This study examined how established adult offspring born to lesbian parents cope with the renewed anti-LGBTQ+ oppression in the United States. The study included 75 adults in their early thirties (M = 30.93, SD = 0.92; 49.33% female, 48.00% male and 2.66% gender non-binary; 90.67% White, 9.33% people of colour) from Wave 7 of the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study. Even though the majority of the offspring (68%) are heterosexual and no longer live at home, their awareness of homophobic discrimination against their parents may have a negative effect on their mental health. We hypothesised that coping strategies, such as educating others about discrimination or actively resisting it, could reduce the negative impact of perceived stigma on their mental health. Surprisingly, the results showed that adult offspring who coped through educating reported lower life satisfaction when they perceived higher levels of stigma. There were no significant findings relating to psychological distress. The results indicate the importance of studying families with minoritised sexual identities during a time of anti-LGBTQ+ laws and policies.

How stable is psychological adjustment in donor-conceived offspring of lesbian parents over 21 years, considering developmental stages, donor type and impact of donor contact? Data were drawn from the US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study, a cohort of 70 donor-conceived offspring (71.43% heterosexual, 90.00% White) assessed across four developmental stages - childhood (age 10 years, Wave 4), adolescence (age 17, Wave 5), emerging adulthood (age 25, Wave 6) and established adulthood (ages 30-33, Wave 7). From parental reports, 34.29% had an anonymous donor, 34.29% a known donor and 31.43% an open-identity donor. At Waves 4 and 5, parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist to assess their child's psychological adjustment, while at Waves 6 and 7 the offspring assessed their psychological adjustment by completing the 120-item Achenbach Adult Self-Report. Growth curve models, stability coefficients and developmental pathway analyses explored trajectories by donor type, while a multivariate analysis examined differences by donor contact. Across donor types, internalizing, externalizing and total problem behaviours showed low relative but high absolute stability, with fluctuations below clinical thresholds. Externalizing and total problem behaviours declined from childhood to adolescence, increased in emerging adulthood and stabilized in established adulthood. Donor type and contact did not significantly impact behavioural outcomes. Over 80% of offspring consistently scored within the normal range across all stages. Findings underscore the psychological resilience of donor-conceived offspring of lesbian parents, irrespective of donor type or contact. This challenges assumptions about donor-related effects on adjustment, highlighting the importance of family relationships. Flexible, family-centred support and consideration of evolving genetic-linking technologies are recommended for policy-makers and practitioners.

This study investigates potential differences in psychological health (i.e. life satisfaction, anticipated future life satisfaction, distress), social well-being, and experiences of victimisation among adult offspring born to lesbian parents when compared with participants from a nationally representative sample surveyed in the same historical context of renewed anti-LGBTQ+ oppression. The research involved 75 adult offspring (M = 30.93, SD = 0.93; sex assigned at birth: 39 female and 36 male; gender identity: 73 cisgender and 2 gender nonbinary; sexual orientation: 51 heterosexual and 24 sexual minority) of the first generation conceived through donor insemination by lesbian parents. These offspring were matched with 75 participants of a U.S. probability sample based on several factors, including age, race/ethnicity, education, sex assigned at birth, gender identity, and sexual orientation. The comparison group is presumed to have been raised by heterosexual parents. After applying Bonferroni's correction to minimise the risk of Type I errors resulting from multiple comparisons, no significant differences emerged in the study variables between the two samples. Despite a climate of renewed anti-LGBTQ+ oppression, adult offspring of lesbian parents were doing well, possibly due to unique socialisation processes in childhood when their parents taught them to be resilient even in the face of socio-environmental challenges.

