ORCID Profile
0000-0002-2247-2119
Current Organisation
Deakin University
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Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 10-08-2017
DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2017.1364347
Abstract: This article examines relationships between experiences of ageism and four specific mental health outcomes among older Australian adults, including whether these relationships vary depending on age, gender, and sexual orientation. A survey was conducted nationwide involving 2137 participants aged 60 years and older. Mental health variables included depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, general stress, and positive mental health or flourishing. Recent experiences of ageism were found to be strongly related to poorer mental health on all four mental health variables. However, experiences of ageism appeared to have a greater effect on the mental health of those who were younger in age (specifically depression), of men more so than women (specifically depression), and of those who identified as heterosexual as opposed to other sexual orientations (specifically general stress). These findings suggest that experiences of ageism may be an important factor in the health and well-being of older adults, especially for those who are younger, male, and heterosexual, and may need to be taken into account when devising strategies for supporting healthier and happier ageing.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 22-04-2019
DOI: 10.1111/HSC.12760
Abstract: The needs of older lesbian and gay people regarding access and use of aged-care services remain underresearched. This paper reports the findings of 33 qualitative interviews with older lesbian women and gay men about their perceptions and experiences of residential aged-care and home-based aged-care services in Australia. The focus of this paper is their preparedness for using aged-care services. The results highlight that participants had a number of concerns related to accessing residential-care services in particular, including perceptions of a lack of inclusivity and concerns of potential for discrimination and hostility, loss of access to community and partners, decreased autonomy and concerns relating to quality of care and the potential for elder abuse. Participants noted a number of strategies they employed in avoiding residential-care services, including the use of home-care services, renovating the home for increased mobility, moving to locations with greater access to outside home-care services, a preference for lesbian/gay-specific housing and residential-care options if available, and the option of voluntary euthanasia to ensure dignity and autonomy. Participants, on the whole, were hopeful that they would never require the use of residential-care services, with some believing that having current good health or the support of friends could prevent this from happening. The findings suggest that older lesbian and gay people have a variety of concerns with aged-care and may need additional support and education to improve their perceptions and experiences of services, whether these are needed presently or in the future.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 18-04-2019
Abstract: This study examined housing security among 679 lesbian women and gay men aged 60 years and older living in Australia. We examined a range of potential demographic and psychosocial predictors of whether participants felt that their housing situation was secure. Overall, most participants (89%) felt that their housing situation was secure. We found that the sense of housing security was greater among those who were younger, had people they felt they could depend on, had better self-rated health, and had fewer experiences of sexual orientation discrimination over the past year. In addition, housing security was greater among those who owned their own home and had no mortgage, compared with those who had a mortgage, were renting, or had some other living arrangement. No other demographic variables were significant predictors of housing security. These results can be useful in targeting groups that may be particularly vulnerable to a lack of housing security.
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2017
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2017
Publisher: Hogrefe Publishing Group
Date: 09-2014
DOI: 10.1027/1614-0001/A000143
Abstract: This research examined in idual differences in how people think about social status via a scale with eight proposed factors. Items designed to measure these factors were administered to an online s le (n = 1,009). A factor analysis revealed eight meaningful factors: rejection of status, high-perceived status, respect for hierarchy, low-perceived status, status display, egalitarianism, belief in hierarchy, and enjoyment of status. The 40 items forming these eight factors were then administered to a new s le of online participants (n = 303) alongside measures of self-esteem, social dominance orientation, competitiveness, assertiveness, social comparison orientation, narcissism, and hypersensitive narcissism. Confirmatory factor analyses from this subsequent study supported the model derived in the first study. A preliminary analysis of the construct validity of this new “Status Consciousness Scale” scale was undertaken by examining the correlations between the factors and other personality variables that were predicted to relate to each factor.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-2013
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-2015
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2017
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 05-01-2019
DOI: 10.1136/SEXTRANS-2018-053705
