Charlotte J. Patterson, Children of Lbian and Gay Parents, Child Development, Vol. 63, No. 5 (Oct., 1992), pp. 1025-1042
Contents:
GAY PARENTS RAISG KIDS: HOW WILL THEY FARE?
* gay parents and child development *
Unlike heterosexual parents and their children, however, lbian and gay parents and their children are often subject to prejudice bee of their sexual orientatn that n turn judg, legislators, profsnals, and the public agast them, sometim rultg negative out, such as loss of physil ctody, rtrictns on visatn, and prohibns agast adoptn (ACLU Lbian and Gay Rights Project, 2002; Appell, 2003; Patterson, Fulcher, & Waright, 2002). Startg wh the pneerg work of Mart and Lyon (1972), first-person and fictnalized scriptns of life lbian mother fai (e.g., Alpert, 1988; Clsen, 1985; Howey & Samuels, 2000; Julln, 1985; Mager, 1975; Perrelt, 1975; Pollock & Vghn, 1987; Rafk, 1990; Wells, 1997) and gay father fai (e.g., Gallucc, Gallucc, & Groff, 2002; Green, 1999; Men, 1995; Savage, 2000) have also bee available. Recent rearch on lbian and gay adults has drawn on populatn-based sampl (e.g., Cochran, 2001), and rearch on the offsprg of lbian and gay parents has begun to employ the same approach (e.g., Golombok, Perry, Burston, Murray, Mooney-Somers, Stevens, & Goldg, 2003; Waright, Rsell, & Patterson, 2004).
The relevance of this cricism has been greatly rced as rearch has expand to explore life a wir array of lbian mother and gay father fai (many of which have never lived through the divorce of a heterosexual uple), and as newer studi beg to clu a wir array of ntrol groups.
GROWG UP WH GAY PARENTS: WHAT IS THE BIG AL?*
An expert readg of the Sarantakos article reveals that certa characteristics of s methodology and sample are highly likely to have skewed the rults and renred them an valid ditor of the well-beg of children raised by gay and lbian parents at least three rpects:. The children raised by gay and lbian parents experienced unually high levels of extreme social ostracism and overt hostily om other children and parents, which probably acunted for the former's lower levels of teractn and social tegratn wh peers (see pp.