Parenting and psychological adjustment during middle childhood in lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parent families formed through assisted reproduction

The present cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study explored parenting and psychological adjustment during middle childhood in 30 lesbian mother families through donor insemination, 25 gay father families through surrogacy, and 21 heterosexual parent families through gamete donation. In each family, both parents of a child aged 6–12 years (Myears = 8.69, SD = 2.17, 48.68% females) participated, for a total of 152 parents (Myears = 48.11, SD = 6.33). All parents identified as cisgender and White, and resided in Italy. Linear mixed models indicated no differences between family types for parenting stress, parent resilience, and parent psychological distress. However, lesbian mothers reported higher parental acceptance and lower parental rejection, as well as higher parent positivity, than heterosexual parents. No differences emerged between gay fathers and heterosexual parents on the same variables. Regarding child psychological adjustment (operationalized as affective, behavioral, and cognitive dysregulation), irrespective of family type, parents reporting higher parenting stress and parental rejection, and lower parental acceptance had more dysregulated children. These results extend earlier research, confirming that family processes are more critical than family structure in influencing child psychological adjustment. This has important implications for family and assisted reproduction laws, policies, and practices. In particular, the study findings support recommendations by reproductive medicine organizations that requests for assisted reproduction should be considered regardless of applicants’ sexual orientation. Similarly, the results inform practitioners working with prospective and current diverse families through assisted reproduction that differences in family structure should not be equated with detrimental outcomes for parents and children.