STRUCTURAL VARIATIONS IN FAMILIES LGBT Families 1 Couples and Families Demographics Head Count counties 16 million Census o Over 600 000 same sex partner households in more than 99 of all US o Estimates of children being raised by gay lesbian parents range from 1 Conservative estimate is 1 3 million Undercount of same sex couples and families o Many same sex cohabiting couples did not reveal themselves on the o Not all committed couples live together living apart together o Measurement issues Longevity of relationship difficult to asses due to lack of official Interracial Interethnic couples beginning and end markers o Twice as likely compared to heterosexual married couples Where do they live o By region The SOUTH has the highest of same sex couples raising children followed by the MIDWEST Partnerships without children more evenly distributed across More likely than heterosexual married couples to live in ethnically country diverse communities Key Findings on Lesbian and Gay Couples General Findings o No difference in relationship satisfaction and love than in heterosexual marriages o Power balance based on income as with heterosexual couples o Gay and lesbian couples use fewer controlling hostile emotional conflict tactics and take negative comments less personally than heterosexual couples o High rates of family of choice o Longevity of relationship difficult to assess due to lack of official beginning and end markers Gay male couple research o Less is known about this group what we do know often is wrapped into studies with gay and lesbian couples o Gay men are less monogamous than heterosexuals or lesbians o Conflict can be harder to repair in gay partnerships than in lesbian or heterosexual partnerships o Most frequent place of meeting gay bar 41 o 13 had a commitment ceremony Lesbian Relationships o More likely to grow out of friendship circles o Highest level of sexual fidelity o Most egalitarian of all couple types o 43 of the couples had executed at least one legal document and 16 19 have had a commitment ceremony Same sex Couples with Kids o In 2000 census children were present in 168 000 same sex partner o Living in 96 of all counties in the US o At least 1 out of 3 lesbian couples and 1 out 5 gay male couples are raising households children o Gay lesbian unmarried parents 41 are twice as likely as heterosexual unmarried parents 20 to be in long term relationships 5 years Same sex Couples with Children Family Patterns o Same sex couples 6 more likely to adopt children than married 5 or unmarried heterosexual couples 3 o Same sex parents more likely to be raising children with disabilities than married heterosexual parents Lesbian Parenting Research on Lesbian Mothers o Samples limited to white and well educated participants o Children of lesbian parents are similar to children of heterosexual parents in behavior and educational performance o Parenting in lesbian households most equitable Divorced Lesbian Mothers Had more fear of losing their children than heterosexual mothers Were more child centered and flexible about rules than heterosexual mothers Were slightly more likely than heterosexual mothers to have fathers who maintained contact with the children More likely to live with romantic partner than heterosexual divorced mothers More equality in child care arrangements than heterosexual couples Biological mothers did slightly more childcare in first 12 months Non biological lesbian mothers reported the parenting role was more central to their identity than did heterosexual fathers What happens when same sex families break up Vermont civil union couples 1 had broken up after a year 4 year study of cohabiters o 19 dissolution rate o typically occurred after 6 11 years Longitudinal study of lesbian parents o 31 separated by time child was 5 together for average of 8 years