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

Farr, Rachel H.; Forssell, Stephen L.; Patterson, Charlotte J.

doi:10.1080/10888691.2010.500958

Cited by 172 publications

(225 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(67 reference statements)

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“…Further evidence for the greater importance of family process over family structure comes from studies that have directly examined the relative contribution of each Demuth & Brown, 2004;Dunn et al, 1998;Farr et al, 2010;Golombok, Mellish, et al, 2013;Hetherington, 1989;Lansford, Ceballo, Abbey, & Stewart, 2001). These studies have shown that it is not family structure per se that influences the socioemotional well-being of children in different family forms.…”

Section: General Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In their comparison of the psychological well-being of preschool children adopted in infancy by matched groups of lesbian, gay, and heterosexual couples, Farr et al (2010) and Tornello et al (2010) found that children adopted by same-sex couples were as well-adjusted as those adopted by heterosexual couples, according to both parents' and teachers' reports on the CBCL. Irrespective of family structure, the authors concluded that the factors related to child adjustment were positive parenting, the absence of parenting stress, and harmonious couple relationships.…”

Section: Psychological Adjustment Of Young Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Where differences were found, these reflected more positive parental well-being and parent-child relationships in gay, rather than heterosexual, families. In a study of adoptive two-parent families in the United States, few differences between gay, lesbian, and heterosexual families were found in parenting stress, parental discipline, or parental relationship satisfaction (Farr, Forssell, & Patterson, 2010;Tornello, Farr, & Patterson, 2010). Erich, Leung, and Kindle (2005) collected data from a convenience sample of lesbian and gay adoptive parents of children of varying ages.…”

Section: Parentingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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: General Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Psychological Adjustment Of Young Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Parentingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Socioemotional Development in Changing Families

Golombok

Tasker

2015

Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science

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“…For example, a recent study of heterosexual, gay male, and lesbian couples who were parents of young children (mean age ϭ 3) adopted as infants from private adoption agencies found no differences in parenting stress or relationship adjustment (Farr, Forssell, & Patterson, 2010). Longitudinal research on gay male, lesbian, and heterosexual adoptive couples assessed three times over the transition to parenthood (preplacement, 3 months postplacement, and 12 months postplacement) also revealed similar changes in relationship quality (Goldberg, Smith, & Kashy, 2010) and perceived parenting skill (Goldberg & Smith, 2009), regardless of parents' sexual orientation.…”

Section: Review Of Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, concerns can be raised about the samples used. Farr et al's (2010) research included only children adopted as infants from private agencies, who are known to be a much lower risk population than children adopted through the child welfare system (Daly & Sobol, 1994). Smith's (2009, Goldberg, Smith, &Kashy, 2010) sample included families formed through public domestic adoption, private domestic adoption, and private international adoption, thereby representing a heterogeneous mix of adoption experiences.…”

Section: Review Of Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parent adjustment over time in gay, lesbian, and heterosexual parent families adopting from foster care.

Lavner¹,

Waterman

Peplau

2014

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

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Although increasing numbers of gay and lesbian individuals and couples are adopting children, gay men and lesbian women continue to face increased scrutiny and legal obstacles from the child welfare system. To date, little research has compared the experiences of gay or lesbian and heterosexual adoptive parents over time, limiting conceptual understandings of the similarities they share and the unique challenges that gay and lesbian adoptive parents may face. This study compared the adoption satisfaction, depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and social support at 2, 12, and 24 months postplacement of 82 parents (60 heterosexual, 15 gay, 7 lesbian) adopting children from foster care in Los Angeles County. Few differences were found between heterosexual and gay or lesbian parents at any of the assessments or in their patterns of change over time. On average, parents in both household types reported significant increases in adoption satisfaction and maintained low, nonclinical levels of depressive symptoms and parenting stress over time. Across all family types, greater parenting stress was associated with more depressive symptoms and lower adoption satisfaction. Results indicated many similarities between gay or lesbian and heterosexual adoptive parents, and highlight a need for services to support adoptive parents throughout the transition to parenthood to promote their well-being.

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