The family lives of lesbian mothers

Abstract

Forty‐five lesbians who are also parents provided information on their families of creation via a researcher‐designed questionnaire. The purpose of the study was to gather descriptive data about the family lives of the women, using an ecological perspective for interpretation of results. The major findings revealed that the women were cognizant of the impact of their sexual orientation on their children, that they were vigilant about maintaining the integrity of their families, and that the stress they felt was buffered by social support networks.

Notes

This article is based on a 1992 master's thesis completed by Laura Lott‐Whitehead, L.M.S. W., at the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. Carol Thorpe Tully, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Social Work at Tulane University.