Homosexuality in the Family: Lesbian and Gay Spouses

Wyers, Norman L.

doi:10.1093/sw/32.2.143

Cited by 40 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…For example, Wyers (1987) surveyed 32 gay fathers who had children within previous heterosexual relationships to find that around 75% of these children had experienced some peer group problems because their fathers were gay. When fathers were asked to detail what the problems had been, many involved children's concerns over what to tell peers about their fathers, or anxiety about the possibility of being bullied, rather than actual incidents.…”

Section: Peer Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socioemotional Development in Changing Families

Golombok

Tasker

2015

Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science

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Since the latter part of the 20th century, dramatic changes have taken place to the structure of the family such that the traditional nuclear family headed by a heterosexual married couple is now in the minority. This chapter begins with a description of these changes and some of the key factors involved. The consequences of different family contexts for parent–child relationships and children's socioemotional development are then examined. These include single‐parent families, stepparent families, cohabiting parent families, families created through assisted reproductive technologies, and families headed by same‐sex parents. The specific issues and concerns raised by each family type are outlined, followed by a discussion of key empirical findings regarding parenting and child adjustment. The chapter ends by drawing on research relating to children in these different family forms to examine the relative importance of family structure and family processes for children's socioemotional development. The implications for policy and practice, and directions for future research, are also discussed.

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Section: Peer Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socioemotional Development in Changing Families

Golombok

Tasker

2015

Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science

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“…Many individuals who enter mixed-orientation marriages experienced same-sex attractions prior to marrying (Stein 1997), and some continue to experience such attractions while married (Bozett 1982;Higgins 2002;Pearcey 2005;Wyers 1987). This pattern holds in terms of behavior, too.…”

Section: Same-sex Sexuality Different-sex Marriage and The Risk Of mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Humphreys ' (1970) classic ethnography of anonymous public sex among men, 54% of the men observed were in different-sex marriages. To be sure, few people identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual before entering into a different-sex marriage; however, some do develop such an identity while married to a different-sex spouse (Bozett 1982;Wyers 1987).…”

Section: Same-sex Sexuality Different-sex Marriage and The Risk Of mentioning

confidence: 99%

Same-Sex Sexuality and the Duration of First Different-Sex Marriages

Hoy¹,

London²

2017

Population Review

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Recent research has focused on the once-married and associations between various aspects of same-sex sexuality (i.e., desire/attraction, behavior and identity) and divorce from a different-sex spouse. In this paper, we theorize that same-sex sexuality could be associated with either shorter or longer marital duration, and we use data from the 2011-2013 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to examine the associations between three aspects of same-sex sexuality and marital duration among those who married and divorced once (N=617). Among the once-married/divorced, same-sex sexuality substantially reduces marital duration by approximately 18-24 months, on average, net of other variables. Supplemental analyses indicate that these associations do not differ by sex/gender but do differ in nuanced ways for individuals who are bisexually attracted (identified) compared to those who report, respectively, same-sex only or different-sex only attraction (heterosexual, bisexual and lesbian/gay identity). Between-group differences in age at marriage exert a substantial influence on the associations between same-sex sexuality and marital duration documented in the supplemental analyses of bisexuality. We discuss our findings in relation to the extant literature, the limitations of available data, and directions for future research.

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“…One of the most common reasons which therapists put forward for their concentration on heterosexual clients is that homosexual clients are not referred to them, implying that this section of the population is not in need of couple or family therapy, or at the very least that they are not presenting with their problems to any referral agencies (Ussher, 19896;Wyers, 1987). There may be some truth in the latter assumption, but it could be argued that referrers or therapists may fail to recognize that their client is gay or lesbian, assuming that every client they see is heterosexual.…”

Section: 'All My Clients Are Straight': Reasons For Heterosexual Biasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus lesbian mothers report feelings of oppression and discrimination, and show particular concern associated with issues such as child custody, kin support and social stigmatization (Lewin and Lyons, 1982). There is less research investigating the impact of gay fathers on families, perhaps as a result of the taboo associated with gay fathers (Stein, 1988); yet there is evidence that these men provide positive family backgrounds (Skeen and Robinson, 1984), again contrary to homophobic stereotypes.Family intervention with this client group has been effective, although there are suggestions, in the USA at least, that many service agencies are not prepared to offer family services to gay and lesbian parents (Wyers, 1987). Lesbian mothers and their families have been shown to benefit from family therapy where changes in the family structure can be discussed (Kirkpatrick et al, 1981;Kirkpatrick, 1987), or where factors affecting families with gay step-parents can be addressed (Baptiste, 1987).…”

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confidence: 99%

Family and couples therapy with gay and lesbian clients: acknowledging the forgotten minority

Ussher

1991

Journal of Family Therapy

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Family and couples therapy in; the main concentrates on heterosexual clients, and has thus been described as limited in its outlook, or discriminatory. It is argued that family and couples therapy is at present not offered to gay and lesbian clients because of an absence of appropriate referrals, the inability of therapists to recognize the sexual orientation of their clients, a belief that skills held by therapists are not appropriate for this client group, or because of the homophobia of the therapist. It is suggested that family and couples therapy should be more readily available for gay and lesbian clients, and a number of different issues which these families might face are discussed. This includes problems associated with the gay adolescent and the gay or lesbian parent, as well as the gay or lesbian couple. It is concluded that established forms of intervention are effective with gay clients, provided that the specific needs and prolblems of the gay and lesbian community are addressed by the therapist. IntroductionJudging by the dearth of information on the gay and lesbian client in the family therapy literature, it would seem that family and couples therapists at present have little to s,ay about, or offer to, the gay and lesbian community; they are thus open to the accusation that they are limited in their outlook and operate discriminatory practices (Stein, 1988). It has been argued by some critics that the very terms 'family' and 'marital' or 'couple' therapy in themselves appear to exclude the gay and lesbian client (MacKinnon and Miller, 1984) -the terms tend to assume a man and a woman as the 'couple', with the 'family' usually conceived of as containing children.One argument in defence of family therapists is that many have little knowledge or experience of the homosexual community, and are unsure as to the applicability of farnily-based interventions with gay or lesbian couples or families. In this review, I will present a case to demonstrate that couples and family therapy is both needed and of * Psychology Division, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QN, UK. 132Jane M. Ussher benefit within the gay and lesbian community. In order to address the issue that homosexual family work is somehow different, I will outline some of the issues which need to be considered by therapists working in this area, in order to provide positive suggestions for future developments for the practice of family and couples therapy with gay and lesbian clients. 'All my clients are straight': Reasons for heterosexual biases in family and couple therapyOne of the most common reasons which therapists put forward for their concentration on heterosexual clients is that homosexual clients are not referred to them, implying that this section of the population is not in need of couple or family therapy, or at the very least that they are not presenting with their problems to any referral agencies (Ussher, 19896;Wyers, 1987). There may be some truth in the latter assumption, but it could be argued that referrers or the...

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Homosexuality in the Family: Lesbian and Gay Spouses

Cited by 40 publications

References 1 publication

Socioemotional Development in Changing Families

Socioemotional Development in Changing Families

Same-Sex Sexuality and the Duration of First Different-Sex Marriages

Family and couples therapy with gay and lesbian clients: acknowledging the forgotten minority

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