Elementary School-age Children's Attitudes Toward Children in Same-Sex Parent Families

Rachel H. Farr, Ilyssa Salomon, Jazmin L. Brown-Iannuzzi, Christia Spears Brown

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

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 languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)127-150
Number of pages24
JournalJournal of GLBT Family Studies
Volume15
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 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)

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