TURNING POINTS IN THE LIVES OF LESBIAN AND GAY ADULTS AGE 50 AND OVER.

Little is known about how lesbians and gay men perceive the turning points that define their life trajectories. This study uses qualitative interview data to understand which experiences lesbian women and gay men age 50 and older identify as turning points and explore gender differences. In depth, face-to-face qualitative interviews were conducted with a subset of participants (n=33) from the Caring and Aging with Pride survey. The most common turning points identified were relationship and occupation related. Lesbians more frequently identified the break-up of a relationship and occupational and educational related experiences as turning points. Gay men more commonly indicated that the beginning of a relationship and HIV/AIDS related experiences were turning points. The turning points were analyzed according to principles of the life course theory and narrative analysis.