Lesbian Mother Families
🛑 ALL INFORMATION CLICK HERE 👈🏻👈🏻👈🏻
Lesbian Mother Families
Switch Edition
Academic Edition
Corporate Edition
Sexuality Research and Social Policy
volume 12 , pages 202–212 ( 2015 ) Cite this article
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. This paper compares 40 same-sex families and 40 heterosexual parents in the Italian context. In Italy, it is impossible for same-sex couples or single lesbians and gay men to adopt a child, become married, or enter civil partnerships. The participants were administered self-reports, in order to investigate the dyadic relationships, family functioning, and emotional and social adjustment of their children. Lesbian and gay parents reported higher levels of dyadic adjustment, flexibility, and communication in their family than heterosexual parents. Data from the present study demonstrated that children raised by lesbian and gay parents showed a similar level of emotion regulation and psychological well-being than children raised by heterosexual parents. In Italy, negative attitudes towards same-sex families persist, and educational programs should be developed to deconstruct stereotypes regarding gay and lesbian parent families. These results have important implications in both clinical and social fields.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution .
Instant access to the full article PDF.
Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)
Adams, J. M., & Jones, W. H. (1997). The conceptualization of marital commitment: An integrative analysis. J Pers Soc Psychol . doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.72.5.1177 .
Bailey, J. M., Kim, P. Y., Hills, A., & Linsenmeier, J. A. (1997). Butch, femme, or straight acting? Partner preferences of gay men and lesbians. J Pers Soc Psychol, 73 , 960–973. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.73.5.960 .
Baiocco, R., & Laghi, F. (2013). Sexual orientation and the desires and intentions to become parents. J Fam Stud, 19 , 90–98. doi: 10.5172/jfs.2013.19.1.90 .
Baiocco, R., Cacioppo, M., Laghi, F., & Tafà, M. (2013a). Factorial and construct validity of FACES IV among Italian adolescents. J Child Fam Stud, 22 , 962–970. doi: 10.1007/s10826-012-9658-1 .
Baiocco, R., Nardelli, N., Pezzuti, L., & Lingiardi, V. (2013b). Attitudes of Italian heterosexual older adults towards lesbian and gay parenting. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 10 (4), 285–292. doi: 10.1007/s13178-013-0129-2 .
Baiocco, R., Argalia, M., & Laghi, F. (2014a). The desire to marry and attitudes toward same-sex family legalization in a sample of Italian lesbians and gay men. J Fam Issues, 35 (2), 181–200. doi: 10.1177/0192513X12464872 .
Baiocco, R., Fontanesi, L., Santamaria, F., Ioverno, S., Marasco, B., Baumgartner, E., Willoughby, B. L. B., Laghi, F. (2014). Negative parental responses to coming out and family functioning in a sample of lesbian and gay young adults. Journal of Child and Family Studies . doi: 10.1007/s10826-014-9954-z .
Baiocco, R., Ioverno, S., Cerutti, R., Santamaria, F., Fontanesi, L., Lingiardi, V., Baumgartner, E., Laghi, F. (2014). Suicidal ideation in Spanish and Italian lesbian and gay young adults: the role of internalized sexual stigma. Psicothema , 26 (4), 490–6. doi: 10.7334/psicothema2014.1
Balsam, K. F., Beauchaine, T. P., Rothblum, E. D., & Solomon, S. E. (2008). Three-year follow-up of same-sex couples who had civil unions in Vermont, same-sex couples not in civil unions, and heterosexual married couples. Dev Psychol, 44 , 102–116. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.44.1.102 .
Baucom, B. R., McFarland, P. T., & Christensen, A. (2010). Gender, topic, and time in observed demand-withdraw interaction in cross- and same-sex couples. Journal of Family Psychology: JFP: Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 24 , 233–242. doi: 10.1037/a0019717 .
Biblarz, T. J., & Stacey, J. (2010). How does the gender of parents matter? J Marriage Fam, 72 , 3–22. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00678.x .
Bos, H., & Gartrell, N. (2010). Adolescents of the USA national longitudinal lesbian family study: can family characteristics counteract the negative effects of stigmatization? Fam Process, 49 , 559–572. doi: 10.1111/j.1545-5300.2010.01340.x .
Bos, H., & Sandfort, T. G. M. (2010). Children’s gender identity in lesbian and heterosexual two-parent families. Sex Roles, 62 , 114–126. doi: 10.1007/s11199-009-9704-7 .
Bos, H. M. W., van Balen, F., & van den Boom, D. C. (2004). Experience of parenthood, couple relationship, social support, and child-rearing goals in planned lesbian mother families. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 45 , 755–764. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00269.x .
Bos, H. M. W., van Balen, F., & van den Boom, D. C. (2007). Child adjustment and parenting in planned lesbian-parent families. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 77 , 38–48. doi: 10.1037/0002-9432.77.1.38 .
