Papers by Charlotte J Patterson
Journal of Family Psychology, Aug 1, 2011
The authors examined correlates of parenting stress among 230 gay adoptive fathers across the Uni... more The authors examined correlates of parenting stress among 230 gay adoptive fathers across the United States through an Internet survey. As with previous research on adoptive parents, results showed that fathers with less social support, older children, and children who were adopted at older ages reported more parenting stress. Moreover, gay fathers who had a less positive gay identity also reported more parenting stress. These 4 variables accounted for 33% of the variance in parenting stress; effect sizes were medium to large. Our results suggest the importance of social support and a positive gay identity in facilitating successful parenting outcomes among gay adoptive fathers.
Partnerschaft und Elternschaft bei gleichgeschlechtlichen Paaren
How have gay men achieved parenthood? We studied pathways to parenthood among 102 gay fathers in ... more How have gay men achieved parenthood? We studied pathways to parenthood among 102 gay fathers in predominantly English speaking countries outside the United States (i.e., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom) who responded to an internet survey. Fully 95% of men over 50, but only 53% of those under 50 years of age reported that they had fathered children in the context of heterosexual marriages. In contrast, only 5% of those over 50, but 47% of those under 50 years of age reported that they had become fathers via foster care, adoption, or other pathways outside of heterosexual marriage. The findings are consistent with earlier findings that suggest a generational shift in pathways to parenthood among gay men in the United States, and raise the possibility that the same shift may be underway among gay men in other predominantly English speaking countries.
Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity
LGBTQ-Parent Families, 2020
AAP Textbook of Adolescent Health Care, 2011
Journal of Lesbian Studies, 2019
Little is known about the experiences of lesbian and bisexual women with infants or children or a... more Little is known about the experiences of lesbian and bisexual women with infants or children or about their views on tradeoffs required by parenthood. In this study, we examined how reactions to experiences with infants/children, perceived trade-offs of parenthood, and self-reported nurturance vary as a function of women's sexual orientation. Two hundred cisgender childless women (53 lesbian, 57 plurisexual, 90 heterosexual) from the United States, recruited via social media, participated in this study. Results showed that lesbian women reported more negative attitudes toward infants/children and parenthood than did heterosexual women. Self-reported nurturance did not differ as a function of sexual orientation. Overall, lesbian women reported that they had less favorable experiences with infants and/or children and that they anticipated more social and economic costs involved with parenthood than did heterosexual women. Lesbian women also reported lower aspirations for parenthood than heterosexual women, and this was largely accounted for by differences in perceptions of the trade-offs involved with parenthood. Plurisexual women did not differ from lesbian or heterosexual women on any outcome. These results contribute to our understanding of why lesbian women are, on average, less likely than heterosexual women to aspire to parenthood.
Sleep Health, 2019
Is sexual orientation associated with sleep difficulties? In this article, we review empirical ev... more Is sexual orientation associated with sleep difficulties? In this article, we review empirical evidence that addresses this question. Stress is associated with sleep difficulties such as insomnia and, because members of sexual minorities experience greater stress, on average, than do others, lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals can be expected to report more sleep difficulties than their heterosexual peers. We reviewed 17 studies published since 1990, with data gathered from more than 600,000 individuals; some included data on both quantity and quality of sleep. In nine of 12 relevant studies, at least some sexual minority individuals reported shorter sleep duration than did heterosexual individuals, on average. In nine of 10 relevant studies, sexual minority individuals reported lower quality sleep, on average. Few data were available about other aspects of sleep as a function of sexual orientation. No investigators found LGB people to have fewer sleep difficulties than did heterosexual individuals. We conclude that, although research in this area is new and still limited in some respects, sleep difficulties are more common among LGB than heterosexual people. Our conclusion suggests the possibility that sleep difficulties may underlie known health disparities among members of sexual minorities. Further research is needed to evaluate differences in sleep difficulties among members of sexual minorities, and to explore treatment options for LGB individuals suffering from sleep difficulties.
