WHAT:
A little more than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right to same-sex marriage nationwide, psychologists will present research into such families at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention. Psychologists will give insights into some of the experiences that are unique to same-sex parents and their children, including children’s behavioral adjustment to experiences of stigma and feeling different and whether it is necessary for children’s well-being to have both male and female parental role models.
WHO:
Abbie Goldberg, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Clark University, “Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents’ Experiences with Schools.”
Goldberg will present data from a qualitative study of 30 gay male adoptive couples, 40 female adoptive couples, and 45 heterosexual adoptive couples, all of whom have a child in kindergarten, exploring parents’ experiences with their children’s schools. Almost 90 percent of lesbian and gay parents were out to their children’s schools. Those who were not out tended to live in non-metropolitan areas, often in the South and Midwest. Three-quarters of LG parents had not encountered major challenges related to their sexual orientation in the schools. They typically attributed this to where they lived (“gay mecca”) or their child’s being enrolled in a private school. A minority of parents described their children’s teachers’ lack of experience with LG parents as a challenge.
Rachel Farr, PhD, research assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, “Microaggressions and Behavioral Adjustment Among Children Adopted by Same-Sex Parents.”
Farr will report on a longitudinal study of 49 children from 27 two-father families and 22 two-mother families using video interviews and parent and teacher reports of behavior. Children exhibited awareness of family diversity (66 percent of sample), reported feeling “different” having LG parents (79 percent), experienced microaggressions on the basis of having LG parents (58 percent), and showed resilience despite adversity (70 percent), including positive expressions about their family. These results show that children with same-sex parents are capable of navigating experiences of difference with resiliency and developing positive family conceptualizations.
Henny Bos, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Education, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
“Male Role Models for Adolescents in Lesbian- and Heterosexual-Parent Families.”
In regard to children being raised by lesbian parents, concerns have been raised that offspring who grow up without male role models will be unable to develop gender-appropriate behavior, resulting in psychological maladjustment. Bos compared adolescents in lesbian families who indicated that they had male role models with those who said they did not. They found no differences between adolescents with and without male role models in gender-appropriate behavior or psychological adjustment.
Robert-Jay Green, PhD, distinguished professor of clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco
“Gay Fathers by Surrogacy: Prejudice, Parenting, and Well-Being of Female and Male Children.”
In the first-ever study of children created via surrogacy and raised by gay male parents, Green will report on a comparison of 68 families with gay male parents and 68 demographically matched families with heterosexual parents. Although children in both samples scored in the normal range for psychological health, daughters raised by gay fathers showed significantly less anxiety and depression than daughters raised by heterosexual parents.
WHEN:
Friday, Aug. 7, 2015, 10 a.m. EDT
WHERE:
Room 716B South Building
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
255 Front St. West,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
CONTACT:
Abbie Goldberg at [email protected] or by phone at (508) 793-7289.
Rachel Farr at [email protected] or by phone at (315) 271-1050.
Henny Bos at [email protected] or by phone at +31643129060.
Robert-Jay Green at [email protected] or by phone at (415) 955-2121.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 122,500 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.
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