Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen Examines the Role of Pets for Older LGBT Adults
Posted: 2/6/2018 (CSDE Research)
Affiliate Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen, Professor of Social Work, co-authored a recent article that examines the role pets play for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adults aged 50+. In the article, published in Research on Aging, the authors use a life-course perspective and mixed-methods data to assess how having a pet affects older adults’ perceptions of social support and the size of their social networks, along with the meaning of pets for this population. The authors’ findings indicate that pets provide support to older LGBT adults, who view them as companions and kin. Moreover, older LGBT adults with pets felt that they had more social support than those that did not. The full article is available below.