Parenting LGBTQ Children and Adolescents

Parent-child relationships are extremely important for sexual and gender minoritized youth as they and their families navigate the challenges of “coming out” and living in a highly heteronormative and often homonegative and transnegative society. This chapter presents the current terminology for and demography of LGBTQ youth in the United States; discusses the unique experiences of LGBTQ children and their parents, including child and parent reactions to the coming out process and its reverberations through the family system; reviews the emerging scientific literature on parenting effects on LGBTQ child health and well-being; and considers the implications for policy and clinical practice that support parents of LGBTQ youth in ways that foster nurturance, advocacy, and the health and well-being of both youth and parents.