Episode 944: Dr. Lance Peterson and Dr. Angela Baerwolf, Insightful New LGB Research

My friends Dr. Lance Peterson and Dr. Angela Baerwolf join us to talk about their new research called “Acceptance Journeys of LDS Families of their LGB Child: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis”. Their article is published in the “Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Servies” (see show notes).

Lance and Angela talk about how their team (which includes Sarah Chan Peterson and Katelyn Opperman) conducted qualitative research from ten of the brave stories shared on our podcast and using those stories to create four key themes of parents acceptance and love for their LGB child.

In the podcast, they discuss the methodology (super fascinating), research, and their finding around these four themes:

Self-education and internal growth
Creating support and finding community
Encouraging and Supporting Spirituality
Sacred Advocacy and Spiritual Work

I learn so much from their research. If are a parent, ally, or friend to an LGB person, I encourage you to listen to their podcast and check out their research. It will help you and empower you to better support the good LGB/Queer people in your life—and also give you ideas on how to be a “pioneer” to help others.

Thank you, Lance, Angela, Sara, and Kate, for your much needed work. You give me hope. I encourage everyone to check out this episode and their research.

Links:

Research link (behind a paywall): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10443894261471608

Social Work Collaboration on Religion, Sexuality and Gender: https://sites.google.com/view/socialworkcollaborative/home

Lance Peterson’s e-mail: pete2703@stthomas.edu

Lance’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lance-peterson-phd-licsw-b5a147b

Angela’s email: baerwola@uwgb.edu

Angela’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelabaerwolf/

Angela’s article based on her dissertation: LGBTQ+ youth experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic as observed through gender-sexuality alliance advisors