Stigmatization and Resilience in Adolescent Children of Lesbian Mothers

Gelderen, Loes van Rijn-van; Gartrell, Nanette; Bos, Henny; Hermanns, J.M.A.

doi:10.1080/15504280903035761

Cited by 29 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…16 During adolescence, peer relations become more important as teenagers develop a sense of identity, a deeper appreciation of interindividual difference, and a keener awareness of minority status. 19,[29][30][31] Teenage children may be more reflective about their earlier experiences of stigmatization, 15,19,27,29,[32][33][34][35] yet relatively little has been reported about the psychological well-being of adolescents who have been raised in lesbian families since birth. Studies on the teenage offspring of lesbians are largely based on data gathered in the 1990s, in which the majority of teenagers studied were conceived in heterosexual relationships before their mothers divorced and came out as lesbian.…”

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confidence: 99%

US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Psychological Adjustment of 17-Year-Old Adolescents

2010

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WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT:There is a paucity of data on the psychological adjustment of adolescents who have been reared in lesbian households since birth. No other study has followed a cohort of such offspring from conception through adolescence, prospectively and longitudinally. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:This study expands our understanding of psychological well-being in adolescent biological offspring of lesbian mothers and therefore has implications for the pediatric care of these adolescents and for public policies concerning same-sex parenting.abstract OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to document the psychological adjustment of adolescents who were conceived through donor insemination by lesbian mothers who enrolled before these offspring were born in the largest, longest running, prospective, longitudinal study of same-sex-parented families. METHODS:Between 1986 and 1992, 154 prospective lesbian mothers volunteered for a study that was designed to follow planned lesbian families from the index children's conception until they reached adulthood. Data for the current report were gathered through interviews and questionnaires that were completed by 78 index offspring when they were 10 and 17 years old and through interviews and Child Behavior Checklists that were completed by their mothers at corresponding times. The study is ongoing, with a 93% retention rate to date. RESULTS:According to their mothers' reports, the 17-year-old daughters and sons of lesbian mothers were rated significantly higher in social, school/academic, and total competence and significantly lower in social problems, rule-breaking, aggressive, and externalizing problem behavior than their age-matched counterparts in Achenbach's normative sample of American youth. Within the lesbian family sample, no Child Behavior Checklist differences were found among adolescent offspring who were conceived by known, as-yet-unknown, and permanently unknown donors or between offspring whose mothers were still together and offspring whose mothers had separated. CONCLUSIONS:Adolescents who have been reared in lesbian-mother families since birth demonstrate healthy psychological adjustment. These findings have implications for the clinical care of adolescents and for pediatricians who are consulted on matters that pertain to same-sex parenting. Pediatrics 2010;126:28-36

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US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Psychological Adjustment of 17-Year-Old Adolescents

2010

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“…GLBTQ stigma has a negative effect on the mental health and well-being of GLBTQ people (Meyer, 2003). Furthermore, among children with lesbian mothers, community-based stigma has been linked to lower self-esteem (Bos & Van Balen, 2008;Gartrell, Deck, Rodas, Peyser, & Banks, 2005;Gershon, Tschann, & Jemerin, 1999;Van Gelderen, Gartrell, Bos, & Hermanns, 2009) and feelings of anger and sadness (Gartrell et al, 2005). Although GLBTQ family members may experience stigma in any social environment, nonmetropolitan communities pose unique challenges that warrant our attention (e.g., available community resources, geography).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Although GLBTQ family members may experience stigma in any social environment, nonmetropolitan communities pose unique challenges that warrant our attention (e.g., available community resources, geography). Communitylevel factors that have been found to reduce the effects of stigma experienced by children with lesbian mothers include attending a school that incorporates GLBTQ curriculum, having a mother involved in the lesbian community, and having contact with other children with GLBTQ parents (Van Gelderen et al, 2009). However, this research did not focus on nonmetropolitan populations; thus, there is a limited understanding of what or how protective factors operate in these communities.…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Nonmetropolitan GLBTQ Parents: When and Where Does Their Sexuality Matter?

Holman

Oswald

2011

Journal of GLBT Family Studies

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Twenty-two parents, representing 15 GLBTQ-parent families living in nonmetropolitan communities in Illinois, were interviewed about their interactions with others in community settings. A total of 345 interactions were coded by sexual orientation salience (no, yes) and setting (private, public, organizational). Roughly half of the interactions (N = 156, 45%) were those in which parents said that their sexual orientation did not matter; nonsalience was more likely to occur in private or organizational settings rather than public. Regarding salience, parents described a slightly higher proportion of interactions in which their sexual orientation did matter (N = 189, 55%). Of these, salience was most likely to occur in organizational settings rather than public or private. Parents most commonly described salience that occurred in organizational settings as negative rather than positive. Regarding desired resources, parents prioritized support and socialization for their children rather than for themselves, but they desired resources that clearly identified their children as having GLBTQ parents (i.e., resources where parental sexual orientation was salient). These findings suggest a strong recommendation for improving organizational policies related to education, health care, employment, and family services so that GLBTQ parents and their children are openly acknowledged by staff without negative overtones.

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“…In addition to the civic benefits, promoting LGBT organizations and the visibility of LGBT people can strengthen local families. Previous research has found that children with lesbian mothers have greater well‐being when they are connected to other children with lesbian mothers (Bos, Gartrell, Peyser, & van Balen, 2008) and when their mothers are connected to other lesbians (van Gelderen, Gartrell, Bos, & Hermanns, 2009). Community infrastructure could be developed to facilitate these connections (see Mancini, Bowen, & Martin, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“You Live Where?!” Lesbian Mothers' Attachment to Nonmetropolitan Communities

Oswald

Lazarevic

2011

Family Relations

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A positive attachment to one's residential community has been linked to better mental health (McLaren, 2009), stronger social support (Young, Russell, & Powers, 2004), and a higher quality of life (Mak, Cheung, & Law, 2009). Attachment to residential community has been understudied in research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families. The current study attempts to fill this gap by using family and minority stress theories to examine the predictors of residential community attachment among 77 lesbian mothers living in nonmetropolitan communities. Our findings indicate that stronger residential community attachment is predicted by more frequent contact with family of origin, low religiosity, and an interaction between close LGBT friendships and the presence of at least one local LGBT organization. Contrary to expectations, anti‐LGBT victimization perpetrated by community members did not have an effect on residential community attachment.

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Stigmatization and Resilience in Adolescent Children of Lesbian Mothers

Cited by 29 publications

References 50 publications

US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Psychological Adjustment of 17-Year-Old Adolescents

US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Psychological Adjustment of 17-Year-Old Adolescents

Nonmetropolitan GLBTQ Parents: When and Where Does Their Sexuality Matter?

“You Live Where?!” Lesbian Mothers' Attachment to Nonmetropolitan Communities

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