Children with lesbian parents: A community study.

Abstract

We are extremely grateful to all the mothers who took part in the study, to Pink Parents, to Alice Mills for carrying out the child psychiatric ratings, and to the entire Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children team. We would also like to thank the Wellcome Trust for funding this investigation. AbstractExisting research on children with lesbian parents is limited by reliance on volunteer or convenience samples. The present study examined the quality of parent-child relationships and the socioemotional and gender development of a community sample of 7-year-old children with lesbian parents. Families were recruited through the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a geographic population study of 14,000 mothers and their children. Thirty-nine lesbian-mother families, 74 two-parent heterosexual families, and 60 families headed by single heterosexual mothers were compared on standardized interview and questionnaire measures administered to mothers, co-mothers/fathers, children, and teachers. Findings are in line with those of earlier investigations showing positive mother-child relationships and well-adjusted children.

Parenting and Child Development in Adoptive Families: Does Parental Sexual Orientation Matter?

“…These results represent the first time that teachers' reports of children's behavior have been considered alongside those of parents in a sample of young adopted children with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents. They are consistent with earlier findings that parental sexual orientation is not associated with children's behavioral adjustment (e.g., Golombok et al, 2003). Although effect sizes were small and no significant differences were detected, the direction of effects often favored children with same-sex over other-sex parents.…”

“…The healthy development of children born to lesbian and gay parents has been documented by numerous studies, demonstrating that children of lesbian and gay parents have scored similarly to children born to heterosexual parents on a variety of psychological measures (for a review, see Goldberg, 2009). Children born to lesbian parents have not been found to differ from children born to heterosexual parents in terms of behavior problems (e.g., Flaks, Ficher, Masterpasqua, & Joseph, 1995;Vanfraussen, Ponjaert-Kristoffersen, & Brewaeys, 2002), or gender role behavior and activities (e.g., Golombok et al, 2003;Golombok & Tasker, 1996).…”

“…Lesbian and gay parents appear to show parenting styles and have parenting experiences that are similar in many ways to those of heterosexual parents (e.g., Bos, van Balen, & van den Boom, 2004;Golombok et al, 2003). Lesbian and gay parents have also been found to report levels of parenting stress that are similar to those reported by heterosexual parents (e.g., Chan, Raboy, & Patterson, 1998;Golombok et al, 2003). Furthermore, lesbian and gay couples, including those who are coparenting, are as satisfied in their romantic relationships as are their heterosexual counterparts (e.g., Goldberg, 2009).…”

“…It is well-established in the literature that children's development should be considered within the context of parent-child relationships (e.g., Baumrind, 1995;Golombok et al, 2003;Lamb & Lewis, 2005). Socialization practices and co-parenting relationships are related to outcomes for children reared in a variety of family structures (Patterson & Hastings, 2008) and similar findings are expected among children with lesbian and gay parents.…”

“…Socialization practices and co-parenting relationships are related to outcomes for children reared in a variety of family structures (Patterson & Hastings, 2008) and similar findings are expected among children with lesbian and gay parents. Differences in children's adjustment would be expected to the extent that lesbian and gay parents differ from heterosexual parents in their parenting behaviors (Baumrind, 1995;Golombok et al, 2003).…”