03 25 2014 Structural variations in families LGBT families Couples and families demographics Head count o Over 600 000 same sex partner households in more than 99 of all US counties o Estimates of children being raised by gay lesbian parents ranges from 1 16 million conservative estimate is 1 3 million Undercount of same sex couples families o Many same sex cohabiting couples did not reveal themselves on the census o Not all committed couples live together LAT o Measurement issues Longevity of relationship difficult to assess due to lack of official beginning end markers Interracial interethnic couples o Twice as likely compared to heterosexual married couples By region o The south has the highest of same sex couples raising children followed by the Midwest o Partnerships without children more evenly distributed across the country o More likely than heterosexual married couples to live in ethnically diverse communities Key findings on lesbian gay couples General findings o No difference in relationship satisfaction love than in heterosexual marriages o Power balance based on income as with heterosexual couples o Gay lesbian couples use fewer controlling hostile emotional conflict tactics take negative comments less personally than heterosexual couples o High rates of family of choice People will often form communities families based on the need for affiliation Play groups for kids with gay lesbian parents o Longevity of relationship difficult to assess due to lack of official beginning end markers Gay male couple research Less is known about this group what we do know often is wrapped into studies with gay lesbian couples Gay men are less monogamous than heterosexuals or lesbians Conflict can be harder to repair in gay partnerships than in lesbian or heterosexual partners Most frequent place of meeting partner gay bar 41 13 had a commitment ceremony Lesbian relationships More likely to grow out of friendship circles Highest level of sexual fidelity of all couple types Most egalitarian of all couple types 43 of the couples had executed at least one legal document 16 to 19 have had a commitment ceremony Same sex couples with children In 2000 census children were present in 168 000 same sex partner households Living in 96 of all counties in US At least 1 3 lesbian couples 1 5 gay couples are raising children 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 Same sex couples 6 more likely to adopt children than married 5 or unmarried heterosexual couples 3 Same sex parents more likely to be raising children with disabilities than married heterosexual parents o More accepting may not have the resources to behaving a mainstream type of child o May have a soft spot for children that are not as accepted in society as LGBT are not as accepted in society as well Lesbian parenting Research on lesbian mothers o Samples limited to white well educated participants Children of lesbian parents are similar to children of heterosexual parents in behavior educational performance Parent in lesbian households most equitable Divorced lesbian mothers Had more fear of losing their children than heterosexual mothers o Many court decisions are not driven by research may be based on opinion o With heterosexual parents there is a bias toward mothers Were more child centered flexible about rules than heterosexual mothers o Driven by gender roles 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 Lesbian mothers by choice Sperm bank adoption More equality in child care arrangements than heterosexual couples Biological mothers did slightly more childcare in the first 12 months o May be nursing Non biological lesbian mothers reported the parenting role was more central to their identity than did heterosexual fathers o May feel more psychologically connected because there were more hoops to jump through to even have a child Biological lesbian mothers reported the parenting role as much more central to their lives than did heterosexual mothers o May be deeper joy because it was not guaranteed o Marginalization Make conscious effort to have consistent male figure in child s life o Negative parental interactions affect children despite the sexual orientation o Children need structure consistent love 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 o Together for average of 8 years Lesbian gay couples 10 year mark significant for relationship o If they are together more than 10 years they are less likely to Do not know impact of legal or ritual marker or about impact of longevity break up children Many ex partners remain friends Variations in families race ethnicity Research on ethnic minority families Most research conducted on African American families o Largest minority group until recent demographic shifts o Major focus of social scientists o Relatively long history of research on this group Often controversial polarizing Less is known about other ethnic minority families o Literature is catching up o Many areas are unstudied or understudied Structural problems influencing ethnic minority families in US Institutionalized racism o Prejudice power Historical legal limitations on o Access to education Brown vs Board of Education o Housing racial segregation of neighborhoods o Employment o Health racial health disparities African American segregation brief history Segregation was o Imposed by legislation o Supported by major economic institutions o Enshrined in the housing policies of the federal government o Enforced by the judicial system vigilant neighborhood organizations o Legitimized by the ideology of white supremacy that was advocated by the church other cultural institutions Segregation neighborhood quality Municipal services education o Transportation police fire garbage o Not as well maintained o Cycle of recreation of disadvantage money goes less far Purchasing power of income o Poorer quality higher prices o Lower quality of food in food stores but high prices Access to medical care o Primary care hospitals pharmacies Personal
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