“We need it, just like we need air”: Harmonies and tensions in LGBTQ+ intergenerational engagement

Social isolation is a threat to health and well-being in LGBTQ+ communities, particularly with risks of estrangement from families of origin. Given the psychosocial needs for contact with both youth and elders, we endeavored to address this intergenerational gap by developing a protocol for a structured interaction between LGBTQ+ youth and elders. Drawing from narrative frameworks, we developed an intergenerational conversation protocol for sharing personal and cultural-historical stories with the goal of creating opportunities for social connection, identity development, and the expression of generativity. We recruited 20 LGTBQ+ youth (ages 18 – 31), and 20 LGTBQ+ elders (ages 60 – 81) who were placed into dyads for a one-hour conversation over Zoom. Within one week of the conversation, we interviewed each member of the dyad (40 interviews) about their experiences in the conversation. We used reflexive thematic analysis to identify factors that contributed to harmony or tension in the conversation. We identified six themes, some with several subthemes: 1) Establishing Synchronicities, 2) Engaging with Intention, 3) Finding Common Ground, 4) Experiencing Self-expansion, 5) Confronting Stigma, 6) Challenges in Sharing Trauma. Our results speak to the promise of fostering intergenerational connection through a structured storytelling conversation, as well as identifying potential obstacles to such connection.