Adolescents with Lesbian Mothers Describe Their Own Lives

Abstract

Empirical research on the everyday life experiences of adolescents reared by lesbian mothers is limited. The current study gathered self-report descriptive data from 78 adolescents enrolled in the largest, longest-running, prospective longitudinal study of planned lesbian families, with a 93% retention rate to date. Results revealed that the 17-year-old adolescents were academically successful in supportive school environments. They had active social networks and close family bonds. Nearly all considered their mothers good role models. The adolescents rated their overall wellbeing an average of 8.14 on a 10-point-maximum scale. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.

Keywords:

• lesbian mother
• same-sex parents
• adolescents
• lesbian families
• longitudinal study

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Esther Rothblum, PhD, for her guidance in the preparation of this manuscript.

Notes

The NLLFS has been supported in part by small grants from The Gill Foundation, the Lesbian Health Fund of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, Horizons Foundation, The Roy Scrivner Fund of the American Psychological Foundation, and The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. The Williams Institute has also provided personnel support to the NLLFS. Funding sources played no role in the design or conduct of the study; the management, analysis, or interpretation of the data; nor in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.