“It’s a family matter”: A strengths-based intervention for parents of sexual minority individuals

Abstract

Introduction

Parenting a sexual minority child can pose both challenges and opportunities for growth. This study explored the effects of a strength-based parenting (SBP) intervention in helping parents of sexual minority children to develop (1) psychological growth and (2) a stronger parent–child bond.

Method

Six parents participated in the intervention, interviews were conducted before and after the intervention from parents and children. Thematic analysis was used as the qualitative method.

Results

SBP facilitated identity exploration, empathy, and cognitive flexibility in parents, and bolstered trust and appreciation in the parent–child relationship.

Conclusion

Strength-based approaches hold much potential for supporting growth outcomes in LGB-membered families.

Keywords:

• Sexual minority individuals
• strength-based parenting
• psychological growth
• parenting

Ethics statement

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.