Donor sibling relations among adult offspring conceived via insemination by lesbian parents.

STUDY QUESTION: How do adult offspring in planned lesbian-parent families feel about and relate to their donor (half) sibling(s) (DS)? SUMMARY ANSWER: A majority of offspring had found DS and maintained good ongoing relationships, and all offspring (regardless of whether a DS had been identified) were satisfied with their knowledge of and contact level with the DS. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: The first generation of donor insemination offspring of intended lesbian-parent families is now in their 30s. Coincident with this is an increased use of DNA testing and genetic ancestry websites, facilitating the discovery of donor siblings from a common sperm donor. Few studies of offspring and their DS include sexual minority parent (SMP) families, and only sparse data separately analyze the offspring of SMP families or extend the analyses to established adult offspring. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This cohort study included 75 adult offspring, longitudinally followed since conception in lesbian-parent families. Quantitative analyses were performed from online surveys of the offspring in the seventh wave of the 36-year study, with a 90% family retention rate. The data were collected from March 2021 to November 2022. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Participants were 30- to 33-year-old donor insemination offspring whose lesbian parents enrolled in a US prospective longitudinal study when these offspring were conceived. Offspring who knew of a DS were asked about their numbers found, characteristics or motivations for meeting, DS terminology, relationship quality and maintenance, and impact of the DS contact on others. All offspring (with or without known DS) were asked about the importance of knowing if they have DS and their terminology, satisfaction with information about DS, and feelings about future contact. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Of offspring, 53% (n = 40) had found DS in modest numbers, via a DS or sperm bank registry in 45% of cases, and most of these offspring had made contact. The offspring had their meeting motivations fulfilled, viewed the DS as acquaintances more often than siblings or friends, and maintained good relationships via meetings, social media, and cell phone communication. They disclosed their DS meetings to most relatives with neutral impact. The offspring, whether with known or unknown DS, felt neutral about the importance of knowing if they had DS, were satisfied with what they knew (or did not know) of the DS, and were satisfied with their current level of DS contact. This study is the largest, longest-running longitudinal study of intended lesbian-parent families and their offspring, and due to its prospective nature, is not biased by over-sampling offspring who were already satisfied with their DS. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: The sample was from the USA, and mostly White, highly educated individuals, not representative of the diversity of donor insemination offspring of lesbian-parent families. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: While about half of the offspring found out about DS, the other half did not. Regardless of knowing of a DS, these adult offspring of lesbian parents were satisfied with their level of DS contact. Early disclosure and identity formation about being donor-conceived in a lesbian-parent family may distinguish these study participants from donor insemination offspring and adoptees in the general population, who may be more compelled to seek genetic relatives. The study participants who sought DS mostly found a modest number of them, in contrast to reports in studies that have found large numbers of DS. This may be because one-third of study offspring had donors known to the families since conception, who may have been less likely to participate in commercial sperm banking or internet donation sites, where quotas are difficult to enforce or nonexistent. The study results have implications for anyone considering gamete donation, gamete donors, donor-conceived offspring, and/or gamete banks, as well as the medical and public policy professionals who advise them. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): No funding was provided for this project. The authors have no competing interests. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: N/A.

Sperm donor relations among adult offspring conceived via insemination by lesbian parents.

AIM: The present study examined how adult offspring of lesbian parents relate to their anonymous, open-identity, or known donors. DESIGN: An online survey of 75 donor-conceived offspring of lesbian parents, aged 30-33 years, participating in Wave 7 of a U.S. 36-year longitudinal study of planned lesbian-parent families was conducted. Offspring were asked about donor type, motivations for contacting the donor, terminology for the donor, relationship quality, means of relationship maintenance, impact of donor contact on offspring's other family members, and their feelings about the donor. RESULTS: Twenty offspring with anonymous donors and 15 with open-identity donors whom they had not contacted felt comfortable not knowing their donors. Forty offspring knew their donors - anonymous, contacted through an online registry (n = 7), open-identity, contacted (n = 9), or known since childhood (n = 24). Offspring who had contacted their donor since age 18 had their motivations fulfilled after contact, got along well with him, did not view him as a relative, and had told most family members about their contact, without detriment. Whether the donor was unknown or known at this stage of their lives, most offspring were satisfied with their contact level. CONCLUSION: This cohort of donor-conceived offspring of lesbian parents was among the first to reach adulthood during a time of technological advances in DNA testing, giving access to anonymous donors via online registries. The results inform donors, families, mental health providers, medical providers and public policymakers, on whether, how, and to what degree donor-conceived offspring optimally make donor contact.

