Children of Gay and Lesbian Parents

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to review research literature concerning children of gay and lesbian parents. The review includcs 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. The author's study found that adult-aged daughters of lesbian mothers did not significantly differ from adult daughters of heterosexual mothers on gender identity, gender role, sexual orientation, and social adjustment. Clinical and legal implications were drawn, and suggestions for future research were made.

Navigating Treacherous Waters—One Researcher's 40 Years of Experience with Controversial Scientific Research,

“…20-24). While Fedewa, et al . stated that "The literature on gay fathers independent of When a formal meta-analysis was performed on data from several studies that had provided rates for children from both heterosexual and same-sex parent families (Gottman, 1989;Huggins, 1989;Javaid, 1993;Sirota, 1997;Kunin, 1998;Canning, 2005;Murray & McClintock, 2005;Rivers, Poteat, & Noret, 2008 ;Schumm, 2008 ;Regnerus, 2012a, b;Swank, Woodford, & Lim, 2013 ), an overall odds ratio of 3.12 (95% CI = 2.53 to 3.83, p < .001) was obtained, suggesting that the odds that children from same-sex parent families would grow up to identify as LGB or to engage in same-sex sexual behavior were three times greater than for children of heterosexual parents.…”

Technical Report: Coparent or Second-Parent Adoption by Same-Sex Parents

“…[17][18][19] Similar proportions of young adults who had homosexual parents and those who had heterosexual parents have reported feelings of attraction toward someone of the same sex. 20 Compared with young adults who had heterosexual mothers, men and women who had lesbian mothers were slightly more likely to consider the possibility of having a same-sex partner, and more of them had been involved in at least a brief relationship with someone of the same sex, 10 but in each group similar proportions of adult men and women identified themselves as homosexual.…”

The Effects of Marriage, Civil Union, and Domestic Partnership Laws on the Health and Well-being of Children

“…No differences have been found in the toy, game, activity, dress, or friendship preferences of boys or girls who had lesbian mothers, compared with those who had heterosexual mothers. 31,34,[50][51][52] Compared with young adults who had heterosexual mothers, men and women who had lesbian mothers were slightly more likely to consider the possibility of having a same-gender partner, 36 but in each group similar proportions of adult men and women identified themselves as homosexual. Another study reports no significant differences in gender development for either boys or girls according to the mother's sexual orientation.…”