? Families, Relationships and Societies, 9(3), 469–486. doi:10.1332/204674319X15647594167478
  • Patten, A. (2020). The idea of Israel as a Jewish state. Theoretical Inquiries in Law, 21(2), 531–559. doi:10.1515/til-2020-0023
  • Pereira, H., De Vries, B., Esgalhado, G., & Serrano, J. P. (2021). Loneliness perceptions in older Portuguese gay and bisexual men. Journal of Homosexuality, 69(6), 985–1003. Advance online publication https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2021.1901504
  • Plöderl, M., & Tremblay, P. (2015). Mental health of sexual minorities. A systematic review. International Review of Psychiatry, 27(5), 367–385. doi:10.3109/09540261.2015.1083949
  • Puckett, J. A., Mereish, E. H., Levitt, H. M., Horne, S. G., & Hayes-Skelton, S. A. (2018). Internalized heterosexism and psychological distress: The moderating effects of decentering. Stigma and Health, 3(1), 9–15. doi:10.1037/sah0000065
  • Rabin, S., Matalon, A., & Maoz, B. (2017). Bdidoot [Solitude]. Tel Aviv, Israel: Hakibutz ha’meuchad.
  • Race, K. (2015). Speculative pragmatism and intimate arrangements: Online hook-up devices in gay life. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 17(4), 496–511. doi:10.1080/13691058.2014.930181
  • Rokach, A. (2014). Loneliness of the marginalized. Open Journal of Depression, 2014, 147–153.
  • Rosenfeld, M. J., & Thomas, R. J. (2012). Searching for a mate: The rise of the internet as a social intermediary. American Sociological Review, 77(4), 523–547. doi:10.1177/0003122412448050
  • Rosenfeld, M. J., Thomas, R. J., & Hausen, S. (2019). Disintermediating your friends: How online dating in the United States displaces other ways of meeting. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(36), 17753–17758. doi:10.1073/pnas.1908630116
  • Salway, T., Ferlatte, O., Gesink, D., & Lachowsky, N. (2020). Prevalence of exposure to sexual orientation change efforts and associated sociodemographic characteristics and psychosocial health outcomes among Canadian sexual minority men. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 65(7), 502–509. Crossref. PubMed doi:10.1177/0706743720902629
  • Sandelowski, M. (2010). What’s in a name? Qualitative description revisited. Research in Nursing & Health, 33(1), 77–84. doi:10.1002/nur.20362
  • Shenkman, G., Ifrah, K., & Shmotkin, D. (2020). Interpersonal vulnerability and its association with depressive symptoms among gay and heterosexual men. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 17(2), 199–208. doi:10.1007/s13178-019-00383-3
  • Shenkman, G., Siboni, O., Tasker, F., & Costa, P. A. (2020). Pathways to fatherhood: Psychological well-being among Israeli gay fathers through surrogacy, gay fathers through previous heterosexual relationships, and heterosexual fathers. Frontiers in Psychology, 91, 1–13.
  • Shilo, G., & Mor, Z. (2015). Seeking sex online: Social and sexual risk factors among adolescent and young gay and bisexual men. Sexual Health, 12(3), 217–223.
  • Shilo, G., Yossef, I., & Savaya, R. (2016). Religious coping strategies and mental health among religious Jewish gay and bisexual men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(6), 1551–1561. doi:10.1007/s10508-015-0567-4
  • Suen, Y. T. (2015). What’s gay about being single? A qualitative study of the lived experiences of older single gay men. Sociological Research Online, 20(3), 1–14. doi:10.5153/sro.3716
  • Taylor, S. H., Hutson, J.A., & Alicea, T. R. (2017). Social consequences of grindr use: Extending the internet-enhanced self-disclosure hypothesis. In Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings, Denver, Colorado, USA (pp. 6645–6657). doi:10.1145/3025453.3025775
  • Todres, L. (2005). In E. B., Holloway (Ed.), Qualitative Research in Health Care(pp. 104–124). Berkshire, UK: Open University Press McGraw-Hill Education.
  • Tsfati, M., & Ben-Ari, A. (2019). Between the social and the personal: Israeli male gay parents, surrogacy and socio-political concepts of parenthood and gender. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 15(1), 42–57‏. doi:10.1080/1550428X.2017.1413475
  • Van Orden, K. A., Witte, T. K., Cukrowicz, K. C., Braithwaite, S. R., Selby, E. A., & Joiner, T. E., Jr. (2010). The interpersonal theory of suicide. Psychological Review, 117(2), 575–600. doi:10.1037/a0018697
  • Walch, S. E., Ngamake, S. T., Bovornusvakool, W., & Walker, S. V. (2016). Discrimination, internalized homophobia, and concealment in sexual minority physical and mental health. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 3(1), 37. doi:10.1037/sgd0000146
  • Watney, S. (1997). Policing desire: Pornography, AIDS and the media (pp. 24). ( Original work published 1987)‏. London: Cassell.
  • Wight, R., Leblanc, A. J., De Vries, B., & Detels, R. (2012). Stress and mental health among midlife and older gay-identified men. American Journal of Publichealth, 102, 503–510. Crossref. PubMed.
  • Zervoulis, K., Smith, D. S., Reed, R., & Dinos, S. (2020). Use of “gay dating apps” and its relationship with individual well-being and sense of community in men who have sex with men. Psychology and Sexuality, 11(1–2), 88–102. doi:10.1080/19419899.2019.1684354

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.