Concerns about parents with minoritized sexual identities often focus on the belief that their children will be confused about their gender and report a non-heterosexual orientation compared to children reared by heterosexual parents. Yet, few longitudinal studies exist. Gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and sexual experiences were examined in 75 U.S. donor-conceived offspring (39 assigned females at birth (AFAB) and 36 assigned males at birth (AMAB)) of lesbian parents, when the offspring had reached adulthood (ages 30–33). Additionally, 72 of these offspring (38 AFAB and 34 AMAB) had also completed surveys in adolescence (age 17, data collected 2004–2009) and emerging adulthood (age 25, data collected 2012–2017), which enabled us to examine the developmental pathways of their sexuality. All AMAB offspring and 94.7

The U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study is the longest prospective study of offspring conceived via donor insemination (DI), beginning in 1986 when DI became possible for lesbian women. The 75 offspring surveyed at Wave 7 were adults in their early thirties (M = 30.93, SD = 0.92; 49.33% female, 48.00% male and 2.66% gender nonbinary; 90.67% White, 9.33% people of color), well past the early stages of identity development in adolescence and emerging adulthood. This is the first qualitative study focusing on feelings about DI among established adult offspring of lesbian parents. Offspring generally felt positive about their donor conception, realizing that it enabled them to be born into a loving family that very much wanted them. They were grateful that the technology existed to allow lesbian parents to have children in the 1980s. Most agreed that their nontraditional conception had influenced their concept of family, and many indicated willingness to be a gamete donor themselves. Offspring also described childhood challenges with feeling different, challenges with the donor or lack of medical information about him. About half had discovered that they had donor siblings. Because the offspring knew of their DI from an early age, they did not perceive this information as a threat to their personal or family identity. As use of DI increases and donor offspring and their parents may seek therapy, clinicians should be trained to address donor anonymity issues, disclosure to children, parental/offspring concerns, and donor sibling concerns and recommend community resources as needed.

The National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) started in 1986 when donor insemination became available for lesbian women in the U.S. Wave 7 of the NLLFS was the first time that adults conceived via donor insemination were asked if they had or planned to have children, and what they anticipated telling children about their own nontraditional conception. Of 75 NLLFS adult offspring (mean age 30.93; 49.33% female, 48.00% male, and 2.66% gender nonbinary; 90.67% White, 9.33% people of color), 8 (10.67%) had children and 42 of the rest (62.67%) hoped to have children. Most anticipated no parenting challenges, though some mentioned societal reactions or not having had a father. They expected to rear children in an open-minded and child-focused way, and to discuss their own nontraditional conception in a casual and straightforward manner. They viewed their own mothers as role models. Wave 7 was also the first time that NLLFS parents were asked about grandchildren; of 124 parents, 7 (5.64%) were grandparents. They expressed joy in spending time with their grandchildren and pride in their offspring’s parenting skills. The results are discussed in relation to research about how parents who are members of minority groups educate children about minority status.

AIM The present study examined how adult offspring of lesbian parents relate to their anonymous, open-identity, or known donors. DESIGN An online survey of 75 donor-conceived offspring of lesbian parents, aged 30-33 years, participating in Wave 7 of a U.S. 36-year longitudinal study of planned lesbian-parent families was conducted. Offspring were asked about donor type, motivations for contacting the donor, terminology for the donor, relationship quality, means of relationship maintenance, impact of donor contact on offspring's other family members, and their feelings about the donor. RESULTS Twenty offspring with anonymous donors and 15 with open-identity donors whom they had not contacted felt comfortable not knowing their donors. Forty offspring knew their donors - anonymous, contacted through an online registry (n = 7), open-identity, contacted (n = 9), or known since childhood (n = 24). Offspring who had contacted their donor since age 18 had their motivations fulfilled after contact, got along well with him, did not view him as a relative, and had told most family members about their contact, without detriment. Whether the donor was unknown or known at this stage of their lives, most offspring were satisfied with their contact level. CONCLUSION This cohort of donor-conceived offspring of lesbian parents was among the first to reach adulthood during a time of technological advances in DNA testing, giving access to anonymous donors via online registries. The results inform donors, families, mental health providers, medical providers and public policymakers, on whether, how, and to what degree donor-conceived offspring optimally make donor contact.

