Abstract
IntroductionThe current study examined whether achieving a sense of meaning in life moderated the association between experienced homophobic stigmatization and coping styles in emerging adult offspring of lesbian mothers. In the sixth wave of the U S National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study, completed in 2017, the 76 participating offspring were 25 years old.MethodsThe offspring completed an online survey containing questions about homophobic stigmatization, coping styles (problem-focused, active emotional, and avoidant emotional coping), and meaning in life.ResultsThe interaction between homophobic stigmatization and meaning in life was significant for problem-focused and avoidant emotional coping. Further analyses showed that for participants with low levels of meaning in life, exposure to homophobic stigmatization was associated with less problem-focused coping and more avoidant emotional coping.DiscussionThe social policy implications of these findings suggest that achieving a sense of meaning in life can serve as a protective factor in reducing the negative influence of homophobic stigmatization on coping styles.Social Policy ImplicationsThus homophobia associated with being raised by sexual minority parents may affect offspring as adults, even after these offspring no longer live with their parents. This finding illuminates the importance of developing a sense of meaning in life by encouraging self-efficacy on the part of schools and community organizations.
Highlights
The current study examined whether achieving a sense of meaning in life moderated the association between experienced homophobic stigmatization and coping styles in emerging adult offspring of lesbian mothers
Based on the above literature pertaining to stress, coping, and meaning in life (e.g., Compas et al, 2001; Halama & Bakošová, 2009; Hatzenbuehler et al 2013; Park & Ai, 2006; Thompson et al, 2010), the current study examined whether having meaning in life influenced the association between homophobic stigmatization experienced as an adult, and coping, among emerging adults who were born and raised in lesbian-parent families
Demographic Differences in Coping Styles difference in our study on active emotional or avoidant emotional coping, in contrast to the literature that generally finds women to score higher on emotion-focused coping than men (Crăciun, 2013; Matud, 2004; Ptacek et al 1994) and sometimes finds women to score higher than men on avoidant coping (Matud, 2004)
Summary
The current study examined whether achieving a sense of meaning in life moderated the association between experienced homophobic stigmatization and coping styles in emerging adult offspring of lesbian mothers. The 1980s witnessed the first generation of offspring conceived through donor insemination (DI) and born into planned lesbian-parent families (Gartrell et al 1996). Sex Res Soc Policy (2020) 17:594–606 samples from population-based surveys. These investigations revealed that having sexual minority parents is not in itself a risk factor for the development of psychological problems (e.g., Bos et al 2007; Carone et al 2018; Golombok et al, 2003). One study has focused on emerging adults who were born and raised in lesbian-parent families. That US study found that these adult offspring did not differ in problem behavior from same-age counterparts in a population-based normative sample (Gartrell et al 2018)
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