Review of the literature on older lesbians: Implications for education, practice, and research

P Averett, C Jenkins�- Journal of Applied Gerontology, 2012 - journals.sagepub.com
P Averett, C Jenkins
Journal of Applied Gerontology, 2012journals.sagepub.com
This article reviews the academic literature from 1997 to 2010 on older lesbians (n= 28) and
provides implications for education, practice, and research. While there is an ongoing lack of
research focused solely on older lesbians, we found a growing interest in this population.
Importantly, there was an increase in empirical studies and, in particular, those using
qualitative methods: 9 articles reported results of interviews with a total of 159 older
lesbians. Overall, the research reviewed here indicates that older lesbians evidence a great�…
This article reviews the academic literature from 1997 to 2010 on older lesbians (n = 28) and provides implications for education, practice, and research. While there is an ongoing lack of research focused solely on older lesbians, we found a growing interest in this population. Importantly, there was an increase in empirical studies and, in particular, those using qualitative methods: 9 articles reported results of interviews with a total of 159 older lesbians. Overall, the research reviewed here indicates that older lesbians evidence a great deal of adaptive capacity to deal with the challenges they face, including societal marginalization and discrimination. There remains a great need for research focused solely on older lesbians, especially studies that are more inclusive in terms of diversity in age, race, and ethnicity.
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