The Intergenerational Family Relationships of Grandparents and GLBQ Grandchildren

'Coming out'/self-disclosure in LGBTQ+ adolescents and youth: International and Indian scenario - A narrative review of published studies in the last decade (2012-2022)

Background

People who identify themselves as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and others (LGBTQ+) go through a process of self-exploration and self-identification during adolescence, and the process resolves when one decides to self-disclosure. The experience of 'Coming Out' (CO) can be positive, leading to acceptance and a feeling of liberation, or it can be harmful, leading to stigma, humiliation, and discrimination, subsequently leading to significant psychological distress.

Aim

This study was to do a narrative review on the studies published in the area/topic of CO in youth in the last decade (2012-2022) and to look for factors that act as barriers and facilitators of CO. Additionally, we have tried to look for differences in CO in LGBTQ+ adolescents and youth in the Western world vis-a-vis Indian/Eastern societies.

Materials and Methods

An extensive literature search in electronic databases, PUBMED, Web of Science, EMBASE, Medline, Scopus, and search engine 'Google Scholar' using specific search terms and assessment of all published articles until 20th May 2023 was done.

Results

Twenty-three studies were found eligible for data extraction, which discussed the problems faced during the CO process. Most of the studies are from developed countries, and only one is from India. Eleven were qualitative studies, 11 were cross-sectional studies, and one was a case study. The qualitative studies focused on generating themes of CO along with various issues/problems faced by the participants. The cross-sectional studies mainly explored parental reactions, stigma, parental support, psychological distress, and perceived stress in the participants. Major themes emerging from the qualitative studies were the experience of prejudice from various strata of society, such as parental, societal, racial, cultural, and religious factors that lead to problems of hiding, internalized homophobia, and anticipatory rejections that put this population under extreme conditions. Limited research is available from Eastern societies. More recently, the new generation of adolescents has taken the help of social media platforms for self-disclosure.

Conclusions

CO is an elaborate multi-step process that considers the presence of parental/family and societal support, cultural/traditional values, and several psychosocial factors that determine the degree of positive outcomes. Emerging data indicated an improved trend of adolescents deciding to come out to families or in online platforms, both of which are associated with challenges, more in eastern collectivistic societies and developing countries.

Free-Form Dance as an Alternative Interaction for Adult Grandchildren and Their Grandparents

Shared leisure activities fulfill a central role in strengthening the relationship with adult grandchildren and provide a vehicle for transmission of values. Thus, it is likely that joint activity alongside support and focused guidance in communication between adult grandchildren and grandparents will help strengthen their relationship. Based on theory and research on dance/movement therapy in old age, and on development processes in the family, the aim of the present study is to discover the significance of free-form dance jointly engaged in by adult grandchildren with their grandparents, for each of the generations. Using action research, 16 dance-movement therapists and their grandmothers participated in three dance meetings in their grandmothers' homes. Based on filmed videos of the sessions, personal diaries, and semi-structured interviews, it was found that among the granddaughters, the meeting aroused concerns about their lack of skill to create a meaningful meeting and to protect their grandmothers throughout the meeting. It was also found that regular free-form dance meetings in which the granddaughter mirrored her grandmother's movements while suggesting expansions to the movements, encouraging eye contact, touch, and playfulness, and empowering her ability, while also granting legitimacy to rest, created a change in the grandmother's state of mind: positive memories and feelings appeared, as did uplifted spirits. For the granddaughters, the meeting altered their perspective on old age and provided a space for processes of parting. The implications of identifying assistive components of joint dancing for creating an intervention model for adult grandchildren's support of the elderly in the community are extensively discussed.

"My meemaw is a Cool Ass Person": Family Members as Role Models of Resilience for Sexual and Gender Diverse People of Color

The families of people of Color and indigenous people (POCI) are often analyzed as hostile institutions for sexual and gender diverse (SGD) adults. Using 58 interviews with SGD POCI from the Strengthening Colors of Pride 2018 Interview Study, we argue that Black and Latinx SGD adults gain resilience from family role models, mostly resilient mothers and othermothers. These resilient family members model three things: 1) how to overcome adversity and trauma, 2) being providers, and 3) emotional strength. This resilient modeling facilitates the adult resilience of SGD POCI who are navigating the complexity of intersections of race, sexuality, gender, poverty, and childhood trauma.

Ambivalence in Gay and Lesbian Family Relationships

Intergenerational ambivalence-the simultaneous presence of both positive and negative dimensions of a parent-child tie-is a concept widely used in family studies. Scholars have clarified the measurement of psychological ambivalence, or an individual's own feelings of ambivalence towards others. Yet research has yet to demonstrate whether-and, if so, how-individuals characterize others as ambivalent. Moreover, relatively little is known about ambivalence in gay and lesbian families. In the present study 60 in-depth interviews were analyzed to identify what the author calls perceived ambivalence in the parent, sibling, extended kin, and "in-law" relationships of gay and lesbian adults. Perceived ambivalence is revealed through gay and lesbian adults' characterizations of family members' simultaneous positive and negative overt and covert beliefs and behavior. In addition, the author refines the concept of collective ambivalence, wherein perceived ambivalence typifies an entire family unit. The findings further revealed the importance of broader sociological factors, such as homophobia, in structuring perceived ambivalence.

Relações entre avós e seus netos adolescentes: uma revisão integrativa

O objetivo do estudo foi analisar a relação entre avós e seus netos adolescentes, e descrever suas diferentes representações no cotidiano de seus netos por meio de revisão integrativa. Realizou-se a busca de artigos e resumos publicados no período de janeiro 2002 a junho de 2012, nas bases de dados LILACS e MEDLINE, por meio dos seguintes descritores: avós, netos adolescentes, relações entre avós e netos. Seguindo as estratégias definidas para o estudo, a busca resultou em seis artigos na íntegra. Foram incluídos dois artigos da base de dados LILACS e quatro da MEDLINE. Concluiu-se que as relações entre avós e netos adolescentes se diferenciaram de acordo com a proximidade entre os sujeitos, sendo esta derivada de diversos fatores, como corresidência, trabalho e estado civil dos netos, opções sexuais GLBT, origem e doenças crônicas dos avós. Pesquisas futuras que estudem essa temática são importantes para contribuir com um melhor entendimento da relação entre avós e seus netos na perspectiva de ambos os sujeitos.