LGBT older adults, chosen family, and caregiving

In the United States, informal elder care is principally the responsibility of younger relatives. Adult children perform the majority of elder care and non-relatives perform only 14 percent of care. Caregiving in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, or LGBT, community follows a very different pattern that reflects the importance of “chosen family” in the lives of LGBT older adults. Instead of relying on relatives, LGBT older adults largely care for each other. Relatives provide only 11 percent of all elder care. This article explores the high level of caregiving by non-relatives in the LGBT community. It asks what motivates friends, neighbors, and community members to provide care for someone whom the law considers a legal stranger. It also asks what steps policy makers can take to facilitate and encourage this type of caregiving. Finally, it asks what lessons can be learned from LGBT older adults about the nature of both caregiving and community. As the aging population becomes more diverse, aging policies will have to become more inclusive to address the differing needs of various communities, including LGBT older adults. The potential lessons learned from the pattern of elder care in the LGBT community, however, extend far beyond a simple commitment to diversity.

本文探讨了LGBT社区老年人护理的特点，尤其是非亲属（如朋友、邻居和社区成员）提供护理的动机是什么。研究关注这些非亲属如何自愿照顾法律上视为“陌生人”的个体，以及政策制定者应如何采取措施鼓励和促进这种护理模式。同时，本文还探讨了从LGBT老年人的护理经验中可以学到的关于护理和社区的启示。

本文通过描述LGBT老年人的现状，分析了历史和人口因素如何促成了“选择性家庭”这一现象。作者详细探讨了LGBT老年人护理的非正式模式，尤其是朋友和伙伴提供护理的比例。文中还分析了在同性恋和性别观念未完全改变的历史背景下，LGBT老年人面临的挑战，以及这种情况如何增加了非正式护理的需求。

本研究发现，美国老年人口的快速增长和多样化使得传统的养老政策面临挑战。LGBT老年人群体的护理模式与其他群体有所不同，主要依赖于“选择性家庭”，即朋友和非亲属提供护理。这一模式受到了历史和人口因素的影响，尤其是预斯通沃尔时期的同性恋与性别观念。随着年轻LGBT人群享有更多的自由和法律保护，他们的老年护理模式将与当前的老年人群体不同。此外，LGBT社区的非亲属护理模式显示，非传统家庭成员在老年护理中扮演着重要角色，未来随着非传统家庭关系的增加，非亲属护理将在更广泛的社会中发挥更大作用。因此，政策制定者应当考虑如何扩大法律对“选择性家庭”的承认，并鼓励社区成员参与老年护理，以应对即将到来的养老缺口。