Brewaeys, A., Ponjaert, I., Van Hall, E. V., & Golombok, S. (1997). Donor insemination: child development and family functioning in lesbian mother families. Human Reproduction (Oxford, England), 12 , 1349–1359. doi: 10.1093/humrep/12.6.1349 .
Brewer, P. R., & Wilcox, C. (2005). The polls-trends: Same-sex marriage and civil unions. Public Opinion Quarterly, 69 , 599–616. doi: 10.1093/poq/nfi052 .
Cardell, M., Finn, S., & Marecek, J. (1981). Sex-role identity, sex-role behavior, and satisfaction in heterosexual, lesbian, and gay male couples. Psychol Women Q . doi: 10.1111/j.1471-6402.1981.tb00588.x .
Christopher, F. S., & Sprecher, S. (2000). Sexuality in marriage, dating, and other relationships: A decade review. J Marriage Fam, 62 , 999–1017. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00999.x .
Clarke, V., Kitzinger, C., & Potter, J. (2004). “Kids are just cruel anyway”: Lesbian and gay parents’ talk about homophobic bullying. The British Journal of Social Psychology / the British Psychological Society, 43 , 531–550. doi: 10.1348/0144666042565362 .
Crouch, S. R., Waters, E., McNair, R., Power, J., & Davis, E. (2014). Parent-reported measures of child health and wellbeing in same-sex parent families: A cross-sectional survey. BMC Public Health, 14 , 635. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-635 .
Crowl, A., Ahn, S., & Baker, J. (2008). A meta-analysis of developmental outcomes for children of same-sex and heterosexual parents. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 4 (3), 385–407. doi: 10.1080/15504280802177615 .
D’Amore, S., & Baiocco, R. (2014). La transition vers la parentalité des familles homoparentales: Recherche et implications cliniques. Cahiers Critiques de Thérapie Familiale et de Pratiques de Réseaux, 52 , 41–56. doi: 10.3917/ctf.052.0041 .
D’Augelli, A. R., Rendina, H. J., Sinclair, K. O., & Grossman, A. H. (2007). Lesbian and gay youth’s aspirations for marriage and raising children. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 1 (4), 77–98. doi: 10.1300/J462v01n04_06 .
Donadio, R. (2013). On gay priests, Pope Francis asks, “Who Am I to Judge? .” New York Times.
Farr, R. H., & Patterson, C. J. (2013). Coparenting among lesbian, gay, and heterosexual couples: Associations with adopted children’s outcomes. Child Dev, 84 , 1226–1240. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12046 .
Fedewa, A. L., Black, W. W., & Ahn, S. (2015). Children and adolescents with same-gender parents: A meta-analytic approach in assessing outcomes. Journal of GLBT Family Studies , 11 , 1–34. doi: 10.1080/1550428X.2013.869486 .
Flaks, D. K., Ficher, I., Masterpasqua, F., & Joseph, G. (1995). Lesbians choosing motherhood: A comparative study of lesbian and heterosexual parents and their children. Dev Psychol . doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.31.1.105 .
Fulcher, M., Sutfin, E. L., & Patterson, C. J. (2008). Individual differences in gender development: Associations with parental sexual orientation, attitudes, and division of labor. Sex Roles, 58 , 330–341. doi: 10.1007/s11199-007-9348-4 .
Gartrell, N., & Bos, H. (2010). US National longitudinal lesbian family study: Psychological adjustment of 17-year-old adolescents. Pediatrics, 126 , 28–36. doi: 10.1542/peds. 2009-3153 .
Gartrell, N. K., Bos, H. M. W., & Goldberg, N. G. (2011). Adolescents of the U.S. national longitudinal lesbian family study: Sexual orientation, sexual behavior, and sexual risk exposure. Arch Sex Behav, 40 , 1199–1209. doi: 10.1007/s10508-010-9692-2 .
Gentili, P., Contreras, L., Cassaniti, M., & D’Arista, F. (2002). La Dyadic Adjustment Scale: Una misura dell’adattamento di coppia. Minerva Psichiatrica, 43, 107–116.
Golombok, S., & Tasker, F. (1996). Do parents influence the sexual orientation of their children? Findings from a longitudinal study of lesbian families. Dev Psychol . doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.32.1.3 .
Golombok, S., Perry, B., Burston, A., Murray, C., Mooney-Somers, J., Stevens, M., & Golding, J. (2003). Children with lesbian parents: A community study. Dev Psychol, 39 , 20–33. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.39.1.20 .
Golombok, S., Mellish, L., Jennings, S., Casey, P., Tasker, F., & Lamb, M. E. (2014). Adoptive gay father families: Parent–child relationships and children’s psychological adjustment. Child Dev, 85 (2), 456–468. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12155 .
