Se estudiaron 28 familias españolas de padres gays o madres lesbianas con hijos o hijas entre 3 y 16 años de edad (familias homoparentales) . Se estudió el ajuste psicológico de estos niños y niñas, así como su integración social, comparándolos con dos muestras de compañeros de clase que crecían en familias de progenitores heterosexuales (familias heteroparentales). Los resultados obtenidos indican que los chicos y chicas que crecen en familias homoparentales presentan valores medios o medio-altos en competencia académica, competencia social y autoestima, y se encuentran, de media, fuera de las puntuaciones que indican presencia de problemas clínicos en ajuste emocional y comportamental; asimismo, gozan de una aceptación media por sus compañeros de clase y tienen relaciones de amistad muy satisfactorias. No se hallaron diferencias entre chicos de familias homoparentales y las dos muestras de chicos de familias heteroparentales en ninguna de estas dimensiones. Los datos se discuten a la luz de los prejuicios existentes con respecto al desarrollo infantil en familias homoparentales y en sus implicaciones teóricas.

No abstract

No abstract

This study explores the effects of family structure (single mother by choice/partnered mother), pathway to motherhood (adoption/assisted reproduction techniques or ART), and parenting style on children's psychological adjustment and social competence. Ninety-eight families participated: 45 single mothers by choice (29 adoptive, 16 by ART); and 53 partnered mothers (27 adoptive, 26 by ART). Ninety-eight children were evaluated (Age = 5.36) by their teachers. As regards family structure, children of single mothers by choice (both adopted and conceived by ART) showed good psychological adjustment and good social competence. No significant differences were observed between them and those living with two parents when all were conceived by ART. However, children adopted by single mothers had higher hyperactivity and lower self-control than those living with two adoptive parents. No differences were observed in terms of nurturing parenting style, either between single and partnered mothers, or between adoptive and ART mothers. The nurturing parenting style significantly predicted better psychological adjustment and social competence among children. The results are discussed in connection with the debate regarding the effect of structure versus family processes on children's psychosocial adjustment. The implications for interventions with single mothers by choice are also explored.

A flow injection system for the on-line preconcentration of ultratrace levels of cobalt by sorption with ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate on a C 60 fullerene column was developed. The eluate volume is reduced and dispersion minimized by using a nitrogen (or air) stream to carry the eluent (IBMK ) for elution of the adsorbed chelate, which is collected in a 500 ml PTFE autosampler cup. The analytical figures of merit for the determination of cobalt are as follows: limit of detection (3s), 8 ng l−1; precision (RSD), 4% for 0.2 ng ml−1; preconcentration factor, 40 (using 25 ml of sample and 500 ml of IBMK ). Similar experiments involving C 18 -bonded silica as sorbent revealed ethanol to be the most suitable eluent under these conditions. The results obtained in the determination of cobalt in wheat flour testify to the usefulness of the proposed method.