Gay Parenting Essay, Research Paper
Lesbian and Gay Parenting
I. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH FINDINGS
Charlotte J. Patterson
University of Virginia
Like families headed by heterosexual parents, lesbian and gay parents and their children are a diverse group (Martin, 1993).
Unlike heterosexual parents and their children, however, lesbian and gay parents and their children are often subject to
prejudice because of sexual orientation that turns judges, legislators, professionals, and the public against them, frequently
resulting in negative outcomes such as loss of physical custody, restrictions on visitation, and prohibitions against adoption
(Falk, 1989; Editors of the Harvard Law Review, 1990). As with all socially stigmatized groups, the beliefs held generally in
society about lesbians and gay men are often not based in personal experience, but are instead culturally transmitted (Herek,
1991). The purpose of this summary of research findings on lesbian and gay parents and their children is to assist psychologists
and other professionals to evaluate widespread beliefs in the light of empirical data and in this way ameliorate the negative
effects of unwarranted prejudice.
Because many beliefs about lesbian and gay parents and their children are open to empirical test, psychological research can
evaluate their accuracy. Systematic research comparing lesbian and gay adults to heterosexual adults only began in the late
1950s, and research comparing children of gay and lesbian parents with those of heterosexual parents is of a more recent
vintage. Research on lesbian and gay adults began with Evelyn Hooker’s landmark study (1957) and culminated with the
declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973 (Gonsiorek, 1991). Case reports on children of gay and lesbian
parents began to appear in the psychiatric literature in the early 1970s (e.g., Osman, 1972; Weeks, Derdeyn, & Langman,
1975) and have continued to appear (e.g., Agbayewa, 1984). Beginning with the pioneering work of Martin and Lyon (1972),
first person and fictionalized descriptions of life in lesbian mother families have also become available (e.g., Alpert, 1988;
Clausen, 1985; Jullion, 1985; Mager, 1975; Perreault, 1975; Pollock & Vaughn, 1987; Rafkin, 1990). Systematic research on
the children of lesbian and gay parents did not, however, begin to appear in major professional journals until 1978, and most of
the available research has been published more recently.
As this summary will show, the results of existing research comparing gay and lesbian parents to heterosexual parents and
children of gay or lesbian parents to children of heterosexual parents are quite uniform: common sterotypes are not supported
by the data.
Without denying the clarity of results to date, it is important also for psychologists and other professionals to be aware that
research in this area has presented a variety of methodological challenges, not all of which have been surmounted in every
study. As is true in any area of research, questions have been raised with regard to sampling issues, statistical power, and other
technical matters (e.g., Belcastro, Gramlich, Nicholson, Price, & Wilson, 1993); no individual study is entirely invincible to such
criticism.
One criticism of this body of research (Belcastro et al., 1993) has been that the research lacks external validity because it may
not be representative of the larger population of lesbian and gay parents. This criticism is not justified, because nobody knows
the actual composition of the entire population of lesbian mothers, gay fathers, or their children (many of whom choose to
remain hidden) and hence researchers cannot possible evaluate the degree to which particular samples do or do not represent
the population. In the long run, it is not the results obtained from any one specific sample, but the accumulation of findings from
many different samples that will be most meaningful.
Research in this area has also been criticized for using poorly matched or no control groups in designs that call for such
controls. Particularly notable in this category has been the tendency in some studies to compare development among children of
a group of divorced lesbian mothers, many of whom are living with lesbian partners, to that among children of a group of
divorced heterosexual mothers who are not currently living with heterosexual partners. It will be important for future research to
disentangle maternal sexual orientation from maternal status as partnered or unpartnered.
Other criticisms have been that most studies have involved relatively small samples, that there have been inadequacies in
assessment procedures employed in some studies, and that the classification of parents as lesbian, gay, or heterosexual has
sometimes been problematic (e.g., some women classified by researchers as lesbian might be regarded as bisexual by other
observers). It is significant, however, that even with all the questions and/or limitations that may characterize research in the
area, none of the published research suggests conclusions different from those that will be summarized below.
This summary consists of four sections. In the first, results of research on lesbian and gay adults (and parents) are summarized.
In the second section, a summary of results from research comparing children of lesbian and gay parents with those of
heterosexual parents or with established norms is presented. The third section summarizes research on heterogeneity among
lesbian and gay families with children. The fourth section provides a brief conclusion.
A. Lesbian and Gay Parents
One belief that often underlies both judicial decision-making in custody litigation and public policies governing foster care and
adoption has been the belief that lesbians and gay men are not fit to be parents. In particular, courts have sometimes assumed
that gay men and lesbians are mentally ill, that lesbians are less maternal than heterosexual women, and that lesbians’ and gay
men’s relationships with sexual partners leave little time for ongoing parent-child interactions (Editors of the Harvard Law
Review, 1990). Results of research to date have failed to confirm any of these beliefs (Falk, 1989, 1994; Patterson, 1994b,
1995b, 1996).
