With the exception of HIV care, informal caregiving of chronically ill lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults has received very limited attention in the extensive caregiving literature. This article reports on research that considered the social context of care and a dyadic caregiving approach for 36 chronically ill LGB adults ages 50 and older and their informal caregivers. In this study, both discrimination and relationship quality were associated with depression among chronically ill LGB adults and their caregivers. Furthermore, preliminary findings suggested that relationship quality moderates the impact of discrimination as a risk factor for depression in chronically ill LGB adults. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for social policy and future research. Given the changing demographics in the United States with the aging of the baby boomers, as well as an increase in chronic illness, fostering better understanding of caregiving across diverse sexualities and families is critical.
Keywordselder; caregiving; depression; social policy; LGB older adultsThe current social and political context in the United States, which includes an ever-growing population of older adults, ongoing discussions about the widespread legalization of samesex marriage and parenting, and differential treatment of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults under the law, combines with longstanding cultural values of individualism and family care of elders to form the backdrop for caregiving in this country. The majority of care for U.S. adults with chronic (long-term) illnesses is provided not in nursing homes or other formal care organizations, but informally at no public cost (Stone, 2000). Families and friends provide 70% to 80% of the informal in-home care for adults with chronic illnesses. An estimated 21% of the U.S. population provides unpaid care to family and friends age 18 or older, which translates into more than 44 million informal caregivers (National Alliance for Family Caregiving & AARP, 2004).Chronic illness can occur at any age, but the incidence of chronic conditions increases in midlife and continues into old age (Barker, Herdt, & DeVries, 2006;Verbrugge, 1989 Chronic illness refers to long-term diseases that have no known cure and are progressive in nature (Royer, 1998). As the population ages, the proportion of people living with chronic illnesses will also increase. By the year 2030, nearly 30% of adults will require assistance and about 20% will have severe limitations with high needs, placing increased demands on informal caregivers (Stone, 2000 (1995) has estimated that about 5 million adults ages 18-64, the majority of whom live in the community, require assistance with day-to-day activities.Informal caregiving is defined as unpaid assistance, provided primarily by family members and friends, that helps ill and disabled adults remain in the community (Fredriksen-Goldsen, 2007a). Policy changes have placed increased responsibility on informal caregivers to provide ongoing assistance ...