The Role of Generativity as LGBT Older Adults Navigate Stigma, Historical Trauma, and Identity Management

ABSTRACT

Living longer lives within a shifting historical and social context is a reality for LGBT adults in later life. This study investigates the roles of stigma, historical trauma, and identity management as mechanisms that promote or hinder health, and their relationship to generativity. We utilized fixed effect models to examine these associations analyzing longitudinal data (T0 to T2, N = 2,450) from Aging with Pride: National Health, Aging, and Sexuality/Gender Study. Within-subject increases in identity affirmation predicted increases in quality of life and decreases in physical impairment, although marginalization and historical trauma predicted the reverse. Regression analyses found that generativity was positively associated with identity affirmation and micro-aggressions. Higher generativity was associated with better quality of life and lower physical impairment. We found that sex and age cohort moderate some of these relationships. This study illustrates how agency in the face of adversity can lead to longer lives.

CITATION

Goldsen, K.F., Jung, H., Hoy-Ellis, C.P., Kim, H. (2018). The Role of Generativity as LGBT Older Adults Navigate Stigma, Historical Trauma, and Identity Management. Innovation in Aging, 2(1), pp. 597. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igy023.2217 

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