STUDY QUESTION: How do adult offspring in planned lesbian-parent families feel about and relate to their donor (half) sibling(s) (DS)? SUMMARY ANSWER: A majority of offspring had found DS and maintained good ongoing relationships, and all offspring (regardless of whether a DS had been identified) were satisfied with their knowledge of and contact level with the DS. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: The first generation of donor insemination offspring of intended lesbian-parent families is now in their 30s. Coincident with this is an increased use of DNA testing and genetic ancestry websites, facilitating the discovery of donor siblings from a common sperm donor. Few studies of offspring and their DS include sexual minority parent (SMP) families, and only sparse data separately analyze the offspring of SMP families or extend the analyses to established adult offspring. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This cohort study included 75 adult offspring, longitudinally followed since conception in lesbian-parent families. Quantitative analyses were performed from online surveys of the offspring in the seventh wave of the 36-year study, with a 90% family retention rate. The data were collected from March 2021 to November 2022. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Participants were 30- to 33-year-old donor insemination offspring whose lesbian parents enrolled in a US prospective longitudinal study when these offspring were conceived. Offspring who knew of a DS were asked about their numbers found, characteristics or motivations for meeting, DS terminology, relationship quality and maintenance, and impact of the DS contact on others. All offspring (with or without known DS) were asked about the importance of knowing if they have DS and their terminology, satisfaction with information about DS, and feelings about future contact. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Of offspring, 53% (n = 40) had found DS inmodest numbers, via a DS or spermbank registry in 45% of cases, andmost of these offspring hadmade contact. The offspring had theirmeetingmotivations fulfilled, viewed the DS as acquaintances more often than siblings or friends, andmaintained good relationships via meetings, socialmedia, and cell phone communication. They disclosed their DSmeetings tomost relatives with neutral impact. The offspring, whether with known or unknown DS, felt neutral about the importance of knowing if they had DS, were satisfied with what they knew (or did not know) of the DS, and were satisfiedwith their current level of DS contact. This study is the largest, longest-running longitudinal study of intended lesbian-parent families and their offspring, and due to its prospective nature, is not biased by over-sampling offspring who were already satisfied with their DS. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: The sample was from the USA, and mostly White, highly educated individuals, not representative of the diversity of donor insemination offspring of lesbian-parent families. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: While about half of the offspring found out about DS, the other half did not. Regardless of knowing of a DS, these adult offspring of lesbian parents were satisfied with their level of DS contact. Early disclosure and identity formation about being donor-conceived in a lesbian-parent family may distinguish these study participants from donor insemination offspring and adoptees in the general population, who may be more compelled to seek genetic relatives. The study participants who sought DS mostly found a modest number of them, in contrast to reports in studies that have found large numbers of DS. This may be because one-third of study offspring had donors known to the families since conception, who may have been less likely to participate in commercial sperm banking or internet donation sites, where quotas are difficult to enforce or nonexistent. The study results have implications for anyone considering gamete donation, gamete donors, donor-conceived offspring, and/or gamete banks, as well as the medical and public policy professionals who advise them.

The current study used a family resilience approach to investigate why some offspring of sexual minority parents thrive despite homophobic stigmatization while others do not. Specifically, the study explored the role of two specific family functioning mechanisms (i.e., during adolescence, disclosure of offspring's personal life to their parents, and family compatibility) in the association between experienced homophobic stigmatization at age 17 and subjective well-being at age 25, among 71 offspring (37 females and 34 males, all cisgender) of the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS). The results showed that, overall, the offspring reported healthy subjective well-being as emerging adults. However, among NLLFS offspring with less family compatibility as adolescents, homophobic stigmatization was related to higher scores on negative affect when they were emerging adults. Psychological counseling that supports adolescent-parent communication may help prevent the negative effect of homophobic stigmatization on the subjective well-being of offspring with sexual minority parents.

Helicopter parents are highly involved parents who hover over and around their child, applying developmentally inappropriate levels of control and tangible assistance. Previous research with different-sex parent families indicates that helicopter parenting is particularly problematic in emerging adulthood as it may indirectly affect the offspring's mental health through their use of emotional avoidant coping. Knowledge is lacking, however, on the antecedents and consequences of helicopter parenting in lesbian-parent families. The present longitudinal, questionnaire-based study investigated the effect of homophobic stigmatization in adolescence on mental health via helicopter parenting and emotional avoidant coping among 76 (37 females and 39 males) National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study 25-year-old offspring of lesbian parents. All participants were cisgender, born in the USA, and conceived through donor sperm, with the majority being White, heterosexual, highly educated, and no longer living with their parents. Parents who reported that their offspring experienced homophobic stigmatization in adolescence were likely to enact higher helicopter parenting in emerging adulthood. Then, higher scores on helicopter parenting were associated with offspring's greater use of emotional avoidant coping, which in turn negatively affected the mental health of emerging adult offspring. Discussed in light of Bowen's family differentiation theory, the results suggest that clinicians should examine helicopter parenting in the context of lesbian parents' developmental history and potential tendency to project their own concerns about safety onto their child in order to reduce the distress of experienced homophobic stigmatization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

