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Department of Health and Human Services. Findings are presented of a longitudinal study of the sexual orientation of adults who had been raised as children in lesbian families. Twenty-five children of lesbian mothers and a control group of 21 children of heterosexual single mothers were first seen at age 9. Although those from lesbian families were more likely to explore same-sex relationships, particularly if their childhood family environment was characterized by an openness and acceptance of lesbian and gay relationships, the large majority of children who grew up in lesbian families identified as heterosexual.
Children raised in fatherless families from infancy: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38 7 , The aim of the study was to investigate family functioning and the psychological development of children raised in fatherless families from their first year of life. Thirty lesbian mother families and 42 families headed by a single heterosexual mother were compared with 41 two-parent heterosexual families using standardised interview and questionnaire measures of the quality of parenting and the socioemotional development of the child.
The results show that children raised in fatherless families from infancy experienced greater warmth and interaction with their mother, and were more securely attached to her, although they perceived themselves to be less cognitively and physically competent than their peers from father-present families. No differences were identified between families headed by lesbian and single heterosexual mothers, except for greater mother-child interaction in lesbian mother families.
Visit Source Website Gottman, J. Children of gay and lesbian parents. The purpose of this chapter is to review research literature concerning children of gay and lesbian parents. The review includes studies that compared children of lesbian mothers to children of heterosexual mothers on gender identity, gender role, sexual orientation, and varying aspects of psychological health and adjustment. Experiences and perceptions of children of gay fathers are also reviewed. Clinical and legal implications were drawn, and suggestions for future research were made.
Visit Source Website Green, R. Lesbian mothers and their children: Archives of Sexual Behavior , 15 2 , Two types of single-parent households and their effects on children ages years were compared. One type comprised 50 homosexual mothers and their 56 children, and the other was a group of 40 heterosexual mothers and their 48 children. There were 30 daughters and 26 sons of homosexual mothers and 28 daughters and 20 sons of heterosexual mothers.
The sexual identity and social relationships of the children were assessed in relation to the sexual orientation of the mothers. The samples consisted of families from rural and urban areas in 10 American states. All have lived without adult males 18 years or older in the household for a minimum of 2 years average 4. Families with heterosexual mothers were matched to families with homosexual mothers on age and race of mother; length of mother and child separation from father; educational level and income of mother; and number, age, and sex of children.
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No significant differences were found between the two types of households for boys and few significant differences for girls. Concerns that being raised by a homosexual mother might produce sexual identity conflict and peer group stigmatization were not supported by the research findings. Data also revealed more similarities than differences in parenting experiences, marital history, and present living situations of the two groups of mothers. The postulated compromised parental fitness of lesbian mothers, commonly asserted in child custody cases, is not supported by these data.
Visit Source Website Harris, M. Gay and lesbian parents. Journal of Homosexuality, 12 2 , Both sets of parents reported relatively few serious problems and generally positive relationships with their children, with only a minority encouraging sex-typed toys, activities, and playmates. Heterosexual parents made a greater effort to provide an opposite-sex role model for their children, but no other differences in their parenting behaviors were found.
Gay and lesbian parents saw a number of benefits and relatively few problems for their children as a result of their homosexuality, with lesbians perceiving greater benefits than gay men. Conversely, the gay males reported greater satisfaction with their first child, fewer disagreements with their partners over discipline, and a greater tendency to encourage play with sex-typed toys than did the lesbians. Visit Source Website Hoeffer, B. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry , 51 3 , — More striking than any differences were the similarities between the two groups of children on acquisition of sex-role behavior and between the two groups of mothers on encouragement of sex-role behavior.
Visit Source Website Huggins, S. A comparative study of self-esteem of adolescent children of divorced lesbian mothers and divorced heterosexual mothers. Journal of Homosexuality, 18 , Findings of the analysis of the self-esteem scores indicated there was no significant statistical differences in the self-esteem scores between adolescents with divorced lesbian mothers and adolescents with divorced heterosexual mothers. Visit Source Website Kirkpatrick, M. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 51 3 , Gender development of the children was not identifiably different in the two groups.
