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This article provides information on social science research on issues faced in daily living by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) populations. Social science research on LGBT people has a short history, indeed. The first carefully conducted studies specifically focusing on gay men, those of psychologist Evelyn Hooker that were published in the late 1950s, demonstrated the power of traditional, even simple, scientific methods to provoke a paradigm shift in the way sexual orientation is viewed. Hooker's work started a chain of events culminating in the removal of homosexuality from the psychiatric nomenclature in 1973. Some issues faced by LGBT people as they progress through the life span have stimulated studies that have generated important findings. For instance, more work has been done on the relationships LGBT people have with their biological families, but increasingly the families LGBT people create on their own have been the subject of research inquiry. An important contribution of social science research to the HIV epidemic is documenting behavior patterns, psychosocial challenges and sources of resilience of men who have sex with men. Much knowledge has been accumulated on many aspects of LGBT lives, but much remains to be learned.

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Vol. 15 Issue 1/2, Preceding pXXV 4p