Abstract: Currently, seven European countries provide HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) through public health services, although there are numerous reports of off-licence use. The objective of this study was to examine current use of PrEP, likelihood of future use and indicators of potential PrEP candidacy among an opportunistic s le of men who have sex with men in Europe and Central Asia. A survey was sent out in eight languages to users of the Hornet gay networking application in July and August 2017. Descriptive statistics present proportions of PrEP use, while factors associated with PrEP use are examined using logistic and linear regressions. Of 12 053 participants whose responses came from 55 European and Central Asian countries, 10 764 (89%) were not living with diagnosed HIV. Among these HIV-negative/untested men, 10.1% (n=1071) were currently taking PrEP or had done so within the previous 3 months. Current or recent PrEP users were significantly more likely to have taken postexposure prophylaxis (adjusted OR (AOR)=16.22 (95% CI 13.53 to 19.45)) or received an STI diagnosis (AOR=4.53 (95% CI 3.77 to 5.44)) in the previous 12 months than those who had not. Most commonly, these men obtained PrEP from a physician (28.1%) or the internet (24.8%), while 33.6% had not disclosed PrEP use to their doctor. Men reporting happiness with their sex life were more likely to have taken PrEP (AOR=1.73 (95% CI 1.59 to 1.89)). Nearly a quarter (21.5%) of those not on PrEP said they were likely to use it in the next 6 months. The majority of men using, or intending to use, PrEP appear to have a risk profile consistent with emerging guidance. A large proportion of these men are accessing PrEP outside of traditional healthcare settings, posing a challenge for routine monitoring.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-05-2022
DOI: 10.1111/AJAG.13076
Abstract: This study examined older lesbian and gay adults' experiences regarding informal caregiving, including challenges and positive aspects of caregiving. Interviews were conducted with 16 lesbian women and gay men in Australia, aged 60+, who were engaged in informal caregiving. Analyses involved a qualitative thematic approach. Most participants were caring for a friend or partner and regarded caregiving as a form of love and did not seek external support despite noting several impacts. Some participants found that they too were beginning to require care. For some, formal care was being considered, but with a degree of reluctance. Older lesbian and gay adult caregivers experience a range of challenges and support needs in relation to their experiences with the caregiving role. This research highlights a need for ensuring that caregiving policies and practices be responsive to the experiences and challenges faced by older lesbian and gay people.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 19-02-2021
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 12-2017
DOI: 10.1037/SGD0000247
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-07-2023
DOI: 10.1007/S11199-023-01405-6
Abstract: Heteronormative dating scripts involve expectations for women and men to enact different behaviours in romantic contexts with one another, such as men paying on dates and making marriage proposals. While previous research has shown that sexism and feminist identity predicts the endorsement of these scripts, there is a lack of research on other potential predictors relevant to women’s personal preferences for partners and relationships. We examined these novel predictors in three online s les of single women in Australia ( N 1 = 112, N 2 = 157, N 3 = 189). Hierarchical regressions and an integrative meta-analysis identified that women’s endorsement of heteronormative dating scripts was predicted by higher benevolent sexism, higher hostile sexism, and lower feminist identity, as well as a greater preference for dominant men as partners and a lower preference for short-term relationships. In addition, path modelling suggested that a greater preference for male partner dominance partially explained the association between women’s benevolent sexism and the endorsement of these scripts. Overall, women’s endorsement of heteronormative dating scripts was more strongly related to their sexist attitudes than their partner or relationship preferences, suggesting that traditional romantic prescriptions are interconnected with gender inequalities, despite the relevance of personal preferences beyond sexism.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 05-08-2020
DOI: 10.1111/HSC.13125
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 16-09-2022
DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2021.1978927
Abstract: Relatively little research has examined ageism among older lesbian and gay adults. In this study, we investigated how ageism, as well as sexuality-related stigma, relate to mental health and well-being in these groups. Six hundred and thirteen lesbian women and gay men aged 60+ in Australia completed a nationwide survey. We investigated how experiences of ageism, concerns about having one's sexual orientation accepted by others (as one broad indicator of sexuality-related stigma), and their interactions, predict psychological distress, positive mental health, and resilience. Among the lesbian women, experiences of ageism predicted greater psychological distress and lower positive mental health, while sexuality acceptance concerns predicted poorer outcomes on all three well-being measures. Among the gay men, experiences of ageism and sexuality acceptance concerns predicted poorer outcomes on all the well-being measures. In addition, the gay men who were higher on sexuality acceptance concerns had higher psychological distress and lower resilience, but only when they also had greater experiences of ageism. Findings suggest that those concerned with the well-being of lesbian and gay people should account for not only the potential impact of sexuality acceptance concerns but also ageism, and how these two factors may interact.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-06-2022
DOI: 10.1080/01634372.2021.1939218
