Health and Well-being in Queer Older Adults: Overcoming a Lifetime of Stigma
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
As of 2021, 54 million people in the United States are age 65 and over. This number is expected to increase to 85.7 million by 2050, becoming roughly 20% of the overall population. As that number increases, the diversity within that group also increases. This chapter uses the lifespan developmental framework to present the nuances behind the relationships among stigma, well-being, health, age, and cohort in older adult sexual and gender minorities. It provides a nonexhaustive list of sexual and gender identity terms. Sexual identity includes one's orientation, attraction, behavior, and sexual self-perception. The chapter reviews ways in which these older queer communities have not only survived but have also prospered in the face of such adversity. Resilience is something that many gender and sexual minorities experience, against all odds, and the scientific community must continue to probe the reasons why.
DOI
10.1037/0000444-032
Recommended Citation
Bisconti, T. L., Vale, M. T., & Trunko, A. (2026). Health and well-being in queer older adults: Overcoming a lifetime of stigma. In M. E. Lachman, A. (R.) Spiro III, S. T. Charles, & S. D. Neupert, (Eds.), APA handbook of adult development and aging (pp. 621–638). American Psychological Association. Doi: 10.1037/0000444-000
Comments
Chapter in APA handbook of adult development and aging.