Case material is used to illustrate the variety and complexity of the issues involved. Visit Source Website Lamb, M. Mothers, fathers, families, and circumstances: Applied Developmental Science, 16 2 , The burgeoning empirical literature exploring the factors accounting for individual differences in psychological adjustment is reviewed. Many studies have shown that adjustment is largely affected by differences in the quality of parenting and parent—child relationships, the quality of the relationships between the parents, and the richness of the economic and social resources available to the family; more recent research signals the importance of congenital differences as well.
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Visit Source Website Lavner, J. Can gay and lesbian parents promote healthy development in high-risk children adopted from foster care? American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 82 4 , Adoption is known to promote cognitive and emotional development in children from foster care, but policy debates remain regarding whether children adopted by gay and lesbian parents can achieve these positive outcomes. This study compared the cognitive development and behavior problems at 2, 12, and 24 months post placement of 82 high-risk children adopted from foster care in heterosexual and gay or lesbian households.
On average, children in both household types showed significant gains in cognitive development and maintained similar levels of behavior problems over time, despite gay and lesbian parents raising children with higher levels of biological and environmental risks prior to adoptive placement. Results demonstrated that high-risk children show similar patterns of development over time in heterosexual and gay and lesbian adoptive households. Visit Source Website Leddy, A. Growing up in a lesbian family: This qualitative study aims to explore the experience of being raised in a lesbian home from the perspective of the daughters and sons of lesbian families.
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Adult offspring of lesbian families participated in an online questionnaire that examined five themes: Findings indicate that offspring of lesbian families value an environment of acceptance and love fostered within their immediate family, as well as a strong sense of community among other lesbian families. Many individuals in this study expressed their belief that heterosexism is ingrained into the politics and social constructs of society as a whole. However, participants also noted their opinion that homophobic discrimination happens in varying degrees based on regional, religious, and cultural differences.
A range of coping mechanisms were employed, including confrontation, secrecy, and seeking outside support. Visit Source Website Lewis, K. Children of lesbians: Their point of view. Social Work, 25 3 , The author interviewed twenty one children-ranging in age from 9 to 26, from eight families-whose mothers were lesbians.
The author suggests areas for further research on lesbian mothers and their children. Visit Source Website Lick, D.
Recalled social experiences and current psychological adjustment among adults reared by gay and lesbian parents. Children of gay and lesbian parents are a diverse group, but existing studies offer limited information about individual differences in their social experiences and subsequent psychological outcomes. In this study, 91 adults reared by gay and lesbian parents responded to measures of recalled social experiences as well as current depressive symptoms, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction.
Participants reported differing social experiences e. Despite such diverse experiences, participants reported no significant differences in long-term psychological adjustment. It could be the case that children of gay and lesbian parents learn to cope with difficult social experiences, leading to positive adjustment overall. Indeed, the current sample perceived their social experiences as becoming significantly more positive over the life course, with less stigma and more benefits related to their family situation during adulthood than during earlier developmental periods.
Future studies of adaptive coping processes and longitudinal changes in social experiences among offspring of gay and lesbian parents are warranted. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45 8 , An increasing number of lesbian women and single heterosexual women are bringing up children with no male involvement.
This study follows up to adolescence a sample of children raised in fatherless families from birth or early infancy. Twenty-five lesbian mother families and 38 families headed by a single heterosexual mother were compared with 38 two-parent heterosexual families. The quality of parenting by the mother, and the social and emotional development of the child, were assessed using standardised interview and questionnaire measures administered to mothers, children and teachers.
Children in fatherless families experienced more interaction with their mother, and perceived her as more available and dependable than their peers from father-present homes. However, there were no group differences in maternal warmth towards the children. Mothers raising their child without a father reported more severe disputes with their child than did mothers in father-present families.
What does the scholarly research say about the well-being of children with gay or lesbian parents?
No major differences in parenting or child development were identified between families headed by lesbian and single heterosexual mothers. However, being without a resident father from infancy does not seem to have negative consequences for children. In addition, there is no evidence that the sexual orientation of the mother influences parent-child interaction or the socioemotional development of the child.
Visit Source Website Miller, J. Journal of Homosexuality, 7 1 , Much research on the lesbian experience has focused on assessing differences between lesbian and heterosexual adults.