Mental Health of Lesbians and Gay Men
The psychiatric, psychological, and social-work professions do not consider homosexual orientation to be a mental disorder.
More than 20 years ago, the American Psychiatric Association removed "homosexuality" from its list of mental disorders,
stating that "homosexuality per se implies no impairment in judgment, stability, reliability, or general social or vocational
capabilities" (American Psychiatric Association, 1980). In 1975, the American Psychological Association took the same
position and urged all mental health professionals to help dispel the stigma of mental illness that had long been associated with
homosexual orientation (American Psychological Association, 1975). The National Association of Social Workers has a similar
policy (National Association of Social Workers, 1994).
The decision to remove homosexual orientation from the list of mental disorders reflects the results of extensive research,
conducted over three decades, showing that homosexual orientation is not a psychological maladjustment (Gonsiorek, 1991;
Reiss, 1980; Hart, Roback, Tittler, Weitz, Walston, & McKee, 1978). The social and other circumstances in which lesbians
and gay men live, including exposure to widespread prejudice and discrimination, often cause acute distress; but there is no
reliable evidence that homosexual orientation per se impairs psychological functioning (Freedman, 1971; Gonsiorek, 1991;
Hart et al., 1978; Hooker, 1957; Reiss, 1980).
Fitness of Lesbians and Gay Men as Parents
Beliefs that gay and lesbian adults are not fit parents likewise have no empirical foundation (Cramer, 1986; Falk, 1989; Gibbs,
1988; Patterson, 1996). Lesbian and heterosexual women have not been found to differ markedly either in their overall mental
health or in their approaches to child rearing (Kweskin & Cook, 1982; Lyons, 1983; Miller, Jacobsen, & Bigner, 1981;
Mucklow & Phelan, 1979; Pagelow, 1980; Rand, Graham, & Rawlings, 1982; Thompson, McCandless, & Strickland, 1971),
nor have lesbians’ romantic and sexual relationships with other women been found to detract from their ability to care for their
children (Pagelow, 1980). Recent evidence suggests that lesbian couples who are parenting together tend to divide household
and family labor relatively evenly (Hand, 1991; Patterson, 1995a) and to report
satisfaction with their couple relationships (Koepke, Hare, & Moran, 1992; Patterson, 1995a). Research on gay fathers has
similarly found no reason to believe them unfit as parents (Barret & Robinson, 1990; Bigner and Bozett, 1990; Bozett, 1980,
1989).
B. Children of Lesbian and Gay Parents
In addition to judicial concerns about gay and lesbian parents themselves, courts have voiced three major kinds of fears about
effects of lesbian or gay parents on children.
The first general concern is that development of sexual identity will be impaired among children of lesbian or gay parents-for
instance, that children brought up by gay fathers or lesbian mothers will show disturbances in gender identity and/or in gender
role behavior (Falk, 1989; Hitchens & Kirkpatrick, 1985; Kleber, Howell, & Tibbits-Kleber, 1986). It has also been
suggested that children brought up by lesbian mothers or gay fathers will themselves become gay or lesbian (Falk, 1989;
Kleber et al., 1986).
A second category of concerns involves aspects of children’s personal development other than sexual identity (Falk, 1989;
Editors of the Harvard Law Review, 1990; Kleber et al., 1986). For example, courts have expressed fears that children in the
custody of gay or lesbian parents will be more vulnerable to mental breakdown, will exhibit more adjustment difficulties and
behavior problems, and will be less psychologically healthy than children growing up in homes with heterosexual parents.
A third category of specific fears expressed by the courts is that children of lesbian and gay parents may experience difficulties
in social relationships (Editors of the Harvard Law Review, 1990; Falk, 1989; Hitchens & Kirkpatrick, 1985). For example,
judges have repeatedly expressed concern that children living with lesbian mothers may be stigmatized, teased, or otherwise
traumatized by peers. Another common fear is that children living with gay or lesbian parents may be more likely to be sexually
abused by the parent or by the parent’s friends or acquaintances.
Sexual Identity
Three aspects of sexual identity are considered in the research: gender identity concerns a person’s self-identification as male or
female; gender-role behavior concerns the extent to which a person’s activities, occupations, and the like are regarded by the
culture as masculine, feminine, or both; sexual orientation refers to a person’s choice of sexual partners–i.e., heterosexual,
homosexual, or bisexual (Money & Earhardt, 1972; Stein, 1993). To examine the possibility that children in the custody of
lesbian mothers or gay fathers experience disruptions of sexual identity, research relevant to each of these three major areas of
concern is summarized below.
