Domestic Harm and Neglect Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Older Adults

Abstract

This study examined harm, hurt, and neglect by caregivers as well as self-neglect and physical and mental health status among 113 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) older adults aged 60–88 years, who attended community-based social and recreation programs or groups in the United States. Reporting on their experiences with caregivers, 22.1% of the participants experienced at least one type of harm, including physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, financial, and neglectful; additionally, 25.7% of the participants reported they knew LGB older adults who experienced at least one type of harm from his or her caregiver. With regard to self-neglect, 62.8% reported experiencing it; those indicating positive psychological health reported fewer experiences with self-neglect.

KEYWORDS:

• harm
• abuse
• neglect
• lesbian
• gay
• bisexual
• older adults

Notes

1. Throughout the article, the LGBT acronym is used to describe the LGBT community or specific study samples that included all LGBT subgroups. The LGB acronym is used for samples that included lesbian, gay, and bisexual participants but did not include or specifically identify transgender participants.

2. We decided to use the terms hurt and harm because the term abuse not only has legal implications, but we also found from previous research experiences that recipients of abusive behaviors do not want to see themselves as “victims of abuse” or to see those inflicting those behaviors at “perpetrators of abuse.” Consequently, in those studies there was a tendency to underreport abusive behaviors.

3. We implemented this method of data collection as we were seeking to capture as realistic a picture as possible of LGBT older adults’ experiences of “hurtful” and “harmful” behaviors. Knowing from previous research experiences that participants tend to underreport abusive behaviors, we attempted to learn information about others from those who were willing to participate in the study, mirroring the approach of participant observation used in qualitative research methods. “The approach is close to everyday interaction, involving conversations to discover participants’ interpretations of situations they are involved in” (Becker, 1958, p. 652).