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ABSTRACTAim: 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, relationshipquality, 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 theirmotivations 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 unknownor 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 oftechnological 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.

Over the past few years, international organisations have advanced Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) as a global policy to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and address gender-based violence in schools. This paper analyses policy adoption, transfer mechanisms, and reformulation of CSE in Ethiopia, a late adopter of the policy. To do this, we identify education policy transfer mechanisms and apply a gender analysis by focusing on conceptualisations of gender relations in the uptake and reformulation of CSE policies. Drawing on document analysis and stakeholder interviews, the paper reveals that CSE in Ethiopia is largely a donor-driven agenda, advanced through dissemination and networking strategies. CSE is particularly embraced by the Ministry of Health, international organisations and NGOs in Ethiopia, but at the same time, the Ministry of Education and other critics continue to resist adoption, emphasising cultural differences. As a result, CSE in Ethiopia is (re)formulated and reflects narrow conceptualisations of how CSE can address gender-based violence, restricting its focus to health and development outcomes.

In this study, we compared internalizing and externalizing problem behavior of 67 Dutch adolescents (M age = 16.04) in planned lesbian families who were matched with 67 adolescents in heterosexual-parent families. We also examined whether homophobic stigmatization was associated with problem behavior in adolescents with lesbian mothers after taking into account demographic characteristics, mothers' scores on emotional involvement, and adolescents' earlier problem behavior (measured at age 4–8 years old). Standardized instruments measuring problem behavior were completed by parents and adolescent offspring, and questions about stigmatization were answered by adolescents with lesbian mothers. The results revealed no differences in internalizing and externalizing problem behavior associated with family type. Offspring in lesbian families who reported more experiences of homophobic stigmatization also demonstrated more internalizing and externalizing problem behavior.

This study compared 51 adolescents from intact two-mother planned lesbian families (all conceived through donor insemination) with 51 adolescents from intact mother– father families on their relationships with their parents (parental control, disclosure to parents, and adolescent– parent relationship quality), psychological adjustment (selfesteem, social anxiety, and conduct problems), and substance usage (consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana/hashish). The adolescents (average age 16 years) were matched on demographic characteristics (age, gender, educational level, country of birth, parental birth country) with a sample from a large school-based survey, and data were collected by means of adolescent self-reports. Analyses indicated that adolescents in both family types had positive relationships with their parents, which were favorably associated with psychological well-being. On the assessments of psychological adjustment and substance use, family type was significantly associated only with self-esteem and conduct problems: Adolescents with lesbian mothers had higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of conduct problems than their counterparts in heterosexual-parent families. Overall, the findings indicate that adolescents from intact two-mother lesbian families are comparable to those in a matched comparison group with intact mother–father families. The few differences found on psychological wellbeing favored the adolescents in lesbian two-mother families.

The National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) started in 1986 when donor insemination became available for lesbian women in the U.S. Wave 7 of the NLLFS was the first time that adults conceived via donor insemination were asked if they had or planned to have children, and what they anticipated telling children about their own nontraditional conception. Of 75 NLLFS adult offspring (mean age 30.93; 49.33% female, 48.00% male, and 2.66% gender nonbinary; 90.67% White, 9.33% people of color), 8 (10.67%) had children and 42 of the rest (62.67%) hoped to have children. Most anticipated no parenting challenges, though some mentioned societal reactions or not having had a father. They expected to rear children in an open-minded and child-focused way, and to discuss their own nontraditional conception in a casual and straightforward manner. They viewed their own mothers as role models. Wave 7 was also the first time that NLLFS parents were asked about grandchildren; of 124 parents, 7 (5.64%) were grandparents. They expressed joy in spending time with their grandchildren and pride in their offspring's parenting skills. The results are discussed in relation to research about how parents who are members of minority groups educate children about minority status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teens with lesbian mothers are academically successful and happy with their lives. These adolescents had strong family bonds, and they were nearly unanimous in describing their mothers as good role models. They also reported having numerous close friends—generally with same-age peers who were predominantly heterosexual. Teenagers were asked a series of questions about their everyday life experiences including academics, extracurricular activities, aspirations, friendships, family interactions, role models, health problems and wellbeing.

Fifty percent of 17-year-olds who grew up in lesbian-headed families in the United States indicated they had experienced stigmatization, but nearly 2/3 employed effective coping strategies. A key part of the study reveals that the overall rates of teasing experienced in lesbian-mother families do not differ from those reported in heterosexual families, which is consistent with previous research in this area.The results further revealed that teens’ peers were most often the source of negative comments, teasing or ridicule. Thirty percent of reported incidents occurred in elementary school and 39 percent occurred in high school. The findings suggest that educational systems could play an important role in preventing stigma incidents by discouraging homophobia in their anti-bullying programs.

