Gaylesbian

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

This article was downloaded by: [EBSCOHost EJS Content Distribution - Superceded by 916427733]On: 9 February 2010Access details: Access Details: [subscription number 911724993]Publisher RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Divorce & RemarriagePublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t792306891

Perceptions of Gay and Lesbian StepfamiliesStephen Claxton-Oldfield a; Sara O'Neil b

a Psychology at Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, Canada b Mount Allison University, NewBrunswick, Canada

To cite this Article Claxton-Oldfield, Stephen and O'Neil, Sara(2007) 'Perceptions of Gay and Lesbian Stepfamilies', Journalof Divorce & Remarriage, 46: 3, 1 — 8To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1300/J087v46n03_01URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J087v46n03_01

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial orsystematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply ordistribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contentswill be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug dosesshould be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss,actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directlyor indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t792306891

http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J087v46n03_01

http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf

Perceptions of Gayand Lesbian Stepfamilies

Stephen Claxton-OldfieldSara O’Neil

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to explore young adults’perceptions of stepfamilies headed by gay and lesbian couples. Under-graduate students read a brief vignette describing one of four familyunits (gay stepfamily, lesbian stepfamily, heterosexual stepfamily, or bi-ological family). After reading the vignette, students rated their percep-tions of the family unit using the First Impressions Questionnaire (FIQ;Bryan, Coleman, Ganong, & Bryan, 1986), which consists of six sub-scales: Social Evaluation, Potency, Satisfaction/Security, Personal Char-acter, Activity, and Stability. The results revealed that students perceivedthe biological family to be less active than the gay, lesbian, and hetero-sexual stepfamilies. In addition, the biological family was rated as morestable than the heterosexual stepfamily, and the lesbian stepfamily wasrated as being more satisfying/secure than the heterosexual stepfamily.doi:10.1300/J087v46n03_01 [Article copies available for a fee from The HaworthDocument Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <[email protected]> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com> © 2007 by TheHaworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

KEYWORDS. Divorce, gay and lesbian stepfamilies

Stephen Claxton-Oldfield, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology at MountAllison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.

Sara O’Neil graduated from Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick,Canada with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Address correspondence to: Stephen Claxton-Oldfield, Mount Allison University,Psychology Department, 49A York Street, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada E4L 1C7(E-mail: [email protected]).

Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, Vol. 46(3/4) 2007Available online at http://jdr.haworthpress.com

© 2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.doi:10.1300/J087v46n03_01 1

Downloaded By: [EBSCOHost EJS Content Distribution - Superceded by 916427733] At: 18:08 9 February 2010

Studies comparing people’s perceptions of stepfamily members andmembers of biological families have generally found that stepparentsand stepchildren are perceived less positively (or more negatively) thantheir biological counterparts (e.g., Bryan, Coleman, Ganong, & Bryan,1986; Bryan, Ganong, Coleman, & Bryan, 1985; Claxton-Oldfield &Voyer, 2001; Fine, 1986; Fluitt & Paradise, 1991). It should be noted,however, that not all studies of stepfamily stereotyping have found dif-ferences in people’s evaluations of stepparents and biological parents(e.g., Claxton-Oldfield, 1992, Study 2; Dukes, 1989). As the number ofstepfamilies continues to grow–there are over half a million Canadianstepfamilies (Statistics Canada, 2005)–it is likely that negative stereotypesabout stepparents will gradually disappear.

In a 1988 study, Bryant, Coleman, and Ganong examined people’sperceptions of Black and White biological families and stepfamilies.The authors assumed that, “If Blacks are negatively stereotyped in gen-eral and stepfamilies are viewed less positively than other families, itwould appear that the Black stepfamily would be at the greatest risk ofall families for negative stereotyping” (p. 3). Participants (Black andWhite American college students) were asked to rate one of four familyunits-Black stepfamily, Black biological family, White stepfamily, orWhite biological family. The results revealed that Black respondentsgenerally perceived families more positively than did White respon-dents. In addition, the White stepfamily was rated less positively thanall other family units. The expected “double negative” stereotype forBlack stepfamilies was not found in this study.

A variable that has not been included in previous studies examiningpeople’s perceptions of stepfamilies is parents’ sexual orientation (het-erosexual or homosexual). Gay and lesbian couples can become steppar-ents in a number of ways, for example, by adopting a child or (for lesbiancouples) via donor insemination (Pies, 1989). The most common gay andlesbian stepfamilies, however, are those in which the children are the off-spring of one or both partners from a previous heterosexual relationshipor marriage (Erera & Fredriksen, 1999; Ganong & Coleman, 2004; Hall& Kitson, 2000).

