Barriers and Stigma Experienced by Gay Fathers and Their Children - PubMed

Contents:

• GAY FATHERS FACE STIGMA AS PARENTS
• LBIAN AND GAY PARENTG
• STIGMA EXPERIENC, MENTAL HEALTH, PERCEIVED PARENTG COMPETENCE, AND PARENT–CHILD RELATNSHIPS AMONG LBIAN, GAY, AND HETEROSEXUAL ADOPTIVE PARENTS THE UNED STAT
• STUDY EXPLOR HOW CHILDREN OF GAY PARENTS OVERE STIGMA
• 5 GAY PARENTG MYTHS
• STIGMA, SOCIAL CONTEXT, AND MENTAL HEALTH: LBIAN AND GAY COUPL ACROSS THE TRANSN TO ADOPTIVE PARENTHOOD
• STIGMA EXPERIENC, MENTAL HEALTH, PERCEIVED PARENTG COMPETENCE, AND PARENT-CHILD RELATNSHIPS AMONG LBIAN, GAY, AND HETEROSEXUAL ADOPTIVE PARENTS THE UNED STAT
• BARRIERS AND STIGMA EXPERIENCED BY GAY FATHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN

GAY FATHERS FACE STIGMA AS PARENTS

Social science rearch has documented the well-beg of children raised by same-genr parents, 1, 2 and many profsnal associatns that addrs parentg have endorsed nfince and optimism about gay or lbian parents raisg children, cludg the Amerin Amy of Pediatrics, Amic Pediatric Associatn, Amerin Medil Associatn, and Amerin Amy of Child and Adolcent Psychiatry. mographic rmatn about the rponnt and his children;the method(s) by which the child(ren) joed the fay;whether the rponnt had faced barriers accsg pathways to parenthood; andwhether rponnts had been “ma to feel unfortable, exclud, shamed, hurt, or unwele” specific social ntexts bee of beg/havg a gay father (active stigma), or had “avoid var suatns bee of worry about people’s judgments” (anticipated stigma).

We distributed a lk to the survey through targeted Facebook advertisg, an advertisement Gay Parent Magaze, Twter, Meetup groups, and direct ntacts wh lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) parentg groups, advocy anizatns, LGBT muny and cultural centers, surrogacy and adoptn agenci, and church groups throughout the Uned Stat. To unrstand the fluence of the social environment on gay fathers and their children, we ed the “equaly ratgs” created by the Movement Advancement Project () based on each state’s laws for protectn of LGBT fai (eg, laws regardg adoptn and foster re by lbians and gay men, the availabily of legal domtic partnerships, civil unns, and civil marriage, regulatns about bullyg schools, etc).

O., personal munitn, 23 April 2019)All those ghosts appear, that I am not gog to be enough bee: “Maricón” [rogatory nickname for gay men] or that I am not gog to be enough bee “I do not have the same characteristics of …”, even I am sayg: “It do not rrpond”, “I do not have to thk that” … I feel that all the suatns, that upbrgg and the whole mol and also is supported by a social issue, more or ls imposg and quisive, has e to ndn a lot my perceptn regardg fatherhood, me beg a father [Emphasiz] and pecially thkg me beg a father wh my homosexual partner [Emphasiz] … When the nversatn has e out, precisely those fears or those limatns that have to do wh my own nstctn, as a subject … It terrifi me, sr me not to be enough … those stctur that have been stalled survive, survive, those stctur are mataed for many years and there are people of diversy who n never get rid of them or who fight all their liv wh them. We also scribe the generatn of psychotn strategi on LGBTIQ+ parentg as a tactic of ristance/bufferg agast prejudice and ternalized the (im)possibily of thkg of onelf as a mother/father, there is a homo/lbo/bi/transphobia system that LGBTIQ+ people experience as discrimatn their timate and broar social environments.

LBIAN AND GAY PARENTG

Internalized stigma impacts the perceptn of LGBTIQ+ people about their possibily of beg a mother/father and mak them doubt their abily/pacy to form a people rporate stigmas and prejudic, cludg one that tablish that children have the right to have a “normal” fay that LGBTIQ+ people, supposedly, nnot provi, so the fear of vlatg children’s rights by exercisg parentg LGBTIQ+ people have suffered the effects of homo/lbo/bi/transphobia, they are sceptible to and ncerned about the possibily of passg the stigma to their children.