Journal of homosexuality, Jan 16, 2017
According to family systems theory, parent-child relationships are an important aspect of individ... more According to family systems theory, parent-child relationships are an important aspect of individual well-being. This study explored associations among parental disclosure, parent-child relationships, and well-being among 84 adult children with gay fathers. We explored associations between the adult children's well-being and the children's ages at sexual orientation disclosure, geographic distance, relationship quality and closeness with their fathers. We found that when parental disclosure had occurred earlier in the adult child's life, participants reported feeling closer to fathers in adulthood. Those who reported closer relationships with their fathers reported greater well-being. Using a stepwise regression, we found that adult children's reports of closeness with fathers were the best predictors of adult children's well-being.
Sex Roles, 2017
Gender-typed behaviors-both genderconforming and nonconforming-were investigated longitudinally a... more Gender-typed behaviors-both genderconforming and nonconforming-were investigated longitudinally among children in 106 adoptive U.S. families with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents at two times (Wave 1, preschool-age; Wave 2, school-age) over 5 years. At Wave 1 (W1), parents reported on children's gender-typed behavior using the PreSchool Activities Inventory (PSAI; Golombok and Rust 1993), and children's gender-typed toy play was evaluated using observational methods. At Wave 2 (W2), children reported on their own gender-typed behavior using the Children's Occupations, Activities, and Traits Personal Measure (COAT-PM; Liben and Bigler 2002). Observations of children's gender-conforming toy play and parents' reports of children's gender nonconformity (PSAI) in early childhood (W1) were associated with children's selfreports of gender nonconformity (COAT-PM) in middle childhood (W2); toy play was most strongly predictive of gender nonconformity 5 years later. Children's gender-typed behavior also varied by age and gender at both time points, but no significant differences were found as a function of parental sexual orientation across time. Informative to ongoing debates about same-sex parenting, our findings indicate that among children reared by lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents, gender-typing appears to be similar, and predominantly gender-conforming, across early to middle childhood.
Child Development Perspectives, 2016
What if any influence does parents' sexual orientation have on children's development? Re... more What if any influence does parents' sexual orientation have on children's development? Research suggests that, contrary to concerns voiced by many observers, parents' sexual orientation has little if any direct impact on children's development. Even so, some distinctive qualities of experiences in families of lesbian and gay parents have been noted, and their implications are not fully understood. Moreover, research on individual differences among families headed by lesbian mothers and gay fathers, and their possible impact on children, is still in its early phases. In this article, I provide an overview of research in this area and offer suggestions for further studies.
Lesbian and Gay Psychology: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications
... Citation. Database: PsycINFO. [ Chapter ]. Children of the lesbian baby boom: Behavioral adju... more ... Citation. Database: PsycINFO. [ Chapter ]. Children of the lesbian baby boom: Behavioral adjustment, self-concepts, and sex role identity. Lesbian and gay psychology: Theory, research, and clinical applications. Patterson, Charlotte ...
Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 2016
ABSTRACT Choices of last names for both adults and children are important family decisions that a... more ABSTRACT Choices of last names for both adults and children are important family decisions that are often made upon marriage or upon the birth of a child. The gendered nature of such choices among heterosexual populations is well known, but they have not been widely studied among lesbian or gay populations. We studied selection of last names among 106 adoptive families—27 headed by lesbian couples, 29 headed by gay couples, and 50 headed by heterosexual couples—all of whom had adopted children at birth or in the first weeks of life. Whether in selection of last names for adults or for children, we found that heterosexual adoptive couples were more likely than lesbian and gay adoptive couples to follow patronymic conventions. Thus, heterosexual parents and their children were most likely to have identical last names. For lesbian and gay couples, in contrast, the most common scenario was for both adults to retain last names given to them at birth and hyphenate them to create last names for their children. Parents in lesbian and gay couples offered more detailed explanations of their choices than did those in heterosexual couples. Explanations offered by heterosexual parents were most likely to refer to tradition, but those given by same-sex parents were more likely to mention egalitarian or practical considerations. Overall, we found that same-sex and other-sex couples took very different approaches to the problem of naming themselves and their children.
