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The Relation Between Social Embeddedness and Loneliness among Older Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults in the Netherlands

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Abstract

Research has shown that aging lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGBs) often experience feelings of loneliness. The main aim of this study was to examine whether older LGB adults in the Netherlands are lonelier than their heterosexual counterparts and, if so, whether the higher levels of loneliness can be attributed to a lower degree of social embeddedness. Using data from the Gay Autumn project and the NESTOR survey on Living Arrangements and Social Networks of Older Adults, we found that LGB elders were significantly lonelier and less socially embedded than heterosexual elders. Compared with their heterosexual peers, older LGBs were more likely to have experienced divorce, to be childless or to have less intensive contact with their children. They also had less intensive contact with other members of their families and they were less frequent churchgoers. Their weaker level of social embeddedness, however, only partially explained the stronger feelings of loneliness among older LGB adults. Nor could their higher levels of loneliness be attributed to other, non-social embeddedness factors (health, living conditions, self-esteem, and socioeconomic status). Emphasis on other aspects of social embeddedness, such as the quality of social relationships in the private domain and minority stress, is an important challenge for future research.

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Notes

  1. In order to keep the group of older LGB adults sufficiently large, missing data on a number of variables were averaged. This was the case for the variables “church visits” (n = 5), “ADL score” (n = 23), “number of years in living situation” (n = 32), “evaluation of living situation” (n = 77), and “self-esteem” (n = 329).

  2. In the Gay Autumn survey, the original answer categories were: (1) no!; (2) no; (3) more or less; (4) yes; and (5) yes!. The first two and last two answer categories were combined.

  3. The original answer categories in the Gay Autumn survey were: (1) totally disagree; (2) disagree; (3) neither agree nor disagree; (4) agree; and (5) totally agree. The first two and last two answer categories have been combined and were given the score 0 (“no”) and 2 (“yes”); the middle category was equated with the middle group in NESTOR/LSN.

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Acknowledgments

The research program “Living Arrangements and Social Networks of Older Adults” was carried out by the Sociology and Social Gerontology Department and the Social Research Methodology Department of the Free University of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), and was partly funded by the Netherlands Program for Research on Aging (NESTOR). The “Gay Autumn” project was initiated by the Schorerstichting (main applicant), COC Netherlands, ANBO, and IMCO (after it had joined forces with NPI: PRIMO nh).

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  1. Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), P.O. Box 11650, The Hague, 2502 AR, The Netherlands

    Tineke Fokkema

  2. Rutgers Nisso Groep, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Lisette Kuyper

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  1. Tineke Fokkema
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Correspondence to Tineke Fokkema.

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Fokkema, T., Kuyper, L. The Relation Between Social Embeddedness and Loneliness among Older Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults in the Netherlands. Arch Sex Behav 38, 264–275 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9252-6

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