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Introduction
Building Capacity in Gerontological Social Work for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Older Adults and Their Loved Ones
NOELL L. ROWAN
School of Social Work, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
NANCY GIUNTA
Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, The City University of New York, New York, New York, USA
We express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Amanda Barusch, former Editor-in-Chief, and Dr. Carmen Morano, Managing Editor, for their dedication and support of this special issue in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work (JGSW) on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults and aging. We are also immensely grateful to peer reviewers who contributed their time to review manuscripts; there was an enormous response to the call for papers for this issue. We are, therefore, pleased and grateful to the Editorial Board for their support in offering this triple issue focusing on LGBT aging. The volume of manuscripts received and accepted speaks to the quality of scholarship underway in the field of LGBT aging and to the timeliness of this publication as LGBT issues are gaining traction both in mainstream media and academic literature.
This issue sheds light on an often hidden and marginalized subset of aging persons. The contributing authors are considered experts in the field of LGBT aging, and provide a compelling argument for why the field of gerontological social work should actively include issues of LGBT aging in aging research, policy, education, and practice. We encourage readers to review each of the articles in this special issue in an effort to grasp the potential for the profession of social work to provide leadership with the LGBT aging population in all of these arenas, as well as in program development.
There is a swiftly growing literature on, and interest in LGBT people in the field of gerontology. The discipline of gerontological social work offers an excellent arena for building knowledge on how to support LGBT older adults as they experience the intersecting challenges of aging within a marginalized community.
The myriad research areas in the literature mirror the broad diversity in the aging LGBT population. Some pertinent areas of concern include human rights and policy; issues related to ageism, heterosexism, and gender identity; relations with families and relationships; social support networks; issues related to racial and multicultural identity; and health and mental health disparities. The changing policy arena, which includes, but is not limited to, state policies recognizing marital rights to same-sex couples, is one contextual factor that exemplifies the growing need to examine how LGBT older adults experience aging. Indeed, federal support of research and training to support LGBT elders has increased in the last decade through a variety of funding streams. The aim of this special issue is to provide an array of scholarly literature on LGBT aging in an effort to raise awareness of pertinent issues facing this population. The particular focus is to build capacity in the discipline of social work so that gerontological social work scholars and practitioners have a voice in the multidisciplinary dialogue.
This special issue serves a particular niche for JGSW readers, as it emphasizes the role of social work practice and research related to LGBT aging. This is the first social work journal to spotlight this issue. One advantage of highlighting LGBT aging within a gerontological social work perspective is the incorporation of cultural competence, strengths, and resilience of the population in the development of knowledge in this field. To ensure that there is a consistent social work theme throughout the special issue, all authors were encouraged to discuss implications and future directions for social work practice, research, or policy.
In the first article, Fredriksen-Goldsen, Hoy-Ellis, Goldsen, Emlet, and Hooyman (2014) aptly set the stage by proposing key competencies developed from results of the groundbreaking Caring and Aging with Pride study. The 10 competencies, as the authors posit, serve as a “blueprint for action” for social work scholars and practitioners to better meet the needs of our elders in LGBT communities. Brown and Grossman (2014) use data from the National Social Life Health and Aging Project to offer specific strategies, such as collecting sexual orientation data, to carry out more competent knowledge-building. Van Sluytman and Torres (2014) underscore that despite distinct cultural needs of sexual minorities of color, this population remains underrepresented in the LGBT aging literature. We move from building groundwork and a course of action to an examination of two populations through the construct of time. First, Fabbre (2014) offers a conceptual analysis of the notion of time with older transgendered persons; this is followed by Rowan and Butler’s (2014) exploration of coping and resilience over time among older lesbians with alcoholism. After these two articles present inquiry through a temporal framework, we present a series of articles related to social networks and social support. Gabrielson and Holston (2014) carry the theme of building research capacity by presenting data for how the Lubben Social Network Scale may be refined to capture how families and social support networks are conceptualized in a sample of older lesbians. Ramirez-Valles, Dirkes, and Barrett (2014) present evidence that both instrumental and emotional social support from social networks is related to more positively perceived health and mental health among older gay men. In an examination of older adults’ decisions to reside in LGBT senior housing, Sullivan (2014) discovered that residents enjoyed an increase in social network and emotional support, and identified acceptance as a driving construct to age-in-place in communities where elders feel safe being themselves.