Handbook of Psychology and Sexual Orientation, 2012
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 1991
We review research on linkages between the family and children's peer relations including stu... more We review research on linkages between the family and children's peer relations including studies of attachment, parent-child relations and the social and economic contexts of family life. Whether based on observations of parent-child relations, teacher reports, parental reports or child reports, the literature has consistently documented connections between the quality of parent-child relationships and peer relations assessed in the school context. In addition, children's experience of stressors such as low income and parental divorce appear to be associated with difficulties in peer relations. Given that such connections would seem to exist, several recommendations for future research are offered, including the adoption of broader perspectives on the family (e.g. to incorporate marital as well as parent-child relations), the expansion of conceptualizations of peer relations (e.g. to include friendships and social networks as well as popularity and behavior) and greater con...
... Adolescents with Same-Sex Parents: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescen... more ... Adolescents with Same-Sex Parents: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Charlotte J. Patterson and Jennifer L. Wainright University of Virginia ... ways that are very similar to other children (Gartrell, this volume; Gartrell, Deck, Rodas, Peyser, ...
American Journal of Public Health, 2014
Objectives. We examined associations between adolescent girls’ sexual identity and the gender of ... more Objectives. We examined associations between adolescent girls’ sexual identity and the gender of their sexual partners, on one hand, and their reports of sexual health behaviors and reproductive health outcomes, on the other. Methods. We analyzed weighted data from pooled Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (2005 and 2007) representative of 13 US jurisdictions, focusing on sexually experienced girls in 8th through 12th grade (weighted n = 6879.56). We used logistic regression with hierarchical linear modeling to examine the strength of associations between reports about sexual orientation and sexual and reproductive health. Results. Sexual minority girls consistently reported riskier behaviors than did other girls. Lesbian girls’ reports of risky sexual behaviors (e.g., sex under the influence of drugs or alcohol) and negative reproductive health outcomes (e.g., pregnancy) were similar to those of bisexual girls. Partner gender and sexual identity were similarly strong predictors of all of ...
Children, Social Science, and the Law
On December 20, 1999, in a groundbreaking decision, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that the stat... more On December 20, 1999, in a groundbreaking decision, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that the state must guarantee exactly the same protections for same-sex couples that it does for heterosexual couples (Goldberg, 1999). The court left it to the state legislature to decide whether to accomplish this by legalizing same-sex marriages in Vermont, by adopting a domestic partnership law that would provide all the protections afforded by marriage, or by some other means. To extend equal rights to gay and lesbian couples “who seek nothing more, nor less, than legal protection and security for their avowed commitment to an intimate and lasting relationship is simply, when all is said and done,” the opinion stated, “a recognition of our common humanity” ( Baker et al. v. State of Vermont et al. , 1999, p. 45). Thus began a new chapter in the history of legal and policy issues affecting children of lesbian and gay parents. The Vermont legislature responded to the court's ruling by creating the possibility for civil unions among same-sex partners. A civil union is a “comprehensive legal status parallel to civil marriage for all purposes under Vermont state law” (ACLU, 2001) but does not affect the partners' status under federal law. The new statute, which took effect on July 1, 2000, allows same-sex couples who undertake civil unions to move from the status of legal strangers with regard to one another to the status of legal next of kin , at least for purposes of Vermont law.
Parenting, 2002
... 61-76 Contact With Grandparents Among Children Conceived Via Donor Insemination by Lesbian an... more ... 61-76 Contact With Grandparents Among Children Conceived Via Donor Insemination by Lesbian and Heterosexual Mothers Megan Fulcher, Raymond W ... regular contact with their maternal grandparents than with their paternal grandparents (Chan & Elder, 2000; Euler, Hoier, & ...
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Papers by Charlotte J Patterson