Interpersonal Acceptance–Rejection Theory: Application to Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Persons

Abstract

Many researchers have focused on parents' responses to their child's sexual identity. Although this type of research has been conducted over the past 2 decades on the impact of coming out, there is not a consistently implemented theoretical orientation used across lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) literature for describing and understanding the implications of coming out. However, interpersonal acceptance–rejection theory (IPARTheory) can be used as a framework to describe the experiences of acceptance–rejection LGB people face after disclosure. Many of the constructs outlined in IPARTheory are present throughout the literature on LGB coming‐out experiences, but a more thorough understanding of the implications of LGB parental acceptance–rejection across the life span is needed, especially as it affects psychological well‐being and adult relationship development. Several aspects of IPARTheory that need to be developed further to encompass the ways LGB people experience parental acceptance–rejection are discussed. Further, suggestions are made to better measure the specific types of acceptance–rejection faced by LGB people when they come out.

How Have Other Journals Compared to “The Top Seven” Journals in Family Social Science with Respect to LGBT-Related Research and Reviews? A Comment on “A Content Analysis of LGBT Research in Top Family Journals 2000–2015”? An Editorial Analysis

“…Between 2010 reported 86 articles published on LGBT-related issues out of 3,206 articles, a rate (2.68%) that was significantly lower than the rate in MFR between 2010 and 2017 (14/250, 5.6%), with an odds ratio of 2.15 (95% CI, 1.21 to 3.84, p = .01). We also observed that JFTR published at least 15 articles (of 208) between 2009 and 2017 that dealt with LGBT-family research issues, a rate of 7.2%, higher than MFR or the top seven family journals; those articles included 14 reviews or commentaries (Allen, 2016;Berkowitz, 2009;Cao, Mills-Koonce, Wood, & Fine, 2016;Chrisler, 2017;Cohen, 2011;Doucet & Lee, 2014;Few-Demo, Humble, Curran, & Lloyd, 2016;Fuller, 2017;Glennon, 2012;Goldberg, 2013;Lauer & Yodanis, 2010;McGuire, Catalpa, Lacey, & Kuvalanka, 2016;McGuire, Kuvalanka, Catalpa, & Toomey, 2016;Widiss, 2016; as well as one empirical paper (Connidis, 2012), not counting editorials for special issues (e.g., Oswald, 2016). In addition, JFTR also published four articles that tangentially mentioned LGBT issues (Few-Demo, 2014;Galvin & Braithwaite, 2014;Sharp & Weaver, 2015;Sprey, 2009) and in the first issue of 2018 published two more articles that were clearly on LGBT issues (Allen & Mendez, 2018;Holman, 2018).…”

Associations Between Fathers’ Masculinity Orientation and Anticipated Reaction Toward Their Child’s Coming Out

“…Affective and behavioral forecasting, however, are not free of bias ( Warshaw and Davis, 1985 ; Wilson and Gilbert, 2005 ). To our knowledge, previous research on parental reactions toward their child’s coming out has been conducted entirely in retrospect; that is, parents or children were asked to remember their parents’ reactions ( Fuller, 2017 ; Ghosh, 2020 ). Interestingly, similar biases occur when people predict and remember emotional situations (e.g., tendencies to overestimate or overreport, respectively, emotional intensities; Levine et al, 2018 ).…”

“…Imagining that one’s child could be LG should be easier when the child is still young and, probably, has not yet discovered or disclosed their sexual orientation. The affective and behavioral reaction items that participants completed upon this question were derived from the relevant literature cited above and recent reviews thereof ( Chrisler, 2017 ; Fuller, 2017 ; Ghosh, 2020 ). Furthermore, participants were asked about their general masculinity orientation and attitudes toward homosexuality.…”

“…Regarding the father whose child discloses their LG sexual orientation to him, a positive affective response might be primarily associated with acceptance, whereas a negative affective response might be primarily associated with rejection of his child. Reflecting the approach–avoidance duality, acceptance and rejection have repeatedly been confirmed as the fundamental parental reaction patterns toward their child’s coming out at the behavioral level ( D’Augelli et al, 1998 ; Rohner et al, 2005 ; Fuller, 2017 ). In cases of emotional ambivalence, acceptance and rejection motivations may well occur together and provoke approach-avoidance conflicts ( Emmons and King, 1988 ; Corr and Krupić, 2017 ).…”

Ελληνική Οικογένεια Σε Κρίση

“…Είναι σημαντικό να διευκρινίσει κανείς ότι, επεκτείνοντας τη Θεωρία Διαπροσωπικής Αποδοχής και Απόρριψης, τα ερευνητικά δεδομένα που προκύπτουν αφορούν ολοένα και περισσότερες κοινωνικές ομάδες. Χαρακτηριστικό παράδειγμα αποτελεί η έρευνα για την αποδοχή και την απόρριψη σε ομοφυλόφιλα ζευγάρια (Fuller, 2017). Η μελέτη των Fuller και Rutter (2017) εστιάζει στον τρόπο με τον οποίο η αποδοχή ή απόρριψη των γονέων επηρεάζει τη σεξουαλική ταυτότητα και την ικανοποίηση από τις ενήλικες ερωτικές σχέσεις των ατόμων που ανήκουν στη ΛΟΑΤΚΙ κοινότητα.…”