There is a growing literature on caregiving and bereavement among LGBT elders. Muraco and Fredriksen-Goldsen (2014) contribute to this growth with their study of caregiver and care recipient experiences within the context of different types of relationships (i.e., committed partners or friends). We learn that relationship context may shape the narrative and perceived experiences of both caregivers and recipients in their “best” and “worst” times. Jenkins, Edmundson, Averett, and Yoon (2014) report on themes that reveal the unique needs of bereaved lesbians when a partner dies, and Fenge (2014) expands the view of same-sex bereavement among lesbian and gay elders in the United Kingdom. Fenge identifies this as an overlooked area of social work practice and education, thus supporting the argument for educating practitioners to deliver more culturally competent services. Portz and colleagues (2014) document such service delivery gaps in health and social service organizations and argue that social workers could play a key role in developing more culturally competent organizations. Moone, Cagle, Croghan, and Smith (2014) examine existing cultural competence trainings and preferences expressed by service providers who may participate in such trainings. Leyva, Breshears, and Ringstad (2014) investigated the efficacy of one such training, which resulted in promising outcomes such as increased knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes regarding LGBT elders.
The implications for practice and research are discussed by authors throughout the issue. Three articles, however, focus predominantly on such implications. Averett, Robinson, Jenkins, and Yoon (2014) offer common challenges of conducting research in lesbian and gay communities and strategies for addressing them. Erdley, Anklam, and Reardon (2014) discuss the role of social workers and their use of the strengths perspective as critical to building capacity for cultural competence in health care settings. Finally, Siverskog (2014) emphasizes through qualitative research findings the need for social work practitioners working with older transgendered adults to understand that each individual is unique and brings their own lived experiences within a historical legal and social context.
In the Brief Report, Meyer and Johnston (2014) describe the work of the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging (NRC), originally funded by the US Administration on Aging (now the Administration on Community Living, which continues to support some of the NRC programming). The NRC should be lauded for its work with a broad range of national partners, its extensive collection of online resources and large network of trainers conducting cultural competence trainings in communities throughout the United States. The film review by Debra Sheets (2014) exemplifies the use of a strengths-based perspective in working with trans elders through Transgender Tuesdays. This film could eloquently serve as an educational resource.
It is our intent that this special issue lays the groundwork to build capacity for continued scholarship on LGBT aging in social work as well as other disciplines. The need for multidisciplinary, interprofessional work is critical to ensure our LGBT elders are visible in practice, research, policy, and educational arenas. We hope you enjoy reading this special issue as much as we have enjoyed editing it.
REFERENCES
Averett, P., Robinson, A., Jenkins, C., & Yoon, I. (2014). “I want to know more about who we are”: New directions for research with older lesbians. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57, 349–361. doi:10.1080/01634372.2013.860651
Brown, M. T., & Grossman, B. R. (2014). Same-sex sexual relationships in the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project: Making a case for data collection. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57, 108–129. doi:10.1080/01634372.2013.865695
Erdley, S. D., Anklam, D. D., & Reardon, C. C. (2014). Breaking barriers and building bridges: Understanding the pervasive needs of older LGBT adults and the value of social work in health care. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57, 362–385. doi:10.1080/01634372.2013.871381
Fabbre, V. D. (2014). Gender transitions in later life: The significance of time in queer aging. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57, 161–175. doi:10.1080/01634372.2013.855287
Fenge, L. (2014). Developing understanding of same-sex partner bereavement for older lesbian and gay people: Implications for social work practice. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57, 288–304. doi:10.1080/01634372.2013.825360
Fredriksen-Goldsen, K. I., Hoy-Ellis, C. P., Goldsen, J., Emlet, C. A., & Hooyman, N. R. (2014). Creating a vision for the future: Key competencies and strategies for culturally competent practice with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults in the health and human services. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57, 80–107. doi:10.1080/01634372.2014.890690
Gabrielson, M. L., & Holston, E. C. (2014). Broadening definitions of family for older lesbians: Modifying the Lubben Social Network Scale. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57, 198–217. doi:10.1080/01634372.2013.879683
Jenkins, C. L., Edmundson, A., Averett, P., & Yoon, I. (2014). Older lesbians and bereavement: Experiencing the loss of a partner. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57, 273–287. doi:10.1080/01634372.2013.850583
Leyva, V. L., Breshears, E. M., & Ringstad, R. (2014). Assessing the efficacy of LGBT cultural competency training for aging services providers in California’s Central Valley. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57, 335–348. doi:10.1080/01634372.2013.872215
Meyer, H., & Johnston, T. R. (2014). The National Resource Center on LGBT Aging provides critical training to aging service providers. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57, 407–412. doi:10.1080/01634372.2014.901997
Moone, R. P., Cagle, J. G., Croghan, C. F., & Smith, J. (2014). Working with LGBT older adults: An assessment of employee training practices, needs, and preferences of senior service organizations in Minnesota. Journal of Gerontological Social W...