The 2001 Canadian Census counted a total of 34,200 same-sex com-mon-law couples in Canada, representing about 0.5% of all couples(Statistics Canada, 2005). Although male couples outnumbered femalecouples, female same-sex couples are more likely to have children liv-ing with them (15% of female same-sex couples are living with chil-dren, compared with 3% of male same-sex couples) (Statistics Canada,2005). In the United States, it is estimated that about 1% of all couples

2 JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE


Stephen Claxton-Oldfield and Sara O’Neil 3

living together are same-sex (Ambert, 2005). The 1990 U.S. Census re-vealed that 22% of households headed by lesbian couples had childrenliving with them compared with 5% of those headed by gay couples(Black, Gates, Sanders, & Taylor, 2000). Thus, in both Canada and theUnited States, there are more lesbian couples in stepfamilies than gaycouples. “Gay fathers and their partners are more likely to be non-resi-dential stephouseholds, having children with them periodically ratherthan most or all of the time” (Ganong & Coleman, 2004, p. 99). The ac-tual number of gay and lesbian couples is probably somewhat higherthan the numbers cited earlier since identifying oneself as part of asame-sex couple still entails certain risks (e.g., homophobic attitudes, dis-crimination, losing custody of one’s children, losing visitation rights) (e.g.,Ganong & Coleman, 2004; Rohrbaugh, 1992).

According to some researchers, homosexual parents may face a “tri-ple stigmatization,” that is, they are stigmatized for being gay/lesbian,for being in a stepfamily, and they may also be stigmatized by membersof the homosexual community for combining parenthood with beinggay/lesbian (Berger, 1998; Lynch, 2004). In light of this triple stigma, itwould not be surprising if people have less positive perceptions of gayand lesbian stepfamilies than they do of heterosexual stepfamilies andbiological families. The purpose of the current study was to determinewhether undergraduate students’ perceptions of families would be in-fluenced by the parents’ sexual orientation.

METHOD

Participants

The participants in this study were 184 undergraduate students (130female and 54 male) enrolled in undergraduate psychology classes.Their age ranged from 16 to 31 years, with a mean age of 18.9 years(SD = 1.9). One hundred and forty-seven of the students (79.9%) livedwith both biological parents, 17 (9.2%) lived in stepfamilies, 12 (6.5%)lived in single-parent families, and 8 (4.3%) indicated other. Of the183 students who responded to the question about their sexual orienta-tion, 168 (91.8%) indicated that they were heterosexual, 12 (6.6%) in-dicated that they were bisexual, and 3 (1.6%) indicated that they werehomosexual.


Procedure

Participants were asked to take part in a study examining people’s firstimpressions of different types of families. They took part in class. Eachparticipant was given one of four briefly written vignettes that described afamily by structure (stepfamily, biological family) and sexual orientationof the parents (gay, lesbian, heterosexual). The vignettes used were avariation of the basic vignette used by Bryant, Coleman, and Ganong(1988). The gay and lesbian stepfamily versions read as follows:

Joan (John) Davis lives in suburban Toronto with her (his) partnerMary (Mike) Smith. Living with Joan (John) and Mary (Mike) areMary’s (Mike’s) children from a previous marriage (Alan, aged14, and Susan, aged 10). Joan (John) and Mary (Mike) (who arelesbians (gay)) both teach high school social studies.

In the heterosexual stepfamily vignette, living with Joan Smith and herhusband Mike were Joan’s children from a previous marriage. In the bio-logical family vignette, living with Joan Smith and her husband Mike weretheir children. All four versions of the vignettes were presented at random.After reading the vignette, participants were asked to rate their impressionsof the family using the First Impressions Questionnaire (FIQ; Bryan,Coleman, Ganong, & Bryan, 1986). The FIQ consists of 40 pairs of bipolaradjectives making up six factors (or subscales): Social Evaluation, Po-tency, Satisfaction/Security, Personal Character, Activity, and Stability.When participants had completed their ratings, they were asked some ques-tions about themselves, including their age, sex, sexual orientation, andcurrent family status (when at home).

RESULTS

The internal consistency reliabilities of the six FIQ subscales wereexamined. Cronbach’s alpha for the Social Evaluation, Potency, Satis-faction/Security, Personal Character, Activity, and Stability subscaleswere 0.92, 0.69, 0.45, 0.61, 0.10, and 0.42, respectively. Three of thesubscales (Social Evaluation, Potency, and Personal Character) had ad-equate to good internal consistency reliability, while the remainingthree (Satisfaction/Security, Stability, and Activity) had low to poor in-ternal consistency reliability.

