Experience of being brought up by homosexual parents and risk of disorders in the child’s development

Abstract

The article presents the results of the literature review on psychological functioning of children brought up by parents remaining in homosexual relationships. The main focus was on the research describing the specificity of the development context of this group of children and its significance for, alleged in broader social discourse, risk of disordered development. An answer was sought to the question whether children raised in homosexual families are significantly different from their peers in the risk of psychological disorders, and if so, which specific factors the risk is related to. Analysed were the reports from studies on large community samples, besides meta-analyses were used. Although most of the results were foreign, some native reports were also included, which could verify the possibility of applying these results to Polish families' situation. The review allowed to describe two groups of factors that determine children's development conditions in families formed by homosexuals. The first are universal factors, possible to identify in all families, regardless of gender and sexual orientation of caregivers. These are: quality and durability of partner relationship, stability of the upbringing environment, psychological well-being of caregivers, competence and commitment to parental role. The second are factors specific to families created by parents of homosexual identity. These include: the minority status of the couple, the lack or limitation of social acceptance and support for the partner relationship. The results of the review do not allow to draw general conclusions about an increased risk of disorders in the development and functioning of children raised by homosexual couples. The analysis also revealed a significant diversity in family contexts in which children of homosexual parents are grown up. The model of organizing data on family risk factors of disorders in children, used here in the literature review, appears to be a possible model of integrating diagnostic data in clinical work with children and their families.