Hidden grief is complicated
Identity concealment as a minority stressor and relational-cultural barrier among bereaved sexual and gender minoritized elders
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12978673 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Benjamin F Shepherd (0000-0001-7645-9836, Nova Southeastern University, corresponding author), Paula M Brochu (0000-0002-6131-3209, Nova Southeastern University), Ashley M Stripling (0000-0003-0942-7097, Nova Southeastern University) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 596-613 |
| Publication date | 2021-08-19 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychology and Sexuality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1941-9902 • E-ISSN: 1941-9899 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/19419899.2021.1970618 |
| OpenAlex | W3195499936 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 133 |
Sexual and gender minoritized (SGM) elders who have lost or expect to lose a partner or loved one are at elevated risk for experiencing hidden or disenfranchised grief due to historical and current stigmatising social structures that lead to identity concealment. Identity concealment is associated with a range of negative health (e.g. depression, anxiety) and psychosocial (e.g. social isolation, lower sense of belonging) outcomes that may adversely affect one’s ability to cope with and recover from loss, yet little is known about the association between identity concealment and complicated grief. Guided by two empirically supported, complementary frameworks (i.e. minority stress theory and relational-cultural theory), this theoretical review increases understanding and awareness of identity concealment as a risk factor for complicated grief and other poor bereavement outcomes among SGM elders, with special consideration for intersections of gerodiversity. Such knowledge can help health professionals, policymakers, and other agents of change develop culturally responsive interventions that foster social, psychological, and physical well-being among bereaved SGM elders
Anxiety · Attachment theory · Developmental psychology · Disenfranchised grief · Grief · Identity (music · Mental health · Minority stress · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Psychological resilience · Psychosocial · Psychotherapist · Sexual minority · Sexual orientation · Social group · Social identity theory · Stressor · Clinical Psychology · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Social Psychology
Grief and the Limits of Possibility
Clarifying the Association Between Proximal Minority Stress and Relationship Satisfaction Among Partnered Latter-Day Saint Sexual Minoritized Adults
An Intersectional Analysis of Intraminority Stigma Experiences and Community Involvement Among Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Gay Men
The impact of heteropatriarchy and support on grief in sexual minorities
Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Physical and Mental Health of Transgender Older Adults
The Cascading Effects of Marginalization and Pathways of Resilience in Attaining Good Health Among LGBT Older Adults
Associations Between End-of-Life Discussions, Patient Mental Health, Medical Care Near Death, and Caregiver Bereavement Adjustment
Successful Aging Among LGBT Older Adults
Sexual orientation disclosure in health care
Disclosure and concealment of stigmatized identities
The relationship between minority stress and biological outcomes
A relational model of sexual minority mental and physical health
Discrimination in the United States
Need for belonging, relationship satisfaction, loneliness, and life satisfaction
Bereavement and Complicated Grief
Does Social Support Help in Bereavement?
Suicidality and Bereavement
Grief and mourning gone awry
Family and social networks after bereavement: experiences of support, change and isolation
Prevalence of complicated grief in a representative population-based sample
Minority Stress and Physical Health Among Sexual Minorities
Social Relationships and Health
Living the good life
Minority Stressors, Rumination, and Psychological Distress in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals
The Role of Sense of Belonging and Social Support on Stress and Depression in Individuals With Depression
Identity Threats in Everyday Life
Does Concealing a Sexual Minority Identity Prevent Exposure to Prejudice
Health Disparities among LGBT Older Adults and the Role of Nonconscious Bias
A Relational Perspective on Social Support Between Bereaved and Their Networks After Terror
Romantic relationship involvement as a minority stress buffer in gay/lesbian versus bisexual individuals
Gay, gray, black, and blue
Is complicated grief a risk factor for substance use? A comparison of substance-users and normative grievers
Internalized homophobia, mental health, sexual behaviors, and outness of gay/bisexual men from Southwest China
I Feel Almost as Though I’ve Lived This Before”
The effect of psychological distress on health outcomes
Sexual Aging
Barriers to palliative care in sexual and gender minority patients with cancer
Common Therapeutic Factors in Bereavement Groups
Sexual orientation concealment and mental health
Inconcealable
The conditions under which growth-fostering relationships promote resilience and alleviate psychological distress among sexual minorities
Outness, concealment, and authenticity
Multiple minority stress and LGBT community resilience among sexual minority men
Outness amplifies the negative effect of gay related rejection in rural, but not urban sexual minority men
Coming out when a partner dies? Challenges faced by older women who grieve a same-sex partner
Motivations for Sexual Identity Concealment and Their Associations with Mental Health among Bisexual, Pansexual, Queer, and Fluid (Bi+) Individuals
Social Support, Coming Out, and Relationship Satisfaction in Lesbian Couples
Health Equity and Aging of Bisexual Older Adults
Continuing Bonds and Reconstructing Meaning
End-of-Life Communication and Adjustment
Coming out and coming back
Recent Developments in Relational-Cultural Theory
Resilience in Community
Impact of Physical Activity on Psychological Distress
Trajectories of Internalized Heterosexism among Young Men Who have Sex with Men
Country-Level Structural Stigma, School-Based and Adulthood Victimization, and Life Satisfaction Among Sexual Minority Adults
People Like Me Don't Belong Here
Intersecting sexual identities, oppressions, and social justice work
Social support networks among diverse sexual minority populations
The roles of discrimination and social support in the associations between outness and mental health outcomes among sexual minorities
Identity concealment in transgender adults
Hidden costs of hiding stigma
LGB of Color and White Individuals’ Perceptions of Heterosexist Stigma, Internalized Homophobia, and Outness
Identity, Stress, and Resilience in Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals of Color
Minority Stress and Psychological Distress Among Asian American Sexual Minority Persons 1Ψ7
Categorisation and Minoritisation
Issue Introduction
Measuring multiple minority stress
What is social death
Out and healthy
Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations
Impact of active concealment of stigmatized identities on physical and psychological quality of life
Social patterning of stress and coping
The prediction of bereavement outcome
The need to belong
How does sexual minority stigma "get under the skin"? A psychological mediation framework
Aging Out
Aging Out in the Desert
The Potential Impact of Discrimination Fears of Older Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgender Individuals Living in Small- to Moderate-Sized Cities on Long-Term Health Care
Management of a Concealable Stigmatized Identity
Do LGBT Aging Trainings Effectuate Positive Change in Mainstream Elder Service Providers
Concealing Concealment
Minority Stress and Mental Health in Gay Men
We Were in a Partnership That Wasn't Recognized by Anyone Else
Couple-level Minority Stress
Social Relationships and Health
Social Disconnectedness, Perceived Isolation, and Health among Older Adults
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |