Research Issues And Important Questions LGBT Families Research Issues And Important Questions

Big Issues Framing Our Interest Prior Heterosexual Relationship Adoption Foster Parenting Biologic Parenting “The Old-Fashioned Way” Donor Insemination Ovum Donation Surrogacy Big Issues Framing Our Interest Lesbian and Gay Parenting Options

Big Issues Framing Our Interest Small Sample Sizes Snowball Sampling Is Common Comparison Groups Generalizability Of Findings Data Is Defensive Or “Deficit” Related Big Issues Framing Our Interest Data Issues

Big Issues Framing Our Interest Parents Are Mentally Ill Lesbians Are Less Maternal Lesbian/Gay Parents Will Molest Children Non-Attentive Parenting Children Suffer From Lack Of Paternal/Maternal Influences Big Issues Framing Our Interest Beliefs About Lesbian and Gay Parents

Gay and Lesbian Parents Lesbians Are “Normal” Self esteem and psychological adjustment Attitudes toward child-rearing, responses to child behavior Kids Have More Contact With Biological Fathers Than Kids Of Divorce Gay and Heterosexual Dads Both Nurturance and Invest Time In Kids There Are Higher Levels Of “Synchronicity” In Parenting Parent-Child Interactions No differences between lesbian biological mothers and either hetero biological or step- mothers Lesbian step-mothers score higher than either biological or step- fathers Gay and Lesbian Parents

Big Issues Framing Our Interest They’ll Have Problems With Gender Identity They Won’t Have “Appropriate” Gender Role Behavior They Will “Turn” Gay or Lesbian They’ll Have Difficult Peer Relationships Big Issues Framing Our Interest Beliefs About Children Of Lesbian And Gay Parents

Kids Of Gay and Lesbian Parents Gender Identity More than 500 kids in studies None of them have gender identity confusion Gender Roles Overall, no significant gender role differences between the two. No self-reported differences in mothers encouraging sex- role traits or behaviors in kids Boys: rate selves as conventionally masculine and higher on “awareness of others’ feelings” and “gentleness” Girls: rate selves as conventionally feminine and higher on “adventuresomeness” and “likes to be a leader” Sexual Orientation At least 10 studies and none have reported significantly high rates of homosexual orientation in kids In one study, daughters more likely than sons to consider a same sex relationship and to have had a homoerotic relationship Peer Relationships No evidence of disruption in social relationships Adult children do report more teasing about their sexuality as kids Kids Of Gay and Lesbian Parents