Incorporating Content on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Issues in Leading Social Work Journals

Abstract

Recent social work research indicates a lack of scholarship on gay and lesbian individuals and communities in leading social work journals. This lack of inclusion leaves the broader social work community impoverished in its understanding of the issues affecting gay and lesbian people, thereby limiting possibilities for social work practice, education, and research with these populations. This article extends previous research by examining the inclusion of content on gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GLBTQ) identities. Based on content analysis of publications between 1998 and 2007 in six high-profile social work journals (Child Welfare, Families in Society, Research on Social Work Practice, Social Service Review, Social Work, and Social Work Research), the authors determine the extent to which GLBTQ topics are represented in mainstream social work research, and they assess articles' substantive area of focus, levels of analysis (for example, macro, micro), and population of focus and the demographic characteristics of empirical samples. Overall findings suggest that GLBTQ topics receive minimal attention in mainstream social work scholarship. Implications and the need for future research are discussed.