A comparison of family functioning in gay/lesbian, heterosexual and special needs adoptions

Parenting and Child Development in Adoptive Families: Does Parental Sexual Orientation Matter?

“…There are only a small number of studies exploring family functioning and children's adjustment in adoptive families with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual couples Erich et al, 2009;Leung, Erich, & Kanenberg, 2005). The findings of these studies are consistent with those of previous research in that parental sexual orientation has not been found to be significantly associated with child outcomes or family functioning.…”

“…Inasmuch as there were no significant associations between parental sexual orientation and child adjustment, our results are consistent with notions that two parents of the same gender can be capable parents and that parental sexual orientation is not related to parenting skill or child adjustment (e.g., Bos et al, 2004;Golombok et al, 2003;Patterson, 2009;Tasker & Patterson, 2007). Indeed, our findings point to the positive capabilities of lesbian and gay couples as adoptive parents, and add to the limited literature about adoptive lesbian and gay families (e.g., Erich et al, 2005Erich et al, , 2009Leung et al, 2005).…”

“…For several reasons, however, the generalizability of Erich et al's (2005Erich et al's ( , 2009) and Leung et al's (2005) results can be questioned. Convenience samples of families were recruited using various nonsystematic means (e.g., solicitations at lesbian and gay support groups).…”

“…No information was obtained from sources outside the adoptive families; for instance, no data were collected from teachers. The samples of adopted children recruited by Erich et al (2005) and Leung et al (2005) ranged widely in age (i.e., from less than one year old to over 10 years old) and represented a variety of adoption experiences (e.g., public versus private adoptions, domestic versus international adoptions, etc.). Erich et al (2009) recruited older adopted children between 11 and 19 years of age.…”

An Evaluation of Gay/Lesbian and Heterosexual Adoption

“…adopt similar kinds of children, receive similar kinds of support, and find the services they receive as helpful as straight adoptive families" (Brooks et al, in press, conclusion section, ¶1). Leung, Erich, and Kanenberg (2005) compared family functioning in gay/lesbian, heterosexual, and special needs adoptions. Using three data sets of 86 special needs adoptive parent respondents, 47 gay/lesbian adoptive parent respondents, and 25 heterosexual adoptive parent respondents, data were collected via five highly regarded self-report measures.…”