Participants highlight the fear of prentg an LGBTIQ+ partner when their children do not know their sexual orientatn/genr trans populatn fac a more signifint risk of beg discrimated agast than cisgenr people and other sexual mori such as gay, lbian, and bisexual people; tersex people have the poor visibily of their nflicts as an add obstacle.

STIGMA EXPERIENC, MENTAL HEALTH, PERCEIVED PARENTG COMPETENCE, AND PARENT–CHILD RELATNSHIPS AMONG LBIAN, GAY, AND HETEROSEXUAL ADOPTIVE PARENTS THE UNED STAT

Supreme Court legalized gay marriage natnwi 2015, advancg legal parentg rights for same-sex upl wh almost two-thirds of gay fathers experience stigma based on their stat as homosexual dads, and half of them avoid suatns out of fear of mistreatment or discrimatn, the current study children experience stigma, too. About 41 percent had difficulti wh adoptn and one-third enuntered problems arrangg ctody of children born heterosexual study n’t prove whether parentg stat or sexual orientatn directly impacts discrimatn, and wasn’t natnally participants were whe, and ’s also possible that gay fathers om other racial or ethnic groups might report different experienc, Dr. 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).

Three ncerns have historilly been associated wh judicial cisn makg ctody ligatn and public polici erng foster re and adoptn: the belief that lbians and gay men are mentally ill, that lbians are ls maternal than heterosexual women, and that lbians' and gay men's relatnships wh sexual partners leave ltle time for ongog parent-child teractns (ACLU Lbian and Gay Rights Project, 2002; Falk, 1989, 1994; Patterson et al., 2002; Patterson & Reddg, 1996).

There is no reliable evince that homosexual orientatn per se impairs psychologil functng, although the social and other circumstanc which lbians and gay men live, cludg exposure to wispread prejudice and discrimatn, often e acute distrs (Cochran, 2001; Freedman, 1971; Gonsrek, 1991; Hart et al., 1978; Hooker, 1957; Meyer, 2003; Reiss, 1980). A recent study of 256 lbian and gay parent fai found that, ntrast to patterns characterizg the majory of Amerin parents, very few lbian and gay parents reported any e of physil punishment (such as spankg) as a disciplary technique; stead, they were likely to report e of posive techniqu such as reasong (Johnson & O'Connor, 2002). Certaly, rearch has found no reasons to believe lbian mothers or gay fathers to be unf parents (Armto, 2002; Barret & Robson, 1990; Bigner & Bozett, 1990; Bigner & Jabsen, 1989a, 1989b; Bos et al., 2003, 2004; Bozett, 1980, 1989; Patterson, 1997; Patterson & Chan, 1996; Sbordone, 1993; Tasker & Golombok, 1997; Victor & Fish, 1995; Wton, 1991).

STUDY EXPLOR HOW CHILDREN OF GAY PARENTS OVERE STIGMA

Three aspects of sexual inty are nsired the rearch: genr inty, which ncerns a person's self-intifitn as male or female; genr-role behavr, which ncerns the extent to which a person's activi, occupatns, and the like are regard by the culture as mascule, feme, or both; and sexual orientatn, which refers to a person's choice of sexual partners, who may be homosexual, heterosexual, or bisexual (Money & Ehrhardt, 1972; Ste, 1993). Although some children have scribed enunters wh anti-gay remarks om peers (Gartrell et al., 2005), young adult offsprg of divorced lbian mothers did not rell beg the targets of any more childhood teasg or victimizatn than did the offsprg of divorced heterosexual mothers (Tasker & Golombok, 1995, 1997). Subjects evaluated vigt pictg eher a gay male uple or heterosexual uple and their adopted son along the dimensns of parentg abily, gree to which the child's problems were attributable to the parental relatnship, distrs of the child (cludg genr and sexual inty nfn), and the extent to which ctody reassignment was perceived to be beneficial.

