Abstract
Children’s externalizing problems are associated with family conflict among children and their biological parents, yet these linkages have remained unexamined among adoptive or lesbian and gay parent families. Investigating family processes facilitative of adjustment among adoptees, who face unique developmental challenges, is warranted. This multimethod study of 96 (26 lesbian, 29 gay, 41 heterosexual parent) adoptive families examined observations of adoptive family conflict and associations with child adjustment and feelings about adoption (children’s Mage = 8 years). The sample was recruited from 5 private, domestic infant adoption agencies across the United States. Parents and children reported about children’s externalizing problems and feelings about adoption, respectively. Observations of family conflict interaction were rated from videotaped family discussions. Family interactions were associated with children’s behavioral and adoption-specific adjustment, yet analysis of variance and hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed no differences by parental sexual orientation in family dynamics (i.e., negativity/conflict, positive affect, cohesiveness) or child outcomes. Parents generally reported children to have few externalizing behaviors. Children reported positive feelings, moderate preoccupation, and low negativity about their adoption. These findings extend the family systems literature about conflict and child development among diverse families with sexual minority parents and adopted children. Practitioners who work with adoptive and sexual minority parent families can encourage positive and cohesive family interactions in supporting children’s adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2019
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000576
Funding Information
This research was supported by funding from the American Psychological Foundation’s Wayne F. Placek Grant awarded to Rachel H. Farr (Wave 2) and the Williams Institute at UCLA to Charlotte J. Patterson (Wave 1). The first author was also supported (Wave 2) by funds from the Rudd Family Foundation Chair in Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Repository Citation
Farr, Rachel H.; Bruun, Samuel T.; and Simon, Kyle A., "Family Conflict Observations and Outcomes among Adopted School-Age Children with Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Parents" (2019). Psychology Faculty Publications. 190.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_facpub/190
Included in
Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons
Notes/Citation Information
Published in Journal of Family Psychology, v. 33, no. 8, p. 965–974.
© American Psychological Association, 2019.
The copyright holder has granted the permission for posting the article here.
This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission. The final article is available, upon publication, at: https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000576