Long-Term Effects of Family Resilience on the Subjective Well-Being of Offspring in the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study.

The current study used a family resilience approach to investigate why some offspring of sexual minority parents thrive despite homophobic stigmatization while others do not. Specifically, the study explored the role of two specific family functioning mechanisms (i.e., during adolescence, disclosure of offspring's personal life to their parents, and family compatibility) in the association between experienced homophobic stigmatization at age 17 and subjective well-being at age 25, among 71 offspring (37 females and 34 males, all cisgender) of the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS). The results showed that, overall, the offspring reported healthy subjective well-being as emerging adults. However, among NLLFS offspring with less family compatibility as adolescents, homophobic stigmatization was related to higher scores on negative affect when they were emerging adults. Psychological counseling that supports adolescent-parent communication may help prevent the negative effect of homophobic stigmatization on the subjective well-being of offspring with sexual minority parents.

Helicopter parenting, emotional avoidant coping, mental health, and homophobic stigmatization among emerging adult offspring of lesbian parents.

Helicopter parents are highly involved parents who hover over and around their child, applying developmentally inappropriate levels of control and tangible assistance. Previous research with different-sex parent families indicates that helicopter parenting is particularly problematic in emerging adulthood as it may indirectly affect the offspring's mental health through their use of emotional avoidant coping. Knowledge is lacking, however, on the antecedents and consequences of helicopter parenting in lesbian-parent families. The present longitudinal, questionnaire-based study investigated the effect of homophobic stigmatization in adolescence on mental health via helicopter parenting and emotional avoidant coping among 76 (37 females and 39 males) National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study 25-year-old offspring of lesbian parents. All participants were cisgender, born in the USA, and conceived through donor sperm, with the majority being White, heterosexual, highly educated, and no longer living with their parents. Parents who reported that their offspring experienced homophobic stigmatization in adolescence were likely to enact higher helicopter parenting in emerging adulthood. Then, higher scores on helicopter parenting were associated with offspring's greater use of emotional avoidant coping, which in turn negatively affected the mental health of emerging adult offspring. Discussed in light of Bowen's family differentiation theory, the results suggest that clinicians should examine helicopter parenting in the context of lesbian parents' developmental history and potential tendency to project their own concerns about safety onto their child in order to reduce the distress of experienced homophobic stigmatization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Mental Health of Lesbian, Bisexual, and Other-Identified Parents and Non-Parents from a Population-Based Study.

Studies have compared sexual minority mothers (mostly lesbian) to heterosexual mothers on mental health, but little research has compared sexual minority women with and without children. This was the first study to compare sexual minority women who did or did not have children, using a population-based sample with three age cohorts. Unlike prior convenience studies, this study finds parents more likely to be bisexual, in a relationship with a man, and non-urban. Bisexual parents scored higher than lesbian parents on psychological distress and lower on life satisfaction and happiness; they also reported less connection to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Among lesbians, the oldest non-parents reported more happiness and less psychological distress than the youngest non-parents. Parents with other identities perceived more social support from friends and reported lower levels of internalized homophobia than bisexual parents. The results will help professionals and policymakers understand how parenthood status affects women across sexual identities.

Parental Responses to Coming out by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Pansexual, or Two-Spirited People across Three Age Cohorts.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to better understand the complexities of parental responses to coming out in the narratives from Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Pansexual, or Two-Spirited (LGBQ+) individuals, and to examine whether those from recent cohorts experience a different parental response than those in older cohorts. BACKGROUND: Sexual minorities come out at younger ages today than in past decades, and coming out to parents is a major part of the identification process. METHOD: Interview excerpts of 155 US lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, pansexual, or two-spirited (LGBQ+) respondents were analyzed with a qualitative thematic analysis and with basic quantitative methods. The sample consisted of 61 interviewees in a young cohort (ages 18-25), 65 in a middle cohort (ages 35-42), and 29 in an older cohort (ages 52-59), in six ethnic/racial groups. RESULTS: Themes based on LGBQ+ people's accounts indicated that parental responses varied with the degree of their a priori knowledge of respondents' sexual identities (ranging from suspicion or certainty to surprise). Parental appraisal was either lacking, negative, mixed, or positive with accompanying silent, invalidating, ambivalent, and validating responses, respectively. Validating responses from parents were more often found in the youngest cohort, but invalidating responses were frequent across all cohorts. LGBQ+ people in the oldest cohort were more inclined to accept their parents being noncommunicative about sexuality in general and also about sexual diversity. CONCLUSION: It is too early to state that coming out to parents has become easier. Harmony in the parent-child relationship after coming out and open communication about sexual identities is regarded as desirable and yet it remains elusive for many LGBQ+ people.

