Mental Health Disparities Between Lesbian Mothers and Heterosexual Parents: the Mediating Role of Positivity

Abstract

Introduction Previous evidence has shown better mental health outcomes for lesbian mothers, in comparison with heterosexual parents. The present study explored the mediating role of positivity (i.e., the tendency to view life with a positive outlook) in determining these mental health differences. Methods Seventy-two Israeli lesbian mothers by donor insemination (from 36 families) were compared with 72 Israeli heterosexual parents by assisted reproduction (without donated gametes; from 36 families) on positivity, life satisfaction, and depressive symptomatology. All parents were cisgender and had at least one child born through assisted reproduction, aged 3-10 years. Data were collected between December 2019 and February 2021. Results Mediational analyses indicated that lesbian mothers reported greater positivity, which was, in turn, associated with greater life satisfaction and less depressive symptomatology. Conclusions The results pinpoint the possible protective and strengthening role of positivity for lesbian mothers in the pronatalist and familistic environment of Israel. The research contributes to the literature on the mental health of parents with diverse sexual orientations living outside of the USA and Europe. Policy ImplicationsPolicymakers and mental health professional should be knowledgeable about the importance of improving positivity as a strategy for reducing depressive symptomatology and promoting life satisfaction among lesbian mothers. Moreover, policy makers and legislators are called to ease the access of sexual minority individuals to parenthood, as in this population parenthood associates with heightened mental health outcomes.

Parenting and psychological adjustment during middle childhood in lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parent families formed through assisted reproduction.

“…In the present study, Cronbach’s α was .81. The POS has been used in previous studies with parents with minoritized sexual identities (see, e.g., Shenkman, Bos, et al, 2023).…”

“…Indeed, some studies have even revealed that preschool and school-age children of lesbian and gay parents exhibit better psychological adjustment compared to both normative scores (Carone, Lingiardi, et al, 2018; Green et al, 2019) and their counterparts in heterosexual parent families (Baiocco et al, 2018; Shenkman, Carone, et al, 2023). Similarly, research has found that lesbian and gay parents tend to show higher parenting quality and better mental health, relative to heterosexual parents (Bos & Gartrell, 2020; D’Amore et al, 2023; Shenkman, Bos, et al, 2023).…”

“…From a methodological point of view, it should be emphasized that few studies have made direct comparisons between lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parent families through assisted reproduction to examine parenting quality and child and parent adjustment (for exceptions, see, e.g., Ellis-Davies et al, 2022; Rubio et al, 2020; Shenkman, Carone, et al, 2023; van Rijn-van Gelderen et al, 2018). As a further note, most published studies on lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parent families through assisted reproduction were conducted prior to COVID-19 (for exceptions, see, e.g., Cruciani et al, 2024; Shenkman, Bos, et al, 2023; Shenkman, Carone, et al, 2023). Although these family forms have been shown to demonstrate resilience in the face of adversity (e.g., stigma) (Bos & Gartrell, 2020; Farr et al, 2022; Golombok, 2015), the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic-related measures seem to have exceeded the capabilities and available resources of all families (Carone et al, 2021; Monaco, 2022; Weeland et al, 2021).…”