Goodman, R. (2001). Psychometric properties of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 40 , 1337–1345. doi: 10.1097/00004583-200111000-00015 .
Gotta, G., Green, R. J., Rothblum, E., Solomon, S., Balsam, K., & Schwartz, P. (2011). Heterosexual, lesbian, and gay male relationships: A comparison of couples in 1975 and 2000. Fam Process, 50 , 353–376. doi: 10.1111/j.1545-5300.2011.01365.x .
Gottman, J. M., Levenson, R. W., Swanson, C., Swanson, K., Tyson, R., & Yoshimoto, D. (2003). Observing gay, lesbian and heterosexual couples’ relationships: Mathematical modeling of conflict interaction. J Homosex, 45 , 65–91. doi: 10.1300/J082v45n01_04 .
Herek, G. M., Cogan, J. C., & Gillis, J. R. (2002). Victim experiences in hate crimes based on sexual orientation. J Soc Issues, 58 , 319–339. doi: 10.1111/1540-4560.00263 .
Hunsley, J., Best, M., Lefebvre, M., & Vito, D. (2001). The seven-item short form of the dyadic adjustment scale: Further evidence for construct validity. American Journal of Family Therapy , 29 , 325-335. doi: 10.1080/01926180152588734 .
ILGA-Europe. (2014). Annual review of the human rights situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people in Europe . Brussells: ILGA Europe.
Istituto Superiore di Sanità. Ricerca nazionale sulla salute di lesbiche, gay e bisessuali (MoDiDi) . (2006). Retrieved from http://www.salutegay.it/modidi/risultati_della_ricerca .
Katz-Wise, S. L., & Hyde, J. S. (2012). Victimization experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sex Research, 49 , 142–167. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2011.637247 .
Kurdek, L. A. (2004). Are gay and lesbian cohabiting couples really different from heterosexual married couples? Journal of Marriage and Family 66 , 880–900. doi: 10.1111/j.0022-2445.2004.00060.x .
Kurdek, L. A. (2005). What do we know about gay and lesbian couples? Curr Dir Psychol Sci, 14 , 251–254. doi: 10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00375.x .
Kuvalanka, K. A., & Goldberg, A. E. (2009). “Second generation” voices: Queer youth with lesbian/bisexual mothers. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38 , 904–919. doi: 10.1007/s10964-008-9327-2 .
Lelleri, R., Pietrantoni, L., Palestini, L., & Chiari, C. (2005). Sesso e salute di lesbiche, gay e bisessuali oggi in Italia—Sintesi dei principali risultati sociosanitari [Sex and health in lesbian, gay and bisexual people today in Italy. Summary of the main social and health outcomes] . Bologna.
Lick, D. J., Tornello, S. L., Riskind, R. G., Schmidt, K. M., & Patterson, C. J. (2012). Social climate for sexual minorities predicts well-being among heterosexual offspring of lesbian and gay parents. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 9 , 99–112. doi: 10.1007/s13178-012-0081-6 .
Lick, D. J., Patterson, C. J., & Schmidt, K. M. (2013). Recalled social experiences and current psychological adjustment among adults reared by gay and lesbian parents. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 9 (3), 230–253.
Lingiardi, V., Falanga, S., & D’Augelli, A. R. (2005). The evaluation of homophobia in an Italian sample. Arch Sex Behav, 34 , 81–93. doi: 10.1007/s10508-005-1002-z .
Lingiardi, V., Baiocco, R., & Nardelli, N. (2012). Measure of internalized sexual stigma for lesbians and gay men: A new scale. J Homosex, 59 (8), 1191–1210. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2012.712850 .
Lynch, J. M., & Murray, K. (2000). For the love of the children: The coming out process for lesbian and gay parents and stepparents. J Homosex, 39 , 1–24. doi: 10.1300/J082v39n01_01 .
MacCallum, F., & Golombok, S. (2004). Children raised in fatherless families from infancy: A follow-up of children of lesbian and single heterosexual mothers at early adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 45 , 1407–1419. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00324.x .
Molina, P., Sala, M. N., Zappulla, C., Bonfigliuoli, C., Cavioni, V., Zanetti, M. A., Baiocco, R., Laghi, F., Pallini, S., De Stasio, S., Raccanello, D., &Cicchetti, D. (2014). The emotion regulation checklist—Italian translation. Validation of parent and teacher versions. European Journal of Developmental Psychology , 11 , 624–634. doi: 10.1080/17405629.2014.898581 .
Morris, J. F., Balsam, K. F., & Rothblum, E. D. (2002). Lesbian and bisexual mothers and nonmothers: Demographics and the coming-out process. Journal of Family Psychology: JFP: Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 16 , 144–156. doi: 10.1037/0893-3200.16.2.144 .