The stability of psychological adjustment among donor-conceived offspring in the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study from childhood to adulthood: differences by donor type.

OBJECTIVE: To study differences by sperm donor type in the psychological adjustment of the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) offspring across three time periods from childhood to adulthood. DESIGN: U.S.-based prospective cohort study. SETTING: Paper-and-pencil questionnaires and protected online surveys. PATIENT(S): A cohort of 74 offspring conceived by lesbian parents using an anonymous (n = 26), a known (n = 26), or an open-identity (n = 22) sperm donor. Data were reported when offspring were ages 10 (wave 4), 17 (wave 5), and 25 (wave 6). INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist administered to lesbian parents when offspring were ages 10 and 17 and the Achenbach Adult Self-Report administered to offspring at age 25. RESULT(S): In both relative and absolute stability, no differences were found in internalizing, externalizing, and total problem behaviors by donor type over 15 years. However, both externalizing and total problem behaviors significantly declined from age 10 to 17 and then increased from age 17 to 25. Irrespective of donor type, among the 74 offspring, the large majority scored continuously within the normal range on internalizing (n = 62, 83.8%), externalizing (n = 62, 83.8%), and total problem behaviors (n = 60, 81.1%). CONCLUSION(S): The results reassure prospective lesbian parents and provide policy makers and reproductive medicine practitioners with empirical evidence that psychological adjustment in offspring raised by lesbian parents is unrelated to donor type in the long term.

Long-Term Effects of Homophobic Stigmatization During Adolescence on Problem Behavior in Emerging Adult Offspring of Lesbian Parents.

The long-term impact of homophobic stigmatization on adolescents with lesbian parents has not been explored. This longitudinal study investigated the effects of homophobia experienced during adolescence on problem behavior among emerging adult offspring of lesbian parents. The 72 offspring (37 females and 35 males; all cisgender and 25 years old) were predominantly White, heterosexual, and highly educated. As 17-year-old adolescents, 40.3% (n = 29) reported that they had been treated unfairly because of having lesbian parents. Experienced homophobia during adolescence was indirectly associated with internalizing problems during emerging adulthood through psychological problems during adolescence and meaning in life in emerging adulthood. Adolescent experiences of homophobia were also indirectly related to externalizing problems during emerging adulthood through adolescent psychological problems, but not through meaning in life in emerging adulthood. These findings indicate that long-term effects of homophobic stigmatization during adolescence persist into adulthood. School and community interventions should include all types of families in their diversity appreciation programs.

Demographics and health outcomes in a U.S. probability sample of transgender parents.

Nonrepresentative estimates indicate that 25%-50% of transgender people are parents. Yet very little is known about their demographic characteristics and health outcomes. The present study compared the quality of life and several mental health (i.e., psychological distress, life satisfaction, happiness, social well-being) and health (i.e., physical health, alcohol and drug use) dimensions by gender identity and parenthood status in a probability sample of 1,436 transgender and cisgender respondents to the U.S. Transgender Population Health Survey (TransPop study). An estimated 18.8% of transgender respondents were parents, with the majority (52.5%) being transgender women. After controlling for age, education, and relationship status, there were no significant differences between trans- and cisgender parents and their nonparent counterparts on any mental health or health dimensions. These findings are important to family practitioners and policymakers so that they do not mistakenly assume that any problems transgender parents may report reveal their unsuitability to parent. Rather, because differences in health outcomes were seen only across gender identities, such problems are more likely related to stigma and discrimination experiences in a cisgenderist/heterosexist society. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Studying the Longest 'Legal' U.S. Same-Sex Couples: A Case of Lessons Learned.