Abstract: Lesbian women and gay men are at greater risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than heterosexual people, however few studies have examined PTSD in older lesbian women and gay men. This study examined predictors of having ever been diagnosed with PTSD, as well as relationships to current quality of life, among 756 lesbian women and gay men aged 60 years and older in Australia. Participants were surveyed on their sociodemographic characteristics, experiences of sexual orientation discrimination over their lifetime, whether they had ever been diagnosed with PTSD, whether they were currently receiving treatment for PTSD, and their current quality of life. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, participants who reported having a PTSD diagnosis (11.2%) had significantly more frequent experiences of discrimination over their lifetime and were significantly less likely to currently be in a relationship. Older lesbian women were significantly more likely than older gay men to report ever having had a PTSD diagnosis. Additionally, having ever been diagnosed with PTSD significantly predicted current poorer quality of life. These findings suggest that a history of PTSD among older lesbian women and gay men is linked to experiences of discrimination and other factors, with associated links to current quality of life.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 13-09-2020
DOI: 10.1111/HSC.12854
Abstract: Informal care-givers play an important role in society, and many of the people who provide this care are lesbian women and gay men. Being a care-giver is known to be associated with poorer health and well-being, and lesbian and gay care-givers report experiences of stigma and discrimination in the care-giving context. This study involved a survey of 230 lesbian women and 503 gay men aged 60 years and over living in Australia, of which 218 were care-givers. We compared care-givers to non-caregivers on a range of health and well-being measures, including psychological distress, positive mental health, physical health and social support. While we found no significant differences between these two groups, we further compared care-givers who were caring for an LGBTI person to those who were caring for a non-LGBTI person. Among the lesbian women, care-givers of an LGBTI person reported feeling less supported in their carer role and reported lower levels of social support more generally. They were also lower on positive mental health and physical health indicators. Among the gay men, care-givers of an LGBTI person also reported feeling less supported in their carer role, but there were no differences in reported levels of social support more generally or health and well-being compared to those caring for a non-LGBTI person. Overall, results from this study suggest that older lesbian and gay care-givers may be facing some challenges related to their well-being and feeling supported, especially if they are caring for another LGBTI person.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 24-10-2020
DOI: 10.1093/BJSW/BCZ122
Abstract: Many older people in trans communities in Australia and elsewhere have experienced long histories of violence and discrimination in the health and social care sectors, making some of them fearful of interacting with contemporary health and social care providers. This study explored older trans women’s perceptions of these services. It involved a qualitative, thematic analysis of semi-structured, one-on-one audio-recorded interviews with ten trans women aged sixty years and older in Australia. Participants expressed a number of concerns about using residential facilities for older people in Australia, including potential for abuse and discrimination as a result of being trans, and not having access to appropriate treatments. Participants indicated a range of alternatives in using services, such as renovating the home, relocating to areas with greater access to trans-inclusive services and potential euthanasia. Participants perceived that service providers were not adequately trained for trans and gender erse needs, and highlighted a number of ways aged care services could better support the trans and gender erse community. The findings provide important information to assist health and social care professionals, including social workers, as well as residential care service providers, in supporting the health and well-being of older trans women.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2013
DOI: 10.1111/AJR.12013
Abstract: Recent efforts to redress the deficit of rural medical practitioners have considered the problem of recruitment and retention of rural doctors as one of influencing in iduals' career choices. Exposure to rural medical environments during basic medical training is one long-standing ex le of an initiative aimed in this direction and there is some evidence that it is effective. This study sought to determine whether or not various domains of personality are related to medical students' attitude to practising as rural doctors after graduation. The s le comprised 914 students commencing medical studies in Australian universities. They were recruited as part of the Medical Schools Outcomes Database project and indicated intended location of future medical practice. Seven Australian basic medical training programs. All students completed the NEO five-factor index (NEO-FFI) and Adjective Checklist (ACL) personality instruments. A preference for a rural practice location was associated with a combination of six domains of personality. The probability of rural preference was greater with higher scores on openness to experience, agreeableness and self-confidence but lower with higher scores on extraversion, autonomy and intraception. Taken together these six domains of personality provide useful although imperfect discrimination between students with a rural versus urban location preference. After controlling for student age the associations with extraversion and agreeableness failed to reach statistical significance. While personality does not fully explain medical students' attitude towards practicing as a rural doctor, the data suggest it is an important factor and that some in iduals may be better suited to a rural medical career than others. Considering personality along with other characteristics of the in idual might allow targeted 'marketing' of rural practice.
No related grants have been discovered for Beatrice Alba.