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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Since the introduction of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 and the Civil Partnership
Act 2005, many lesbian and gay couples have started families through adoption;
yet, to date, research on same-sex parent families has almost exclusively focused
on families in which children were conceived through a heterosexual relationship
or assisted reproduction. What is more, despite a large body of evidence regarding
lesbian mother families, there have been few studies of children’s adjustment when
raised by gay fathers. The circumstances of gay father families are more unusual
than lesbian mother families; not only are the parents same-sex, but it is also
rare for fathers, be they heterosexual or gay, to be the primary caregivers. It is not
known what the combined effect of these two factors might be on children’s social,
emotional, identity and gender development as they grow older.
This study was the first to examine families in which children live, from early
childhood, with their adoptive gay fathers, lesbian mothers or heterosexual parents
in the UK. The focus was on the quality of parent–child relationships, parental wellbeing
and child psychological development. Our aim was to produce robust evidence
that may be used to inform all those who work with lesbian and gay adopters and
their children about the experiences of adoption and family functioning in same-sex
parent families.
Names and identifying information have been changed.
On the following pages, we present a report highlighting the key findings.