Реферат: Gay Parenting Essay Research Paper Lesbian and

relevant to families of this type. Parents and children in these two kinds of families are likely to have experiences that differ from

one another in many respects.

Many issues (for example, residential versus nonresidential parenting)have yet to be addressed directly by research. In this

section, research findings on the impact of parental psychological and relationship status and on the influence of other stresses

and supports are described. One dimension of difference among gay and lesbian families concerns whether or not the custodial

parent is involved in a couple relationship, and if so what implications this may have for children. Pagelow (1980), Kirkpatrick

et al. (1981), and Golombok et al. (1983) all reported that, in their samples, divorced lesbian mothers were more likely than

divorced heterosexual mothers to be living with a romantic partner; however, none of these investigators examined connections

between this variable and children’s adjustment or development in lesbian mother families.

Huggins (1989) reported that self-esteem among daughters of lesbian mothers whose lesbian partners lived with them was

higher than that among daughters of lesbian mothers who did not live with a partner. Because of the small sample size and

absence of statistical tests, this finding should be seen as suggestive rather than conclusive. On the basis of impressions from her

own work, Kirkpatrick has also stated her view that "contrary to the fears expressed in court, children in households that

included the mother’s lesbian lover had a richer, more open and stable family life" than did those in single parent lesbian mother

households (Kirkpatrick, 1987, p. 204).

Issues related to division of family and household labor have also been studied. In families headed by lesbian couples, Patterson

(1995a) found that, although mothers did not differ in their reported involvement in household and family decision-making tasks,

biological mothers reported more time spent in child care and nonbiological mothers reported more time spent in paid

employment. In families where mothers reported sharing child care duties relatively evenly between themselves, parents were

more satisfied and children were better adjusted. Thus, equal sharing of child care duties was associated with more

advantageous outcomes both for parents and for children in this study.

Another aspect of diversity among gay and lesbian families relates to the psychological status and well-being of the parent.

Research on parent-child relations in heterosexual families has consistently revealed that children’s adjustment is often related to

indices of maternal mental health. One might therefore expect factors that enhance mental health among lesbian mothers or gay

fathers also to benefit their children. Lott-Whitehead and Tully (1993) reported considerable variability in the amounts of stress

described by lesbian mothers, but did not describe sources of stress nor their relations to child adjustment. Rand, Graham, and

Rawlings (1982) found that lesbian mothers’ sense of psychological well-being was associated with their degree of openness

about their lesbian identity with employers, ex-husbands, and children; mothers who felt more able to disclose their lesbian

identity were more likely to express a positive sense of well-being. Unfortunately, no information about the relations of these