A Comparative Analysis of Adoptive Family Functioning with Gay, Lesbian, and Heterosexual Parents and Their Children

The objectives of this comparative study were to examine adoptive family functioning with a sample of gay, lesbian, and heterosexual adoptive parents and their children. The results suggested that parent sexual orientation is not a significant predictor of adoptive family functioning, adopted child's behavior, and parent's perceptions of helpfulness from family support networks. Furthermore, a regression analysis suggested the following variables were associated with higher levels of family functioning: adoptive parents who were previously foster parents and children who had more previous placements prior to adoption. Lower family functioning was associated with children adopted through CPS; with children who had mental health diagnoses, learning disorders, or other handicapping conditions; and with children who were in a higher grade in school. The results of this comparative study of adoptive families support the need for more methodologically rigorous research that includes gay and lesbian adoptive parents along with heterosexual parents.

本研究的目标是通过比较研究分析同性恋、女同性恋和异性恋收养父母及其子女的收养家庭功能。具体问题包括父母的性取向是否对收养家庭功能、被收养儿童行为以及父母对家庭支持网络帮助感知有显著影响。

本研究采用了便利抽样法，共有72名收养父母参与，提供了有关111名被收养儿童的 demographic、历史和行为信息。由于随机抽样困难，通过常规互联网搜索引擎找到了同性恋和女同性恋支持团体及信息网站，并通过电子邮件联系了这些网站以招募参与者。志愿者和咨询者被引导至主要研究者处，研究者提供了知情同意书和相关问卷。通过初步筛查确保47名父母和68名被收养儿童符合同性恋或女同性恋父母身份及合法收养标准。问卷通过邮寄方式返回给主要研究者。类似的方式用于通过收养支持团体和信息网站招募异性恋收养家庭，共有25名父母和43名儿童参与，均为合法收养家庭。

研究结果表明，父母的性取向并不是收养家庭功能、被收养儿童行为和父母对家庭支持网络帮助感知的显著预测因素。回归分析显示，曾为寄养父母的收养父母以及具有更多前期寄养经历的儿童与较高水平的家庭功能相关。较低的家庭功能则与通过儿童保护服务（CPS）收养的儿童、患有精神健康问题、学习障碍或其他残障条件的儿童、以及年级较高的儿童相关。此研究结果支持了需要进行更加严格方法学的研究，涵盖同性恋和异性恋收养父母。