A series of univariate analyses of variance were conducted for eachthe six subscales of the FIQ to assess the effects of the independent



variable (vignette type). The means and standard deviations for each ofthe six subscales by vignette type are shown in Table 1.

Social Evaluation, Potency, and Personal Character

The differences between the gay stepfamily, lesbian stepfamily, het-erosexual stepfamily, and the biological family on the Social Evalua-tion, Potency, and Personal Character subscales of the FIQ were notsignificant (see Table 1).

Satisfaction/Security

A significant effect was found for the Satisfaction/Security subscale,F (3, 180) = 2.8, p < 0.05. The results of Tukey’s Highly Significant Dif-ference (HSD) multiple-comparisons test revealed a significant differ-ence between the mean Satisfaction/Security scores for the lesbian andheterosexual stepfamilies (p < 0.05), with the lesbian stepfamily rated asbeing more satisfied/secure than the heterosexual stepfamily (see Table 1).

Activity

A significant effect was found for the subscale of Activity, F (3, 180) =5.6, p < 0.001. Tukey’s HSD comparison revealed that the means for the


TABLE 1. Means and Standard Deviations for Each of the Six Subscales of theFIQ by Vignette Type

GayStepfamily

(n = 48)

LesbianStepfamily

(n = 46)

HeterosexualStepfamily

(n = 46)

BiologicalFamily(n = 44)

M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) M (SD)

Subscale

Social evaluation 5.24 (0.96) 5.31 (0.89) 4.99 (1.00) 5.27 (0.74)

Potency 4.90 (0.73) 5.17 (0.81) 4.88 (0.68) 4.88 (0.60)

Satisfaction/security 4.97 (0.69) 5.03 (0.71) 4.64 (0.72) 4.85 (0.60)*

Personal character 5.23 (1.34) 5.39 (1.31) 5.02 (0.99) 5.42 (0.93)

Activity 4.24 (0.64) 4.35 (0.69) 4.21 (0.58) 3.81 (0.73)**

Stability 4.52 (1.22) 4.43 (1.23) 4.32 (1.18) 4.99 (0.99)*

Note. Higher scores indicate more positive ratings.* p < 0.05** p < 0.01


gay, lesbian, and heterosexual stepfamilies differed significantly fromthe mean of the biological family (p < 0.01, p < 0.001, and p < 0.05). Allthree types of stepfamilies were perceived to be more active than the bi-ological family.

Stability

A significant effect was found for the Stability subscale, F (3, 180) =2.9, p < 0.05. A comparison of the means using Tukey’s HSD test re-vealed a significant difference between the heterosexual stepfamily andthe biological family (p < 0.05), with the biological family perceived tobe more stable than the heterosexual stepfamily.

DISCUSSION

This was the first study designed to compare people’s perceptions ofhomosexual stepfamilies with heterosexual stepfamilies and biologicalfamilies-gay and lesbian stepfamilies are unique family structures thathave not been widely studied. The results revealed a significant differ-ence between the biological family and all three stepfamily units on theActivity subscale of the FIQ, with gay, lesbian, and heterosexual step-families perceived as being more active than the biological family. TheActivity subscale consists of the items (positive adjectives only) “active,”“aggressive,” “unpredictable,” and “eager.” It is possible that the biologi-cal family was considered to be less active than the stepfamily units be-cause life in a first-marriage family is perceived as being more steady,reliable, regular, or predictable. That is, parents and children in biologicalfamilies have always lived together and, as a result, family membersknow what their roles are as well as what to expect from one another. Thatsame level of familiarity does not exist in stepfamilies, especially in theearly stages, where people who are not used to living together join to cre-ate a new family system. Life in a stepfamily is more changeable and un-predictable, for example, family members may lose their roles, may findthemselves living in an unfamiliar house, may have to adjust to new rou-tines, and so on. Also, stepfamilies may be perceived as being more ac-tive than biological families because stepchildren frequently go back andforth between two households, for example, visiting with their non-residential parent at weekends and during holidays.

There was only one other significant difference involving the biologicalfamily; the biological family was rated as being more stable than the het-



erosexual stepfamily, but not the homosexual stepfamilies. This was some-what surprising in light of the finding that gay and lesbian couples tend tobreak up more frequently than heterosexual married couples (Kurdek,1998). The higher rate of relationship dissolution among homosexual cou-ples may be due to “the fact nothing in the social world encouragessame-sex couples to stay together” (Ambert, 2005, p. 4), whereas hetero-sexual married couples tend to experience more support from family,friends, and society in general. At the same time, the rate of dissolution instepfamilies is higher than in first-marriage families (The Stepfamily Foun-dation, 2005), and this may have contributed to the belief that heterosexualstepfamilies are less stable than biological families.