Olson, D. (2011). FACES IV and the circumplex model: Validation study. Jornal of Marital & Family Therapy, 3 (1), 64–80. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2009.00175.x .
Patterson, C. J. (2000). Family relationships of lesbians and gay men. J Marriage Fam, 62 , 1052–1069. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.01052.x .
Patterson, C. J. (2006). Children of lesbian and gay parents. Curr Dir Psychol Sci . doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00444.x .
Patterson, C. J. (2009). Children of lesbian and gay parents: Psychology, law, and policy. The American Psychologist, 64 , 727–736. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.64.8.727 .
Patterson, C. J., Sutfin, E. L., & Fulcher, M. (2004). Division of labor among lesbian and heterosexual parenting couples: Correlates of specialized versus shared patterns. J Adult Dev, 11 , 179–189. doi: 10.1023/B:JADE.0000035626.90331.47 .
Peplau, L. A. LA, & Beals, K. P. K. (2004). The family lives of lesbians and gay men. In A. L. Vangelisti (Ed.), Handbook of family communication (pp. 233–248). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum. doi: 10.2307/353821 .
Peplau, L. A., Padesky, C., & Hamilton, M. (1982). Satisfaction in lesbian relationships. J Homosex, 8 , 23–35. doi: 10.1300/J082v08n02_04 .
Perrin, E. C., & Siegel, B. S. (2013). Promoting the well-being of children whose parents are gay or lesbian. Pediatrics, 131 , e1374–e1383. doi: 10.1542/peds. 2013-0377 .
Reilly, M. E., & Lynch, J. M. (1990). Power-sharing in lesbian partnerships. J Homosex, 19 , 1–30. doi: 10.1300/J082v19n03_01 .
Richards, D. A. (2008). Affiliative stigma and factors of association . Gainesville: University of Florida.
Riggs, D. W., McLaren, S., & Mayes, A. S. (2009). Attitudes toward parenting in a lesbian and gay community convenience sample. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health . doi: 10.1080/19359700802480659 .
Russell, S. T., & Muraco, J. A. (2013). The use of representative data sets to study LGBT-parent families: Challenges, advantages, and opportunities. In LGBT-parent families (pp. 343–356). New York: Springer.
Schumm, W. R. (2010). Children of homosexuals more apt to be homosexuals? A reply to Morrison and to Cameron based on an examination of multiple sources of data. J Biosoc Sci, 42 , 721–742. doi: 10.1017/S0021932010000325 .
Silverstein, L. B., Auerbach, C. F., & Levant, R. F. (2002). Contemporary fathers reconstructing masculinity: Clinical implications of gender role strain. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 33 , 361–369. doi: 10.1037/0735-7028.33.4.361 .
Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38 , 15–28. doi: 10.2307/350547 .
Stacey, J., & Biblarz, T. J. (2001). (How) Does the sexual orientation of parents matter? American Sociological Review, 66, 159–183. doi: 10.2307/2657413 .
Stevens, M., Perry, B., Burston, A., Golombok, S., & Golding, J. (2003). Openness in lesbian-mother families regarding mother’s sexual orientation and child’s conception by donor insemination. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 21 (4), 347–362.
Tobia, V., & Marzocchi, G. M. (2011). Norme italiane dello Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ): Il comportamento dei bambini italiani valutato dai loro insegnanti. Disturbi Di Attenzione E Iperattività: Diagnosi, Interventi E Ruolo Della Scuola, 6 (2), 15–22.
Vanfraussen, K., Ponjaert-Kristoffersen, I., & Brewaeys, A. (2002). What does it mean for youngsters to grow up in a lesbian family created by means of donor insemination? Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 20 , 237–252. doi: 10.1080/0264683021000033165 .
Wainright, J. L., & Patterson, C. J. (2008). Peer relations among adolescents with female same-sex parents. Dev Psychol, 44 , 117–126. doi: 10.1037/0893-3200.20.3.526 .
Weber, S. (2010). Nursing care of families with parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing : Official Publication of the Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nurses, Inc, 23 , 11–16. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-6171.2009.00211.x .
Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
Roberto Baiocco, Federica Santamaria, Lilybeth Fontanesi, Emma Baumgartner & Fiorenzo Laghi
Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Salvatore Ioverno & Vittorio Lingiardi
You can also search for this author in
PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in
PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in
PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in
PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in
PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in
PubMed Google Scholar
You can also search for this author in
PubMed Google Scholar
Correspondence to
Roberto Baiocco .
Baiocco, R., Santamaria, F., Ioverno, S. et al. Lesbian Mother Families and Gay Father Families in Italy: Family Functioning, Dyadic Satisfaction, and Child Well-Being.
Sex Res Soc Policy 12 , 202–212 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-015-0185-x
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-015-0185-x
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Super Squirt Anal
A Hey Nasty
Hot Sex Abg