We review methodological opportunities and lessons learned in conducting a longitudinal, prospective study of same-sex couples with civil unions, recruited from a population-based sample, who were compared with same-sex couples in their friendship circle who did not have civil unions, and heterosexual married siblings and their spouse. At Time 1 (2002), Vermont was the only U.S. state to provide legal recognition similar to marriage to same-sex couples; couples came from other U.S. states and other countries to obtain a civil union. At Time 2 (2005), only one U.S. state had legalized same-sex marriage, and at Time 3 (2013) about half of U.S. states had legalized same-sex marriage, some within weeks of the onset of the Time 3 study. Opportunities included sampling legalized same-sex relationships from a population; the use of heterosexual married couples and same-sex couples not in legalized relationships as comparison samples from within the same social network; comparisons between sexual minority and heterosexual women and men with and without children; improvements in statistical methods for non-independence of data and missing data; and the use of mixed methodologies. Lessons learned included obtaining funding, locating participants over time as technologies changed, and on-going shifts in marriage laws during the study.

Exploring the Q in LGBTQ: Demographic characteristic and sexuality of Queer people in a U.S. representative sample of sexual minorities.

Although queer identity has been used among sexual minorities for decades, little is known about the population of queer-identified people in the U.S. We compared people who identify as queer (unweighted n = 88; weighted % = 5.8%) with those who identify as lesbian/gay (n = 833; 46.9%), bisexual (n = 493; 40.6%) or other sexual minority identities (n = 93; 6.7%), in order to describe queer-identified people as a distinct sexual minority group. The study is the first to estimate demographic characteristics and sexuality of queer-identified people using a U.S. nationally representative sample. We found that queer people are overwhelmingly cisgender women and genderqueer/ nonbinary (GQNB), younger, and more highly educated than other groups. After stratifying by gender identity (cisgender women; cisgender men; GQNB), survey-weighted descriptive differences in attraction, sexual partnering, and relationship patterns show that queer individuals are more likely to report attraction to, and sexual relationships with, transgender and GQNB people, though differences by respondent gender identity were noted: The majority of queer women are attracted to and partnered with both women and men, and were more likely than other groups to be attracted to and partnered with cisgender and transgender people. In contrast, queer men are split in their attractions-about half were attracted exclusively to men, and half to men and women-but the majority partnered with men only. Of all groups, queer men are the most likely to partner with transgender men, but none had partnered with transgender women. GQNB people are more likely than cisgender people to identify as queer (25.9%) and are attracted to both cisgender and transgender women and men, yet predominantly partnered with cisgender people. The results provide support for queer as a distinct sexual identity.

Asexual and Non-Asexual Respondents from a U.S. Population-Based Study of Sexual Minorities.

Using a U.S. population-based sample of lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) and other sexual minority (e.g., queer-identified) people, we compared those who identified as asexual (n = 19; 1.66%) and those who were non-asexual (n = 1504; 98.34%). Compared to non-asexual respondents, asexual respondents were more likely to be women or gender non-binary and belong to a younger (ages 18-27) cohort. Asexual individuals were also less likely to have had sex in the past 5 years, compared to non-asexual men, women, and gender non-binary participants, and also reported lower levels of sexual attraction to cisgender men and women than non-asexual women and men, respectively. However, asexual participants did not differ from non-asexual participants in being in an intimate relationship. Asexual respondents felt more stigma than non-asexual men and women, and asexuals reported more everyday discrimination than did non-asexual men. Asexual and non-asexual respondents did not differ in their sense of connectedness to the LGB community. Asexual and non-asexual respondents were as likely to be out to all family, all friends, and all co-workers, but fewer asexual participants were out to all healthcare providers than non-asexual men. The two groups were similar in general well-being, life satisfaction, and social support. In conclusion, asexual identity is an infrequent but unique identity, and one that has the potential to expand the concept of queer identity as well as to destabilize the foregrounding of sexual behavior.

"We Were Among the First Non-traditional Families": Thematic Perceptions of Lesbian Parenting After 25 Years.

In the sixth wave of the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS), when their offspring were 25 years old, the parents were asked to reflect on their most challenging and best experiences raising children in non-traditional families. The responses of 131 parents were interpreted through thematic analysis. The most challenging parenting experiences fell into five major categories: (1) distress about their children's experiences of exclusion, heterosexism, or homophobic stigmatization; (2) family of origin non-acceptance of their lesbian-parent family; (3) the never-ending process of "educating the world about queer parents"; (4) homophobia or hostility toward their non-traditional family; and (5) lack of legal protections for sexual minority parent (SMP) families. Their best parenting experiences included: (1) being role models, leading to a greater acceptance of LGBTQ people; (2) treasuring the LGBTQ parent and family community; (3) teaching their children to appreciate diversity of all types; and (4) witnessing their child's pride in their non-traditional family. Some of these challenges were anticipated by the parents more than a quarter century ago at the time that they were inseminating or pregnant with the index offspring.