A review of rearch on children of lbian and gay parents intifi some of the sourc of diversy wh lbian and gay parentg muni / prent rearch on those who beme parents the ntext of heterosexual relatnships, before g out as lbian or gay / scribe studi of lbians who beme parents after g out [prent] rearch on children born the ntext of heterosexual relatnships... The amework foc on (1) whether selectn effects produced by homophobia acunt for associatns between parental sexual orientatns and child out; (2) the role of parental genr vis-à-vis sexual orientatn fluencg children's genr velopment; and (3) the relatnship between parental sexual orientatns and children's sexual preferenc and behavrs. Although is clear that homosexualy is not and of self related to psychopathology, there are persistent suggtns that the particular strs endured by gay men and lbians, pecially adolcence and young adulthood, may e an upsurge attempted suici and perhaps chemil abe, perhaps temporary or perhaps a segment of homosexuals.

The paper foc on (a) methodologil problems rearch on homosexualy; (b) studi parg adjtment levels of male homosexuals and male heterosexuals, effemate and noneffemate male homosexuals, and female homosexuals and female heterosexuals; (c) the relatnship between gree of homosexualy and adjtment; (d) homosexual subculture; and (e) the relatnship between homosexualy and psychopathology. (From the chapter) social science theory and empiril rearch to scribe and expla psychologil heterosexism the US today / addrs the attudal and belief ponents of psychologil heterosexism, wh special attentn to gnive and motivatnal procs / behavral aspects of psychologil heterosexism-specifilly, acts of vlence agast lbians and gay men-are discsed / the nsequenc of psychologil heterosexism are nsired.

5 GAY PARENTG MYTHS

(From the chapter) child ctody / sexual orientatn and liftyle on their children / ctodial gay fathers / children's reactns to havg a gay father / social ntrol strategi / boundary ntrol fluencg factors / mutualy / father's reactns / protective strategi / role molg / children's velopment of sexual inty / homonegative reactns of children.

This text featur iativ to improve the procs of clil re for gay and lbian dividuals and their fai, as well as the muny as a whole; mon scenars enuntered clil practice, along wh a discsn of their meang and re; and explic suggtns for child health profsnals to direct efforts to change the ntext of medil tn. Divid to three segments, the book tak an unflchg and entirely new look at motherg: "New Lsons" exam the way which sons of lbians grow up to be different men; "Makg a Fay" looks at fay nstcts and "Facg Loss" reveals the heart-breakg realy that many women have had to nont when their fai were threatened by homophobic urts and tradns. (From the chapter) gay fatherhood has emerged to public awarens and brought qutns / who are gay fathers, and how do they bee parents / what kd of parents do gay men make, and how do their children velop / what special challeng and strs do gay fathers and their children face daily life, and how do they pe wh them / what n acquatance wh gay fathers and their children offer to the unrstandg of parenthood, child velopment, and fay life / although rearch leratur bearg on such qutns are que new and relatively sparse, existg studi addrs some issu raised by the existence of gay fathers.

STIGMA, SOCIAL CONTEXT, AND MENTAL HEALTH: LBIAN AND GAY COUPL ACROSS THE TRANSN TO ADOPTIVE PARENTHOOD

“WHEREAS, The legislative protectn afford to children of parents homosexual relatnships vari om state to state, wh some stat enactg or nsirg legislatn sanctng -parent or send parent adoptn by partners of the same sex, several stat clg to nsir legislatn, and at least one state altogether banng adoptn by the send parent; and. “The Amerin Psychologil Associatn plor all public and private discrimatn such areas as employment, hog, public acmodatn, and licensg agast those who engage or have engaged homosexual activi and clar that no burn of proof of such judgment, pacy, or reliabily shall be placed upon the dividuals greater than that imposed on any other persons.

“WHEREAS people who also experience discrimatn based on age, race, ethnicy, disabily, genr and genr inty, relign, and socenomic stat may pecially benef om accs to marriage for same-sex upl (Divisn 44/Commtee on Sexual Orientatn and Genr Diversy Jot Task Force on Guil for Psychotherapy wh Lbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients, 2000);.

Keywords: adoptn stigma, homonegative microaggrsns, lbian and gay, mental health symptoms, parent–child relatnships, parentg petenceIntroductnDpe ntroversy, lbian and gay (LG) adoptive parents the Uned Stat (US) have creased number and visibily; fact, same-genr upl appear up to seven tim more likely to have adopted children than different-genr upl (Goldberg and Conron, 2018). E., lbian, gay, and heterosexual parents), yet all wh young adopted children, provid an opportuny to vtigate who might be more at risk or protected om experienc of is overwhelmg nsens the scholarly lerature that children LG parent fai (cludg those formed through adoptn) are well-adjted and show high-qualy parent–child relatnships (Erich et al., 2009a, b; Patterson, 2017; Calzo et al., 2019; McConnachie et al., 2019). Although rearch regardg microaggrsns experienced by sexual and genr mory persons is advancg (Fisher et al., 2019; Nadal, 2019), homophobic microaggrsns and their possible associatns wh dividual and fay out have not been specifilly examed (to our knowledge) among a sample of LG parents, let alone LG adoptive parents.