Among the stepfamily units, the lesbian stepfamily was rated as beingsignificantly higher in Satisfaction/Security than the heterosexual step-family. Given that the participants in this study were mostly female andbecause women are often perceived as being more nurturing than men, itis possible that the participants considered that having two mothers (a bi-ological mother and a stepmother) in the household would be more satis-fying than having, for example, a biological mother and a stepfatherco-parenting. The fact that lesbian stepfamilies were rated higher in termsof Satisfaction/Security compared with heterosexual stepfamilies is con-sistent with observations of family dynamics within lesbian stepfamilies.For example, lesbian couples report greater relationship satisfaction,more intimacy, and more equality than married heterosexual couples(Kurdek, 1998; Kurdek 2001, as cited in Ambert, 2005).

One limitation of the present study is the low to poor internal consis-tency reliabilities of three of the six FIQ subscales. A second limitation isthat the participants in this study were undergraduate students from asmall liberal arts university. The students’ mean scores for all four familyunits tended to fall on the positive side of the midpoint for each of the sixsubscales. It is possible that the students’ evaluations may not necessarilyreflect the opinions of the general population. Future research might at-tempt to replicate this study using a non-university sample (e.g., highschool students or middle-aged to older adults) as participants.

REFERENCES

Ambert, A. (Revised 2005). Same-sex couples and same-sex-parent families: Rela-tionships, parenting, and issues of marriage. The Vanier Institute of the Family.

Berger, R. (1998). The experience and issues of gay stepfamilies. Journal of Divorce &Remarriage, 29 (3/4), 93-102.



Black, D., Gates, G., Sanders, S., & Taylor, L. (2000). Demographics of the gay andlesbian population in the United States: Evidence from available systematic datasources. Demography, 37 (2), 139-154.

Bryan, L., Coleman, M., Ganong, L., & Bryan, S. (1986). Person perception: Familystructure as a cue for stereotyping. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48,169-174.

Bryan, S., Ganong, L., Coleman, M., & Bryan, L. (1985). Counselors’ perceptions ofstepparents and stepchildren. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 32 (2), 279-282.

Bryant, Z., Coleman, M., & Ganong, L. (1988). Race and family structure stereotyp-ing: Perceptions of Black and White nuclear families and stepfamilies. The Journalof Black Psychology, 15 (1), 1-16.

Claxton-Oldfield, S. (1992). Perceptions of stepfathers: Disciplinary and affectionatebehaviour. Journal of Family Issues, 13 (3), 378-389.

Claxton-Oldfield, S., & Voyer, S. (2001). Young adults’ perceptions of stepchildren.Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 35 (1/2), 107-114.

Dukes, R. (1989). The Cinderella myth: Negative evaluations of stepparents. Sociologyand Social Research, 73, 67-72.

Erera, P., & Fredriksen, K. (1999). Lesbian stepfamilies: A unique family structure.Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 80 (3), 263-270.

Fine, M. (1986). Perceptions of stepparents: Variation in stereotypes as a function ofcurrent family structure. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 537-543.

Fluitt, M., & Paradise, L. (1991). The relationship of current family structures to youngadults’ perceptions of stepparents. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 15 (3/4),159-174.

Ganong, L., & Coleman, M. (2004). Stepfamily relationships: Development, dynamics,and interventions. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Hall, K., & Kitson, G. (2000). Lesbian stepfamilies: An even more “incomplete institu-tion.” Journal of Lesbian Studies, 4 (3), 31-47.

Kurdek, L. (1998). Relationship outcomes and their predictors: Longitudinal evidencefrom heterosexual married, gay cohabiting, and lesbian cohabiting couples. Journalof Marriage and the Family, 60 (3), 553-568.

Lynch, J. (2004). Becoming a stepparent in gay and lesbian stepfamilies: Integratingidentities. Journal of Homosexuality, 49 (2), 45-60.

Pies, C. (1989). Lesbians and the choice to parent. Marriage and Family Review, 14(3/4), 137-154.

Rohrbaugh, J. (1992). Lesbian families: Clinical issues and theoretical implications.Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 23 (6), 467-473.

Statistics Canada (2005). The proportion of “traditional families” continues to decline.Retrieved from http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Analytic/companion/ fam/canada.cfm#traditional_families

The Stepfamily Foundation (2005). Stepfamily statistics. Retrieved from http://www.stepfamily.org

doi:10.1300/J087v46n03_01



Gaylesbian

Documents

Transcript of Gaylesbian