A Comparison of Trans Women, Trans Men, Genderqueer Individuals, and Cisgender Brothers and Sisters on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory: Ratings by Self and Siblings.

A U.S. national sample of 295 transgender adults (trans women, trans men, and genderqueer individuals) and their cisgender siblings completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory about their siblings as well as themselves, which enabled a comparison between self-perceptions and sibling's perceptions of personality characteristics. Self-reported personality characteristics scored as feminine of trans women were not statistically different from those of their cisgender sisters, but they were significantly higher than self-reported femininity scores of trans men, genderqueer individuals, and cisgender brothers. Self-reported personality characteristics scored as masculine of trans men did not differ significantly from those of their cisgender brothers, but they were higher than those of trans women. Trans men and cisgender brothers were viewed by their siblings in a more sex-typed way than they rated themselves, whereas trans women and cisgender sisters were rated by their siblings in a less sex-typed way than they viewed themselves.

Same-Sex Couples' Decisions and Experiences of Marriage in the Context of Minority Stress: Interviews From a Population-Based Longitudinal Study.

In the emerging context of marriage equality, it is important to explore the reasons for and experience of marriage for long-term same-sex couples, including the role of minority stress. In Wave 3 of the population-based, longitudinal CUPPLES Study we interviewed 21 long-term same-sex couples (14 female, 7 male) who resided in 12 different states and who were legally married. Couple members ranged in age from 37 to 84 and reported being together as a couple from 15 to 41 years. Seven couples lived in states that did not recognize their marriage at the time of the interview. Legal protection and social validation emerged as the two primary domains that captured couples' lived experiences of marriage. Minority stress experiences emerged in the narratives in the context of couples' long-term commitment, the availability of civil marriage, and couples' participation in activist efforts on behalf of marriage equality for themselves and others.

Accuracy and Bias in Perceptions of Conflict Style Among Same-Sex and Heterosexual Couples.

Intimates form stable impressions of their romantic partner's conflict style, which may influence interactions during conflicts and shape expectancies regarding future disagreements. Despite a large body of work comparing relationship outcomes among heterosexual and same-sex couples, research has yet to examine how the validity of these perceptions vary as a function of gender and sexual orientation. The present study examines perceptual accuracy and bias in perceptions of conflict style among same-sex female (Ndyads=215), same-sex male (Ndyads=113), and heterosexual (Ndyads=93) couples. Although members of same-sex and heterosexual couples exhibited some similarity in accuracy and bias in perceptions, a number of compelling differences suggest that the gender and the sexual orientation of a couple shape perceptions of partner conflict style.

Windsor and Perry: reactions of siblings in same-sex and heterosexual couples.

The U.S. Supreme Court decisions in U.S. v. Windsor (570 U.S. 307) and Hollingsworth v. Perry (570 U.S. 399) created a focal point for public discussion of marriage equality for same-sex couples. This article reports the results of an exploratory study of the reactions of individuals currently or previously in same-sex couple relationships and a heterosexual sibling who is currently or previously married (N = 371) to the Supreme Court decisions. Thematic content analysis was used to explore participants' responses to an open-ended question on a survey. Reactions of individuals from same-sex couples revealed the following themes: (1) longitudinal perspectives on the advancement of rights for same-sex couples; (2) emotional responses celebrating the decisions or expressing relief; (3) affirmation of their relationship or rights; (4) practical consequences of the extension of rights; and (5) minority stress related to anticipation of future prejudice or discrimination. Themes in the heterosexual siblings' responses were (1) ally support; (2) flat support without emotion or elaboration; (3) indifference to or ignorance about the decisions; and (4) disapproval of the decisions. These themes are compared and discussed in light of prior research on reactions to marriage restriction debates and marriage (in)equality and family relationships.

Teaching lesbian studies.

Editorial Note: This essay on teaching lesbian studies is the first submission in a new feature in the Journal of Homosexuality, aimed at providing guidance to students and faculty who wish to teach courses in LGBT studies or to learn about basic concepts in the field such as minority stress, coming out models, heterosexism, etc. Esther D. Rothblum starts us out on this mission with her experiences teaching a course in lesbian studies. We encourage commentary on this piece and submissions about other experiences in teaching or introductions to basic concepts in sexuality and gender studies. This article describes teaching an upper-level undergraduate course on lesbian studies. It focuses on the types of students likely to enroll in this course, key aspects of gender identity and sexual orientation to be included, national and international issues to be discussed, and potential readings.