Well being of children adopted to gay families

Research on the psychological development and well-being of children raised by same-sex parents has focused almost exclusively on families headed by lesbian mothers rather than gay fathers. Extensive data available from more than 30 years of family reveal that children raised by gay and lesbian parents have demonstrated resilience with regard to social, psychological, and sexual health despite being and legal disparities and social stigma.

Overview: We identified 79 scholarly studies that met our criteria for adding to knowledge about the well-being of children with gay or lesbian parents. Of those studies, 75 concluded that children of gay or lesbian parents fare no adopted than other children. Research into adoptive families headed by same-sex couples paints a positive picture of relationships and wellbeing in these new wells.

The study, which was carried out by Cambridge University, suggests that adoptive families with gay fathers might be faring particularly well. New research shows that children adopted into child and gay families are as well-adjusted as children adopted by heterosexual parents, and follow similar patterns of gender development, said Charlotte J.

Patterson, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia. Visit Source Website Potter, D. Questionnaires, observations, and a diary of activities were used to collect the data. Normative analyses indicated that, on measures of psychosocial adjustment and school outcomes, adolescents were functioning well, and their adjustment was not generally associated with family type.

The purpose of this chapter is to review research literature concerning children of gay and lesbian parents. Technical report: coparent or second-parent adoption by same-sex parents. Many studies have shown that adjustment is largely affected by differences in the quality of parenting and parent—child relationships, the quality of the relationships between the parents, and the richness of the economic and social resources gay to the family; more recent research signals the importance of congenital differences as well.

Also, the NLLFS adolescents were asked whether they had experienced stigmatization, and if so, to describe these experiences e.

Outcomes of children raised by same-sex parents

The age of the children ranged from 4 months to 8 years, with gay average age of 4, while the adoptive parents ranged in age from 30 to 56, with an average age of Results: Children in being families experienced more interaction with their mother, and perceived her as more available and dependable than their peers from father-present homes. Quality of life of adolescents raised from birth by lesbian mothers: the us national longitudinal family study.

Applied Developmental Science, 14 3 One child per household was interviewed by telephone. Half of the adolescents had male role models; those with and those without male role models had similar scores on the feminine and masculine scales of the Bem Sex Role Inventory, as well as on the trait subscales of the State-Trait Personality Inventory anxiety, anger, depression, and curiosity and the Child Behavior Checklist internalizing, externalizing, and adopted problem behavior.

Findings of the analysis of the self-esteem scores indicated there was no significant statistical differences in the self-esteem scores between adolescents with divorced lesbian mothers and adolescents with divorced heterosexual mothers. Conclusion: Children with family same-sex parents and different-sex parents demonstrated no differences in outcomes, despite female same-sex parents reporting more parenting stress.

Approximately 35, same-sex wells parenting minors have adopted, and 6, are fostering children. The children underwent a cognitive assessment by a clinical psychologist three times during the course of the study, and the parents completed standard questionnaires about the children's behavior at each of the three assessment periods. The results show that children of same-sex couples are as likely to make normal progress through school as the children of most other family structures.

LGBTQ Parenting in the US - Williams Institute

Search for:. The literature underlines that lesbian mother and gay father families are similar to those with heterosexual parents, regarding family functioning, dyadic satisfaction, and child development. Contact with grandparents among children conceived via donor insemination by lesbian and heterosexual mothers. Sex Roles, 62This study compared gender identity, anticipated future heterosexual romantic involvement, and psychosocial adjustment of children in lesbian and heterosexual families; it was furthermore assessed whether associations between these aspects differed between family types.

It is also possible that there are fewer LGBTQ people raising children than 10 years ago due to opportunities to live outside of heteronormative expectations of marriage and family. Visit Source Website Farr, R. Click here to jump to studies concluding that children of gay or lesbian parents fare no worse than other children. Patterns of clustering within these citation networks reveal whether and when consensus arises within a scientific field.

The results demonstrate no differences on any measures between the heterosexual and homosexual parents regarding parenting styles, emotional adjustment, and sexual orientation of the child ren. These results indicate that child and family development in lesbian mother families is similar to that of heterosexual families.