To quantify the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic and public health interventions on parent and child mental health and family relationships, we examined change in individual and family functioning in a sample of parents enrolled in a prevention trial; we examined change before the pandemic (2017–2019) when children were an average of 7 years old to the first months after the imposition of widespread public health interventions in the United States (2020) with paired t tests and HLM models. We examined moderation by parent gender, education, family income, and coparenting conflict. We found large deteriorations from before the pandemic to the first months of the pandemic in child internalizing and externalizing problems and parent depression, and a moderate decline in coparenting quality. Smaller changes were found for parent anxiety and parenting quality. Mothers and families with lower levels of income were at particular risk for deterioration in well‐being. Results indicate a need for widespread family support and intervention to prevent potential family “scarring,” that is, prolonged, intertwined individual mental health and family relationship problems.

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

The barriers and desires discussed provide invaluable insight into the parenting intentions and reproductive health of transgender people. This study revealed numerous examples where healthcare professionals could benefit from this new knowledge, such as increasing communication with patients about these desires and issues related to treatment and reproduction.

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Large numbers of infants and toddlers have parents who live apart due to separation, divorce, or nonmarital/noncohabiting child-bearing, yet this important topic, especially the controversial issue of frequent overnights with nonresidential parents, is understudied. The authors analyzed data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal investigation of children born to primarily low-income, racial/ethnic minority parents that is representative of 20 U.S. cities with populations over 200,000. Among young children whose parents lived apart, 6.9% of infants (birth to age 1) and 5.3% of toddlers (ages 1 to 3) spent an average of at least 1 overnight per week with their nonresident parent. An additional 6.8% of toddlers spent 35% – 70% of overnights with nonresident parents. Frequent overnights were significantly associated with attachment insecurity among infants, but the relationship was less clear for toddlers. Attachment insecurity predicted adjustment problems at ages 3 and 5, but frequent overnights were not directly linked with adjustment problems at older ages.

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.

The present study examined division of labor among gay fathers, tested 3 major theories of division of labor (relative resource theory, time constraint theory, and life course theory), and evaluated associations between discrepancies among current and ideal divisions of labor, on the one hand, and parent well-being, couple functioning, and child adjustment, on the other. The sample consisted of 335 self-described gay fathers who took part in Wave 1 and 176 of those men who took part in Wave 2 of an Internet-based study. All of the participants identified themselves as gay fathers who currently had male partners and at least 1 child under 18 years of age residing in their home. Results showed that gay fathers reported having and desiring egalitarian divisions of labor and that time constraint theory and an aspect of life course theory were supported. Lastly, discrepancies between actual and ideal division of labor were associated with parental well-being and couple functioning but not children's adjustment. The results add to understanding of the role that division of labor plays in parent, couple, and child adjustment among gay father families.

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people commonly report the following gender identity milestones: feeling different about their gender than expectations for their sex assigned at birth, identifying as TGD, living in their affirmed gender, and, for some, accessing gender-affirming medical care. We explored the average ages of reaching these milestones and variations across gender groups and generational cohorts. We also examined how gender groups, generational cohorts, and endorsement of reaching each of the milestones related to minority stress variables and mental health. This online study included 695 TGD individuals ages 16 -73. Boomersϩ and Generation X groups were more likely to identify as trans women compared with the younger generational cohorts, who were more varied in their identities. Trans women had later ages of starting to live in their affirmed gender and receiving gender affirming medical care compared with other gender groups. The Boomersϩ cohort reported later ages for the milestones compared with other generational cohorts. And, finally, younger generational cohorts had higher levels of internalized stigma, anxiety, and depression, compared with the older cohorts. Gender congruence emerged as a consistent predictor of mental health in the full sample and within each generational cohort. There are important generational differences across identity milestones, minority stress, and mental health that need exploration in future longitudinal research. In addition, beyond the effects of milestone timing, reporting feelings of congruence with one's gender identity is an important consideration for mental health. Public Significance StatementChallenges for gender minorities vary across generational context; younger generational cohorts of transgender individuals experienced greater challenges in relation to minority stressors and mental health, whereas older generational cohorts experienced gender identity milestones at later ages. Milestone status is especially important for more positive mental health outcomes for transgender individuals.