Father-child attachment in adoptive gay father families

McConnachie, Anja; Ayed, Nadia; Jadva, Vasanti; Lamb, Michael E.; Tasker, Fiona; Golombok, Susan

doi:10.1080/14616734.2019.1589067

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Children also did not differ as a function of family type (lesbian, gay, or heterosexual parents) in their reports of parentchild relationship quality when they were in middle childhood (W2); children generally described high-quality relationships with their adoptive parents. Our finding aligns with the broader literature on child outcomes, parenting, and family relationships among LG parent families indicating healthy and close parent-child relationships with no differences as compared to heterosexual parent families, further underscoring the greater significance of family processes over family structure to individual and family adjustment (Erich et al, 2009b;Golombok et al, 2014Golombok et al, , 2018Carone et al, 2018;McConnachie et al, 2019). Previous studies, however, have generally assessed parent-child relationships from parents' perspectives or via video-recorded observations of parent-child interaction (with the exception of McConnachie et al's interview-based study with children in middle childhood-average age of 11 years).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…There is overwhelming consensus in the scholarly literature that children in LG parent families (including those formed through adoption) are well-adjusted and show high-quality parent-child relationships (Erich et al, 2009a,b;Patterson, 2017;Calzo et al, 2019;McConnachie et al, 2019). Indeed, few differences in outcomes have been uncovered in comparing children in LG parent families versus those in heterosexual parent families (Bos et al, 2016;Farr, 2017;Patterson, 2017;Calzo et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stigma Experiences, Mental Health, Perceived Parenting Competence, and Parent–Child Relationships Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents in the United States

Farr

Vázquez

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Adoptive parents often face stigma related to "non-traditional" family structures. Lesbian and gay (LG) adoptive parents often face additional stigmatization based on sexual identity, which in turn may negatively affect parents' mental health. Despite controversy about LG parenting, research demonstrates that family processes are more strongly associated with individual outcomes than family structure. Thus, family systems and minority stress theories provided our conceptual foundation in examining how adoptive LG parents' stigma experiences were associated with mental health, parenting competence, and parent-child relationships. Participating families (N = 106; n = 56 LG parent families) were originally recruited from five US domestic private infant adoption agencies and completed two waves of data collection (W1, W2; 91% retention) when children were preschool-age (M age = 3.01 years) and school-age (M age = 8.36 years), respectively. Data for the current study are largely drawn from W2. Via Qualtrics, parents completed assessments of mental health symptoms, adoption stigma, and perceived childcare competence. LG parents also reported on their experiences of homonegative microaggressions, and children responded to a measure about their relationships with parents. No significant differences emerged as a function of parental sexual orientation and gender except that lesbian mothers, heterosexual mothers, and gay fathers all reported higher parenting competence than heterosexual fathers. Although parents' mental health did not significantly predict parent-child relationship quality, parents' perceived competence and LG parents' current homonegative microaggression experiences did (e.g., greater competence, greater closeness; more microaggressions, lower closeness). Consistent with our conceptual framework, our results-derived from parent and child reports-demonstrate that although adoptive and LG parent families experience stigma, family processes (rather than structure) are most associated with individual outcomes. Researchers, policy makers, and practitioners should work together to employ identity-affirming practices to reduce stigma and support adoptive family functioning and well-being.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stigma Experiences, Mental Health, Perceived Parenting Competence, and Parent–Child Relationships Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents in the United States

Farr

Vázquez

2020

Front. Psychol.

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“…A recent meta‐analysis of 10 studies examining effects on children revealed that children of gay fathers had better outcomes than children of heterosexual parents, although the authors noted that the differences may have been attributed to gay fathers having higher socioeconomic status (Miller, Kors, & Macfie, ). Studies that have been published since this meta‐analysis have similarly found that gay fathers display attachment patterns with children that are comparable to or more secure than patterns of attachment between heterosexual fathers and children (McConnachie et al, ; for a review, see also Parke, ).…”

Section: Significant Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 89%

The Evolution of Fathering Research in the 21st Century: Persistent Challenges, New Directions

Schoppe‐Sullivan

Fagan

2020

J of Marriage and Family

218

157

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Since the last decade review of the fathering literature in 2000, scholars across numerous disciplines such as demography, family studies, medicine, nursing, law, psychology, social work, and sociology have continued to produce a steady stream of work on fathering and father–child relationships. This literature is reviewed selectively with a focus on key developments, persistent challenges, and critical directions for future research. Significant developments include greater availability of large and nationally representative datasets to study fathers; expansion and evaluation of U.S. federal policy regarding fathers; thoughtful consideration of conceptualization and measurement of fathers' parenting; growth in research on coparenting, maternal gatekeeping, and fathering; increased attention to issues of diversity in fathering; and awareness of the effects of fathering on men's development. Persistent challenges and critical new directions in fathering research include full and routine inclusion of fathers in research on parenting, improved assessment and appropriate data analysis, adherence to evidence‐based portrayals of fathers' roles in children's development, generation and use of scientific evidence to guide policy‐making, and sustained attention to diversity and fatherhood. These should be priority areas of focus as fathering research proceeds into the next decades of the 21st century.

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“…In terms of parent-child relationship quality, gay fathers showed greater responsiveness to their child than heterosexual parents in an observational assessment of parent-child interaction (Golombok et al 2014). When the same children were in early adolescence, those with gay fathers showed higher levels of secure-autonomous attachment and lower levels of disorganized attachment than children in heterosexual parent families (McConnachie et al 2020b). Although no differences were found between groups in child adjustment, rates of problems were high, resulting from these children's experiences of maltreatment prior to adoption (McConnachie et al 2020a).…”

Section: Gay Fathersmentioning

confidence: 95%

Impact of New Family Forms on Parenting and Child Development

Imrie

Golombok

2020

Annu. Rev. Dev. Psychol.

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The structure of families has changed significantly over the last 40 years due to changes in legislation, technology, and societal attitudes. This article examines parenting and child development in new family forms, i.e., family forms that did not exist or were not visible until the latter part of the twentieth century. First, we give an overview of the historical and current context of new family forms. Then, we discuss parenting and child development in six new family types: families with lesbian mothers, families with gay fathers, intentional single-mother families, donor conception families, surrogacy families, and families with trans parents. Next, we discuss how research on the impact of new family forms on parenting and child development can inform our understanding of the relative influence of family processes and family structure on child development and parenting. We conclude with directions for future research. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, Volume 2 is December 15, 2020. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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Father-child attachment in adoptive gay father families

Abstract: We gratefully acknowledge the children and parents who participated in the study. We would also like to thank Catherine Jones for her help in coding FFIs.

Cited by 23 publications

References 38 publications

Stigma Experiences, Mental Health, Perceived Parenting Competence, and Parent–Child Relationships Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents in the United States

Stigma Experiences, Mental Health, Perceived Parenting Competence, and Parent–Child Relationships Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents in the United States

The Evolution of Fathering Research in the 21st Century: Persistent Challenges, New Directions

Impact of New Family Forms on Parenting and Child Development

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