Parenthood is one of the most universal and highly valued experiences of American adults. However, lesbian and gay adults in the United States are much less likely than heterosexual adults to be parents. Our goal was to explore the reasons why this is the case. Using nationally representative data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), we studied parenting intentions, desires, and attitudes of childless lesbian, gay, and heterosexual individuals 15 to 44 years of age. We found that gay men and lesbian women were less likely than matched heterosexual peers to express desire for parenthood. Moreover, gay men who expressed desire to become parents were less likely than heterosexual men to express the intention to become parents; this was not true for women. Despite being less likely to express parenting desires, gay and lesbian participants endorsed the value of parenthood just as strongly as did heterosexual participants. By exploring the psychology of family formation as a function of sexual orientation, these results inform ongoing debates about sexual orientation and parenthood.

Implicit preferences for heterosexual people versus lesbian and gay people are pervasive among heterosexual health care providers. Future research should investigate how implicit sexual prejudice affects care.

Previous researchers have found evidence for differences in parenting goals between lesbian and gay people and their heterosexual peers. However, no previous research has quantified the parenting goals of bisexual people or evaluated parenting goals as a function of sexual partner gender. In addition, political and social climates for sexual minority people had improved rapidly since the last representative data on lesbian and gay peoples' plans for parenthood were collected. We analyzed data from 3,941 childless lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual participants from the 2011-2013 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG; United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, 2014), a nationally representative sample of United States residents aged 15 to 44 years. We found that statistically significant, within-gender sexual orientation differences in parenting plans persist, despite social and legal changes. Consistent with hypotheses, bisexual men's parenting desires and intentions were similar to those of their heterosexual male peers and different from those of their gay male peers, while bisexual women's reports were more mixed. Also consistent with hypotheses, the gender of the most recent sexual partner was a strong predictor of parenting goals. We discuss implications for mental and reproductive health-care providers, attorneys, social workers, and others who interact with sexual minority adults. (PsycINFO Database Record

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For many years, parenthood was considered to be the exclusive prerogative of heterosexual people. Today, gay men and lesbian women remain less likely than their heterosexual peers to have children, but increasing numbers of openly gay and lesbian adults are becoming parents. In this essay, we review social science research on the numbers of openly gay and lesbian parents, the ways in which their pathways to parenthood may be changing, and the extent to which childless gay and lesbian adolescents and young adults expect to become parents. We have much to learn about supports for and barriers to family formation as well as the impact of decisions about family formation among gay and lesbian populations. Directions for future research on sexual orientation and family formation are discussed.

Lesbian and gay people are much less likely than others to become parents, and psychological factors may contribute to this difference. We explored self-efficacy about becoming a parent among geographically diverse, childless, lesbian and gay U.S. residents aged 18 to 44 years (n ϭ 1,098). On average, participants reported that they were uncertain whether they could overcome financial barriers to parenthood or become biological parents without assistance from reproductive health providers. However, they were somewhat optimistic about overcoming barriers to adoptive and foster parenthood, and they were optimistic that they could somehow achieve parenthood if they wanted to. Participants who were younger, who reported that children with lesbian or gay parents enjoy positive outcomes, and who lived in social climates favorable for members of sexual minorities reported the highest self-efficacy about achieving parenthood. These results contribute to understanding of family formation among sexual minority adults.

Legal rights and cultural attitudes towards lesbian women and gay men have shifted rapidly in the early 21 st century. Using 683,976 visitors to Project Implicit from February 2006 to August 2013, we investigated whether shifts were also observable in implicit evaluations that occur outside of conscious awareness or control. Similar to public opinion polling, the estimated explicit preference for straight people over lesbian women and gay men was 26% weaker on the last day compared to the first. The estimated implicit preference for straight people declined by 13.4% over the same period. The largest shifts in implicit evaluations occurred among Hispanic, White, female, liberal, and young adult participants; the smallest shifts occurred among Black, Asian, male, conservative, and older adult participants. Societal change in evaluation of lesbian and gay people is not limited to what people are willing and able to report. However, change in implicit evaluation appears to be slower.

Social climate-specifically, the level of support for sexual minorities in a given locale-helps to explain well-being among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. No published reports have examined whether wellbeing also varies as a function of social climate for family members of LGB individuals. We present results from two studies (Study 1, n069; Study 2, n070) demonstrating that social climate predicts well-being among adults reared by LGB parents, regardless of their own sexual orientation. Across both studies, population characteristics (e.g., density of same-sex couples in an area) emerged as the strongest and most consistent predictors of well-being. Some variables assessing local politics (e.g., LGB hate crime policy) also predicted well-being, though these associations were less robust. Overall, findings suggest that the social environment for sexual minorities is an important correlate of psychological adjustment for many Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation.