Abstract
As numbers of families with same-sex parents increase in the United States, children are more likely to encounter diverse family structures. Given that young children can demonstrate in-group bias, prejudicial attitudes, and social exclusion, it is important to understand how children perceive their peers in diverse families. To our knowledge, no studies have assessed elementary-school-age children's attitudes about same-sex parent families. Here, 131 elementary school students (Mage = 7.79 years; 61 girls) viewed images of same-sex (female and male) and other-sex couples with a child and then were asked about their perceptions of these families, particularly the children. Results indicated participants' preferences toward children with other-sex versus same-sex parents. Developmental and practical implications about children's attitudes toward sexual minority parent families are discussed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 127-150 |
Number of pages | 24 |
Journal | Journal of GLBT Family Studies |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 15 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2018, © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Keywords
- Children's attitudes
- bias, family diversity
- lesbian and gay
- same-sex parent families
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Gender Studies
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)