Inclus a summary of rearch fdgs on lbian mothers, gay fathers and their children, an annotated biblgraphy of the published psychologil lerature and addnal rourc relevant to lbian and gay parentg.
Contents:
LBIAN AND GAY PARENTG
* consequences of gay parenting *
” For example, the Amerin Psychologil Associatn (APA) stated 2005 that “not a sgle study has found children of lbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged any signifint rpect relative to children of heterosexual parents. After rrectg for errors, addg appropriate ntrol variabl, redg race/ethnicy to reflect multiple (stead of two) tegori, and ntrollg for the effects of misclassified or uncerta data, the thors found only six differenc between adult children of lbian mothers and tact blogil fai, and three differenc between adult children of gay fathers and tact blogil fai.
PARENTS OF GAY CHILDREN AND THE ISSU THEY FACE
Of the remag three differenc, two were not nsired to be objectively worse for eher group (intifyg as homosexual, and havg had a same-sex relatnship), leavg only one statistilly signifint difference between adult children raised by lbian mothers pared to adult children raised tact blogil fai. Of the, two were not objectively worse (intifyg as homosexual and havg had a same-sex relatnship), and two did not take place durg adulthood (receivg public assistance childhood, and sense of safety and secury growg up), and therefore nnot be reasonably nsired nsequenc of their childhood fay suatn.
The prev edn, which was tled Lbian and Gay Parentg: A Rource for Psychologists (1995) was the succsor to a publitn tled Lbian Parents and Their Children: A Rource Paper for Psychologists that was jotly produced by CLGBC and CWP 1991.
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). As wh beliefs about other socially stigmatized groups, the beliefs held generally society about lbians and gay men are often not based personal experience, but are equently culturally transmted (Herek, 1995; Gillis, 1998). Systematic rearch on the children of lbian and gay parents began to appear major profsnal journals the late 1970s and has grown to a nsirable body of rearch only recent years (Allen & Demo, 1995; Patterson, 1992, 2000).
KIDS CAN THRIVE WH GAY PARENTS
As this summary will show, the rults of existg rearch parg lbian and gay parents to heterosexual parents and children of lbian and gay parents to children of heterosexual parents are que clear: Common stereotyp are not supported by the data. 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.