In the sixth wave of the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study, the concerns of 76 (37 female and 39 male, all cisgender) 25-year-old donor-conceived offspring of lesbian parents were investigated through an open-ended question in an online survey and analyzed using thematic and content analysis. The number of concerns reported varied between 0 and 5 per respondent, with a mean of 1.78 (SD = 1.24). Nine participants reported no concerns at all. Among the remaining 67 participants, concerns focused on their family, work, education, personal health, and partner relationship. None expressed distress about the heteronormative society or growing up in a planned lesbian-parent family. Those who listed more concerns reported more internalizing problems. When the number of concerns was included in the analysis, homophobic stigmatization experienced at the ages of 17 and 25 was no longer significantly associated with problem behaviors.

BACKGROUND:The transition to parenthood is a significant life event that has implications for health behaviors and health. Few studies have examined alcohol use and smoking by parenthood status (nonparent vs. parent) among women who identify as lesbian. METHODS:This study used data from two longitudinal studies, the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women Study (n = 135) and the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (n = 116), to compare problem drinking and cigarette smoking trajectories among lesbian-identified women by parenthood status. We used mixed models to investigate differences in problem drinking and cigarette smoking in three waves of data in each study. RESULTS:Lesbian parents reported significantly less problem drinking, but not cigarette smoking, than nonparent lesbian women. When considering the interaction between parental status and time, problem drinking was significantly higher among nonparents than parents at each time interval. CONCLUSIONS:Parenthood was associated with positive changes in drinking among lesbian women; however, more research is needed to understand how to support smoking cessation among parenting lesbian women.

Objective: To study differences by sperm donor type in the psychological adjustment of the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) offspring across three time periods from childhood to adulthood. Design: U.S.-based prospective cohort study. Setting: Paper-and-pencil questionnaires and protected online surveys. Patient(s): A cohort of 74 offspring conceived by lesbian parents using an anonymous (n = 26), a known (n = 26), or an open-identity (n = 22) sperm donor. Data were reported when offspring were ages 10 (wave 4), 17 (wave 5), and 25 (wave 6). Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist administered to lesbian parents when offspring were ages 10 and 17 and the Achenbach Adult Self-Report administered to offspring at age 25. Result(s): In both relative and absolute stability, no differences were found in internalizing, externalizing, and total problem behaviors by donor type over 15 years. However, both externalizing and total problem behaviors significantly declined from age 10 to 17 and then increased from age 17 to 25. Irrespective of donor type, among the 74 offspring, the large majority scored continuously within the normal range on internalizing (n = 62, 83.8%), externalizing (n = 62, 83.8%), and total problem behaviors (n = 60, 81.1%). Conclusion(s): The results reassure prospective lesbian parents and provide policy makers and reproductive medicine practitioners with empirical evidence that psychological adjustment in offspring raised by lesbian parents is unrelated to donor type in the long term. ((C) 2020 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)

Studies have compared sexual minority mothers (mostly lesbian) to heterosexual mothers on mental health, but little research has compared sexual minority women with and without children. This was the first study to compare sexual minority women who did or did not have children, using a population-based sample with three age cohorts. Unlike prior convenience studies, this study finds parents more likely to be bisexual, in a relationship with a man, and non-urban. Bisexual parents scored higher than lesbian parents on psychological distress and lower on life satisfaction and happiness; they also reported less connection to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Among lesbians, the oldest non-parents reported more happiness and less psychological distress than the youngest non-parents. Parents with other identities perceived more social support from friends and reported lower levels of internalized homophobia than bisexual parents. The results will help professionals and policymakers understand how parenthood status affects women across sexual identities.

