Child’s attachment and Functioning, Coparenting, and Parents’ Needs in Gay, Lesbian, and Heterosexual Parent Families

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Research on same-sex parenting investigating parents’ and children’s well-being has shown that children function as well as in heterosexual parent families, though same-sex parents seem to share parenting and tasks more equally when compared to heterosexual parents. However, these aspects have been mainly addressed in adoptive same-sex families or families with a child conceived in prior heterosexual relationships, leading to bias related to adoption stress or divorce. Furthermore, many studies targeted lesbian mothers with a limited number of studies also including gay fathers through surrogacy.
The first study compares child functioning in gay fathers surrogacy families and heterosexual parent families who conceived spontaneously, as well as investigates co-parenting and the impact of perceived discrimination and social support.
The second longitudinal study examines longitudinal associations between parental sensitivity and child attachment in gay, lesbian, and heterosexual parent families, looking at potential differences among family types and/or attachment figure roles.
Studying fathers and mothers from gay-, lesbian-, and heterosexual-parent families with infants born through artificial reproductive techniques, the third study investigates whether differences in sensitivity and intrusiveness in three contexts (playing, cleaning, and feeding) are explained by gender or caregiver role. The fourth study explores the needs of parents of donor-conceived children in lesbian, heterosexual, and single mother families. It further investigates whether parents’ unmet needs for support from professionals, peers, families, and friends are related to parents’ mental health and their donor-conceived children through parents’ experiences of parental stress. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Henny Bos, Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA)

Individual Presentations

• Children Born by Surrogacy and Raised by Gay Fathers: Role of Coparenting, Support, and Discrimination - Presenting Author: Benedicte Mouton, University of Brussels (ULB); Non-Presenting Author: Salvatore D'Amore, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Non-Presenting Author: Robert-Jay Green, California School of Professional Psychology

• Longitudinal Associations Between Parental Sensitivity and Child Attachment in Gay, Lesbian and Heterosexual Parent Families - Presenting Author: Nicola Carone, University of Pavia; Non-Presenting Author: Lavinia Barone, University of Pavia, IT

• Parental Sensitivity and Intrusiveness in Gay-, Lesbian-, and Heterosexual-Parent Families Using ART: Does Gender or Caregiver Role Matter? - Presenting Author: Loes van Rijn - van Gelderen, University of Amsterdam; Non-Presenting Author: Kate Ellis-Davies, Swansea University; Non-Presenting Author: Katrien Helmerhorst, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (UG/RUG); Non-Presenting Author: Michael E Lamb, University of Cambridge; Non-Presenting Author: Henny Bos, Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA)

• Donor conception: Unmet Support and Parental Stress Predict Parents’ Mental Health and Their Children’s Functioning - Presenting Author: Floor Van Rooij, University of Amsterdam; Non-Presenting Author: Anne Schrijvers, Amsterdam University Medical Center; Non-Presenting Author: Kees Jan Kan, University of Amsterdam; Non-Presenting Author: F van der Veen, Amsterdam University Medical Center; Non-Presenting Author: M. Visser, Amsterdam UMC; Non-Presenting Author: Henny Bos, Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA); Non-Presenting Author: M.H. Mochtar, Amsterdam UMC