Gender identity. In studies of children ranging in age from 5 to 14, results of projective testing and related interview
procedures have revealed normal development of gender identity among children of lesbian mothers (Green, 1978; Green,
Mandel, Hotvedt, Gray, & Smith, 1986; Kirkpatrick, Smith, & Roy, 1981). More direct assessment techniques to assess
gender identity have been used by Golombok, Spencer, and Rutter (1983) with the same result; all children in this study
reported that they were happy with their gender, and that they had no wish to be a member of the opposite sex. There was no
evidence in any of the studies of gender identity difficulties among children of lesbian mothers. No data have been reported in
this area for children of gay fathers.
Gender-Role Behavior. A number of studies have examined gender-role behavior among the offspring of lesbian mothers
(Golombok et al., 1983; Gottman, 1990; Green, 1978; Hoeffer, 1981; Kirkpatrick et al., 1981; Patterson, 1994a). These
studies reported that such behavior among children of lesbian mothers fell within typical limits for conventional sex roles. For
instance, Kirkpatrick and her colleagues (1981) found no differences between children of lesbian versus heterosexual mothers
in toy preferences, activities, interests, or occupational choices.
Rees (1979) administered the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) to 24 adolescents, half of whom had divorced lesbian and half
of whom had divorced heterosexual mothers. The BSRI yields scores on masculinity and femininity as independent factors and
an androgyny score from the ratio of masculinity to femininity. Children of lesbian and heterosexual mothers did not differ on
masculinity or on androgyny, but children of lesbian mothers reported greater psychological femininity than did those of
heterosexual mothers. This result would seem to run counter to expectations based on stereotypes of lesbians as lacking in
femininity, both in their own demeanor and in their likely influences on children.
Sex role behavior of children was also assessed by Green and his colleagues (1986). In interviews with the children, no
differences between 56 children of lesbian and 48 children of heterosexual mothers were found with respect to favorite
television programs, favorite television characters, or favorite games or toys. There was some indication in interviews with
children themselves that the offspring of lesbian mothers had less sex-typed preferences for activities at school and in their
neighborhoods than did children of heterosexual mothers. Consistent with this result, lesbian mothers were also more likely than
heterosexual mothers to report that their daughters often participated in rough-and-tumble play or occasionally played with
"masculine" toys such as trucks or guns; however, they reported no differences in these areas for sons. Lesbian mothers were
no more or less likely than heterosexual mothers to report that their children often played with "feminine" toys such as dolls. In
both family types, however, children’s sex-role behavior was seen as falling within normal limits.
In summary, the research suggests that children of lesbian mothers develop patterns of gender-role behavior that are much like
those of other children.
No data are available as yet in this area for children of gay fathers.
Sexual Orientation. A number of investigators have also studied a third component of sexual identity: sexual orientation
(Bailey, Bobrow, Wolfe, & Mikach, 1995; Bozett, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1989; Gottman, 1990; Golombok et al., 1983; Green,
1978; Huggins, 1989; Miller, 1979; Paul, 1986; Rees, 1979). In all studies, the great majority of offspring of both gay fathers
and lesbian mothers described themselves as heterosexual. Taken together, the data do not suggest elevated rates of
homosexuality among the offspring of lesbian or gay parents. For instance, Huggins (1989) interviewed 36 teenagers, half of
whom were offspring of lesbian mothers and half of heterosexual mothers. No children of lesbian mothers identified themselves
as lesbian or gay, but one child of a heterosexual mother did; this difference was not statistically significant. In a recent study,
Bailey and his colleagues (1995) studied adult sons of gay fathers and found more than 90% of the sons to be heterosexual.
Because the heterosexual and nonheterosexual sons did not differ in
the length of time they had resided with their fathers, the effects of the exposure to the fathers’ sexual orientation on the sons’
sexual orientation must have been either very small or nonexistent.
Other Aspects of Personal Development
Studies of other aspects of personal development among children of gay and lesbian parents have assessed a broad array of
characteristics. Among these have been separation-individuation (Steckel, 1985, 1987), psychiatric evaluations (Golombok et
al., 1983; Kirkpatrick et al., 1981), assessments of behavior problems (Flaks, Ficher, Masterpasqua and Joseph, 1995;
Golombok et al., 1983; Patterson, 1994a), personality (Gottman, 1990), self-concept (Gottman, 1990; Huggins, 1989;
Patterson, 1994a; Puryear, 1983), locus of control (Puryear, 1983; Rees, 1979), moral judgment (Rees, 1979), and
intelligence (Green et al., 1986). Research has shown that concerns about difficulties in personal development in these areas
among children of lesbian mothers are unwarranted. As was the case for sexual identity, studies of these other aspects of