Microaggressions Experiences and Developmental Outcomes Among Offspring of Sexual and Gender Minority Parents Over Time

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Because most people in contemporary times do not engage in overtly hostile or consciously biased behavior towards members of sexual and gender minority groups, it has been suggested that discrimination against new family forms does not exist in a major way (Massey et al., 2013). Yet, research on stigmatization against these families has demonstrated that people tend to uphold both explicit and implicit biases (e.g., Bos & Gartrell, 2010; Carone et al., 2018; Farr et al., 2016; Haines et al., 2018). Minimal attention has been paid toward understanding the experiences of microaggressions (i.e., subtle forms of discrimination; Sue et al., 2007) among offspring of sexual and gender minority parents, as well as the longitudinal impact of these events on their adjustment.
The first paper shows that, across demographics (e.g., racial/ethnic background, SES, age), youth with LGBTQ+ parents commonly experience microaggressions, particularly associated with heterosexism. The second paper illustrates the protective role of a positive child-teacher relationship for social competence in the face of microaggressions among Italian school-age children of gay fathers and lesbian mothers who became parents through assisted reproduction. The third paper is based on the largest, longest-running, prospective investigation on planned lesbian families and finds that adolescent experiences of homophobic stigmatization negatively affect internalizing problem behavior in emerging adulthood via an increase in adolescent psychological problems and lower scores on meaning in life as adults.
This symposium will discuss theoretical and practical implications at the intersection of child development, stigmatization, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Sub Unit

• Sex, Gender

Chair

• Nanette Gartrell, Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law

Discussant

• Stephen T Russell, University of Texas at Austin

Individual Presentations

• Microaggression Experiences among Racially, Socioeconomically, and Geographically Diverse Youth with LGBTQ+ Parents in the U.S. - Presenting Author: Rachel H. Farr, University of Kentucky; Non-Presenting Author: Kelsey A Siebenthaler, University of Kentucky; Non-Presenting Author: Kay Simon, University of Kentucky

• Microaggressions, Child-Teacher Relationship, and Social Competence Among Children of Sexual Minority Parents: A Longitudinal Study - Presenting Author: Nicola Carone, University of Pavia; Non-Presenting Author: Vittorio Lingiardi, Sapienza Unviersity of Rome; Non-Presenting Author: Roberto Baiocco, Sapienza University of Rome; Non-Presenting Author: Lavinia Barone, University of Pavia, IT

• Long-Term Effects of Homophobic Stigmatization Experienced in Adolescence on Emerging Adult Offspring of Lesbian Parents - Presenting Author: Henny Bos, Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA); Non-Presenting Author: Nicola Carone, University of Pavia; Non-Presenting Author: Esther Rothblum, San Diego State University; Non-Presenting Author: Audrey S Koh, University of California; Non-Presenting Author: Nanette Gartrell, Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law