The quality of life of 17-year-olds reared in lesbian-parent families did not differ from that of a matched group of adolescents who grew up in heterosexual-parent families. The study, also found, among teens with lesbian mothers, no difference in quality of life based on donor status (whether they had been conceived by known or unknown donors), experienced stigmatization (whether or not they had experienced discrimination), or maternal relationship continuity (whether their mothers were still together or had separated).  The data in the new report comes from adolescents whose families are participants in the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS), the longest-running and largest prospective investigation of lesbian mothers and their children in the United States. Initiated in 1986, the NLLFS examines the social, psychological, and emotional development of the children as well as the dynamics of planned lesbian families.

Based on the first longitudinal study on dissolutions among lesbian couples, this article suggests the importance of co-parent adoption for same-sex couples with children.  The study finds that the former couples were more likely to be sharing custody if there had been a co-parent adoption and that they had remained in their relationships longer — on average four years longer — than those without co-parent adoptions. In addition, their 17-year-old children were significantly more likely to report closeness to both parents and that they spent significantly more time with both parents after the dissolution, as compared to families without co-parent adoptions. Only 19 states and Washington D.C. currently have laws or court decisions clearly permitting co-parent adoptions by same-sex couples.

Although studies show that adolescents with same-sex parents experience homophobic discrimination, little is known about associations between stigmatization and substance use in this population. The 17-year-old offspring of lesbian parents from the largest, longest-running, longitudinal study of same-sex parented families were surveyed about substance use, experiences of homophobic stigmatization, and overall life satisfaction. Compared to matched adolescents from a national probability sample, adolescents with same-sex parents were more likely to report occasional substance use but not more likely to report heavy use. No associations were found between substance use and homophobic stigmatization or life satisfaction.

This investigation examines the impact of homophobic stigmatization on the wellbeing of 17-year-old adolescents who were conceived through donor insemination and whose mothers enrolled before they were born in the largest, longest-running, prospective study of lesbian families, with a 93% retention rate to date. The data for the current report were collected through questionnaires completed by the adolescents and their mothers. The adolescents (39 girls and 39 boys) were queried about family connection and compatibility. They were also asked to indicate if they had experienced discrimination based on their mothers’ sexual orientation. Adolescent well-being was assessed through the parental report of the Child Behavior Checklist/6–18. Forty-one percent of the adolescents had experienced stigmatization based on homophobia. Hierarchical, multiple-regression analyses revealed that stigmatization was associated with more problem behavior in these adolescents, but that family compatibility neutralized this negative influence. The results indicate that adolescents who have close, positive relationships with their lesbian mothers demonstrate resilience in response to stigmatization.

This study assessed Kinsey self-ratings and lifetime sexual experiences of 17-year-olds with lesbian mothers in the longest-running, prospective study of same-sex parented families. The results revealed that there were no reports of physical or sexual victimization by a parent or other caregiver. Regarding sexual orientation, 18.9% of the adolescent girls and 2.7% of the adolescent boys self-rated in the bisexual spectrum, and 0% of girls and 5.4% of boys self-rated as predominantly-to-exclusively homosexual. When compared with age-and gender-matched adolescents of the National Survey of Family Growth, the study off-spring were significantly older at the time of their first heterosexual contact, and the daughters of lesbian mothers were significantly more likely to have had same-sex contact. These findings suggest that adolescents reared in lesbian families are less likely than their peers to be victimized by a parent or other caregiver, and that daughters of lesbian mothers are more likely to engage in same-sex behavior and to identify as bisexual.

The objective of this study was to document the psychological adjustment of adolescents who were conceived through donor insemination by lesbian mothers who enrolled before these offspring were born in the largest, longest running, prospective, longitudinal study of same-sex–parented families.  Adolescents who have been reared in lesbian-mother families since birth demonstrate healthy psychological adjustment. These findings have implications for the clinical care of adolescents and for pediatricians who are consulted on matters that pertain to same-sex parenting.

This study examined whether Dutch children reared in families headed by female same-sex parents differ in civic competence from Dutch children reared by opposite-sex parents. The participants, drawn from a national sample, included 32 children (11-13 years old) parented by female same-sex couples who were matched on demographic characteristics with 32 same-aged children parented by opposite-sex couples. The comparison revealed that children raised by female same-sex parents scored significantly higher on several civic competencies, specifically on attitudes concerning acting democratically, dealing with conflicts, and dealing with differences. These results suggest that growing up in a nontraditional family may be associated with a greater appreciation of diversity and the development of good citizenship.