Although largely invisible, the number of sexual minorities in the United States over the age of 50 is also rising rapidly and projected to exceed 6 million by 2030 ( Fredriksen-Goldsen & Muraco, 2010 Jackson, Johnson, & Roberts, 2008). The population of older adults is rapidly increasing in the United States and around the world. Further, age discrimination reduces older adult’s access to resources they need to age actively (e.g., appropriate health care, proper housing Swift, Abrams, Lamont, & Drury, 2017). Internalization of ageism has been linked with poorer physical health and earlier mortality ( Levy, Slade, Kunkel, & Kasl, 2002) and greater risk for cardiovascular events ( Levy, Zonderman, Slade, & Ferrucci, 2009). These stereotypes contribute to discrimination against and abuse toward older adults in the home, workplace, and medical settings ( Abrams, Swift, & Drury 2016 Chrisler, Barney, & Palatino, 2016 Levy & Macdonald, 2016 Pillemer, Burnes, Riffin, & Lachs, 2016).
Older adults are stereotyped as having a mix of both positive (e.g., wise) and negative (e.g., grumpy) attributes however, recent research suggests such stereotypes are increasingly negative ( Ng, Allore, Trentalange, Monin, & Levy, 2015). Unfortunately, ageism (stereotyping of and discrimination toward older adults) is a pervasive and serious social problem ( Butler, 1969 Levy, 2016). Health professionals and community groups that work with older adults should address how gender, sexual orientation, and discrimination can influence one’s psychological health.īy the year 2030, 72 million Americans will be over the age of 65 and account for 20% of the U.S. Although experiencing sexual orientation discrimination buffered age discrimination’s impact on aging concerns, experiencing age and sexual orientation discrimination had a multiplicative effect on anxiety and depression. In a sample of heterosexual, lesbian, gay, and bisexual older adults, aging perceptions and concerns varied depending on gender, sexual orientation, and perceived discrimination.