STIGMA EXPERIENC, MENTAL HEALTH, PERCEIVED PARENTG COMPETENCE, AND PARENT-CHILD RELATNSHIPS AMONG LBIAN, GAY, AND HETEROSEXUAL ADOPTIVE PARENTS THE UNED STAT

In terms of unrstandg associatns between dividual adjtment and homonegative microaggrsns particular, rearch has monstrated that is important to clu nsiratn of past and current experienc, as well as perceptns of their impact (and how this teracts wh past or current experienc; Wright and Wegner, 2012). Th, om mory and fay strs perspectiv, we sought to exame how stigma related to adoptn and sexual orientatn might be differentially associated wh mental health and perceptns of parentg petence among LG and adoptive parents, as well as wh children’s reports of parent–child relatnship Current StudyAmong a sample of approximately 100 adoptive fai head by lbian, gay, and heterosexual parents, we explored associatns at two pots (about 5 years apart; when children were prchool-age and school-age, rpectively) among parent mental health symptoms, perceived parentg petence, perceived adoptn stigma, homonegative microaggrsns, and qualy of parent–child relatnships.

BARRIERS AND STIGMA EXPERIENCED BY GAY FATHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN

Related to possible pilp effects of strs (McCubb and Patterson, 1983) rultg om both adoptn and sexual stigma, we explored whether out our variabl of tert among LG adoptive parent fai might be distct om those among heterosexual adoptive parent send aim was to vtigate associatns across time among parent mental health symptoms and perceived parentg petence, both asssed when children were prchool, wh experienc of adoptn stigma, homonegative microaggrsns, and parent–child relatnship qualy, all evaluated 5 years later. Based on our theoretil ameworks of fay and mory strs as well as some relevant existg rearch regardg sexual stigma and homonegative microaggrsns as related to LG dividual and parent out (Goldberg et al., 2011, 2019; Tornello et al., 2011; Wright and Wegner, 2012; Carone et al., 2017; Green et al., 2019), we also anticipated that greater mental health symptoms and lower petence, rpectively, would be associated wh more third and fal aim was to vtigate whether stigma and microaggrsns would be ncurrently associated wh parent–child relatnship qualy, all asssed durg middle childhood. Aligned wh some rearch ditg associatns between greater sexual stigma, fay strs, and child out (Bos and Gartrell, 2010; Vyncke et al., 2014; Crouch et al., 2017; Carone et al., 2018; Calzo et al., 2019), we also expected that homonegative microaggrsns experienced by LG parents would predict reports of lower parent–child relatnship qualy (acuntg for parent mental health symptoms, petence, and adoptn stigma) among their children.

E., wh the last 6 months) of homonegative microaggrsns signifintly predicted parent–child relatnship qualy such that when parents experienced more microaggrsns, child-reported parent–child relatnship qualy was 6Hierarchil lear molg (HLM): ventory of parent and peer attachment om wave 2 (W2) variabl lbian and gay (LG) parent fai.

Dpe prev work ditg that gay men may hold lower levels of perceived parentg efficy bee of ntextual factors such as homonegative microaggrsns and the stigma related to fatherhood broadly (Armto, 2002; Robson and Brewster, 2014), the gay fathers our sample did not report signifintly lower levels of perceived parentg petence than any other group. Although they did fd some ial differenc wh lbian and heterosexual women reportg greater petence than gay and heterosexual men prr to the adoptive placement of their child, by 3 months post-placement, gay fathers particular were characterized by the greatt creas perceived petence as pared to the other parent groups. In the ways, our fdgs support and extend earlier rearch about parentg petence among a more diverse sample of both adoptive and sexual mory send hypothis that earlier mental health symptoms and parentg petence would be associated wh later adoptn stigma, homonegative microaggrsns, and parent–child relatnship qualy was not supported.