The National Lesbian Family Study: 2. Interviews with mothers of toddlers.

Gartrell, Nanette; Banks, Amy; Hamilton, Jean A.; Reed, Nancy; Bishop, Holly N.; Rodas, Carla

doi:10.1037/h0080410

Cited by 176 publications

(256 citation statements)

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“…This phenomenon provides a rich opportunity for social scientists to study the well-being of teenagers who have been raised since birth in what is known as planned lesbian families. 8,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Psychosocial research on young children in planned lesbian families has focused primarily on 4 key developmental outcomes: psychological adjustment, peer relationships, family relationships, and progress through school. 8,14,15,28 In young children, adjustment is largely determined by family functioning: regardless of their parents' gender or sexual orientation, children fare better when their parents are compatible, share responsibilities, provide financial stability, and have healthy interpersonal connections.…”

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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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“…It is also likely that lesbian social mothers feel pressured to be visible as a mother (De Kanter, 1996;Muzio, 1999, Nekkebroeck & Brewaeys, 2002, because they think that their position is different from that of lesbian and heterosexual biological parents. Other studies (e.g., Gartrell et al, 1999) have shown that although social mothers consider themselves to be equal parents, they display feelings of jealousy and competitiveness concerning child rearing issues. Social mothers indicate that, in their view, the biological tie is an important factor affecting mother-child attach-ment.…”

Section: Family Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parenting in Planned Lesbian Families

Bos¹

2004

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“…Adolescence is a time during which teenagers are particularly sensitive to disapproval from peers (Rubin et al 2006). Because lesbian mothers anticipate that their offspring may be subjected to homophobic stigmatization, protective responses include careful supervision of their offspring's routine activities and leisure time (Gartrell et al 1999(Gartrell et al , 2000. As their offspring enter adolescence, it is not known whether lesbian parents extend this monitoring to impose even stricter controls than heterosexual parents.…”

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confidence: 99%

Lesbian and Heterosexual Two-Parent Families: Adolescent–Parent Relationship Quality and Adolescent Well-Being

2014

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This study compared 51 adolescents from intact two-mother planned lesbian families (all conceived through donor insemination) with 51 adolescents from intact motherfather families on their relationships with their parents (parental control, disclosure to parents, and adolescentparent relationship quality), psychological adjustment (selfesteem, social anxiety, and conduct problems), and substance usage (consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana/hashish). The adolescents (average age 16 years) were matched on demographic characteristics (age, gender, educational level, country of birth, parental birth country) with a sample from a large school-based survey, and data were collected by means of adolescent self-reports. Analyses indicated that adolescents in both family types had positive relationships with their parents, which were favorably associated with psychological well-being. On the assessments of psychological adjustment and substance use, family type was significantly associated only with self-esteem and conduct problems: Adolescents with lesbian mothers had higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of conduct problems than their counterparts in heterosexual-parent families. Overall, the findings indicate that adolescents from intact two-mother lesbian families are comparable to those in a matched comparison group with intact mother-father families. The few differences found on psychological wellbeing favored the adolescents in lesbian two-mother families.

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The National Lesbian Family Study: 2. Interviews with mothers of toddlers.

Cited by 176 publications

References 19 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

Parenting in Planned Lesbian Families

Lesbian and Heterosexual Two-Parent Families: Adolescent–Parent Relationship Quality and Adolescent Well-Being

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