Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Degree
Spring 2025
Primary Advisor
Mary Corcoran, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Keywords
Older Adults; Transgender Health; Health in Older Population
Abstract
For more than thirty years, extensive research has focused on understanding and supporting healthy aging among older adults in the United States. This research has emphasized the importance of community engagement, access to resources, and interpersonal relationships among the broader older adult population, However, it has largely overlooked how transgender older adults experience aging and how those experiences shape their social participation. Additionally, understanding how intersecting marginalized identities—such as race and transgender identity—affect social participation is essential.
This study employed a qualitative multiple case study design to explore the experiences transgender older adults have while aging and how those experiences are related to social participation. Methodological bricolage and principles of critical realism were applied for data analysis. Findings revealed that transgender older adults have distinct experiences with aging and social participation based on gender and race, with experiences differing among transgender men and transgender women and among Black transgender men and white transgender men. The results of this study suggest that the impact of discrimination, safety, and well-being can either significantly enhance or hinder agency and capacity for social participation among transgender older adults. This work offers a theory of change for engaging transgender older adults in community-based social participation and a testable hypothesis to serve as the basis for future research.
Recommended Citation
Cunin, Tiff, "Unveiling the Dynamics of Intersectional Aging: A Qualitative Exploration of Aging and Social Participation Among Transgender Older Adults" (2025). Doctor of Philosophy in Translational Health Sciences Dissertations. Paper 37.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/smhs_crl_dissertations/37
Open Access
1
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