Nonrepresentative estimates indicate that 25%-50% of transgender people are parents. Yet very little is known about their demographic characteristics and health outcomes. The present study compared the quality of life and several mental health (i.e., psychological distress, life satisfaction, happiness, social well-being) and health (i.e., physical health, alcohol and drug use) dimensions by gender identity and parenthood status in a probability sample of 1,436 transgender and cisgender respondents to the U.S. Transgender Population Health Survey (TransPop study). An estimated 18.8% of transgender respondents were parents, with the majority (52.5%) being transgender women. After controlling for age, education, and relationship status, there were no significant differences between trans- and cisgender parents and their nonparent counterparts on any mental health or health dimensions. These findings are important to family practitioners and policymakers so that they do not mistakenly assume that any problems transgender parents may report reveal their unsuitability to parent. Rather, because differences in health outcomes were seen only across gender identities, such problems are more likely related to stigma and discrimination experiences in a cisgenderist/heterosexist society. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: To study how adult offspring in planned lesbian-parent families relate to their unknown or known donors. Design: Qualitative analyses of the sixth wave of online surveys from a longitudinal study of adult offspring in planned lesbian families, enrolled at conception. Setting: Community-based United States national study. Patient(s): The 76 participants were 25-year-old donor insemination (DI) offspring whose lesbian parent(s) enrolled in a prospective longitudinal study when these offspring were conceived. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Offspring were asked about donor type, feelings about permanently unknown donor, satisfaction with and role of known donor, whether relationship with known donor was ongoing, and age of meeting open-identity donor. Result(s): This cohort (n = 76) of DI offspring with lesbian parents was among the first generation to reach adulthood. Thirty participants had permanently unknown donors and most participants felt comfortable about not knowing them. Sixteen participants had open-identity donors they had not met. Thirty had currently known donors-met in childhood (n = 22) or after open-identity donor disclosure (n = 8)-of whom two thirds had ongoing relationships with donors, half considered their donors as acquaintances, and nearly half had good feelings about their relationship, although a minority expressed conflicted feelings. @ Conclusion(s): This study of adult DI offspring from planned lesbian families shows that those who knew their donors mainly felt positively about these relationships. Qualitative analyses offered insight into offspring-donor relationships, whose numbers are increasing due to historical and demographic trends. ((C) 2020 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)

The U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study was initiated in 1986 to follow a cohort from the first generation of planned lesbian-parent families in which the children were conceived through donor insemination. Since that time, 92% of the families in the original cohort are still involved in the study. During the most recent wave (6th) for which data gathering was completed in October 2017, 213 family members (135 parents and 78 index offspring) participated. The evolution of the study over 35 years and the strategies used to retain participants are discussed. Salient among these strategies were timing the data collection, meeting participants in their homes, creating a study identity, and updating contact information annually. Having the same principal investigator from the beginning to the present provided consistency. The study also benefited from cultural shifts over the past three decades that the researchers and participants could not have anticipated at the outset-co-parent adoptions, domestic partnerships, civil unions, and marriage equality. Despite the limitations of convenience sample surveys, there are lessons to be learned from the methodological strategies that the researchers employed to keep the cohort intact.

Until 2004, Dutch women seeking donor insemination through medical facilities could opt for open-identity or anonymous donors. Since then, Dutch law only permits open-identity donation. The present study compared the well-being of adolescents conceived before 2004 through known, open-identity, and anonymous donors, and born into planned lesbian parent families (i.e., the mothers identified as lesbian before the children were conceived). The sixty-seven participating adolescents (Mage = 16.04 years) completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Youth Self-Report, and answered questions about their donor. Thirty-three were conceived through known, twenty-two through open-identity, and twelve through anonymous donors. No significant associations were found between donor type and self-esteem or problem behavior. Likewise, no significant differences were found on these two variables for adolescents with known donors who did or did not play important roles in their lives. For adolescents conceived with sperm from as-yet unknown donors (open-identity or anonymous), feeling uncomfortable about not knowing the donor was associated with lower self-esteem and more externalizing problem behavior. That donor type was found to have no bearing on adolescent self-esteem or problem behavior may be useful to prospective lesbian parents.