Adolescents of the USA National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Can Family Characteristics Counteract the Negative Effects of Stigmatization?

All s are available in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese on Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1545‐5300). Please pass this information on to your international colleagues and students. This investigation examines the impact of homophobic stigmatization on the well‐being of 17‐year‐old adolescents who were conceived through donor insemination and whose mothers enrolled before they were born in the largest, longest‐running, prospective study of lesbian families, with a 93% retention rate to date. The data for the current report were collected through questionnaires completed by the adolescents and their mothers. The adolescents (39 girls and 39 boys) were queried about family connection and compatibility. They were also asked to indicate if they had experienced discrimination based on their mothers' sexual orientation. Adolescent well‐being was assessed through the parental report of the Child Behavior Checklist/6–18. Forty‐one percent of the adolescents had experienced stigmatization based on homophobia. Hierarchical, multiple‐regression analyses revealed that stigmatization was associated with more problem behavior in these adolescents, but that family compatibility neutralized this negative influence. The results indicate that adolescents who have close, positive relationships with their lesbian mothers demonstrate resilience in response to stigmatization. RESUMEN Esta investigación analiza el impacto de la estigmatización homofóbica sobre el bienestar de adolescentes de 17 años que fueron concebidos mediante inseminación por donantes y cuyas madres se inscribieron antes de que ellos nacieran en el estudio futuro más grande y de mayor duración de familias de madres lesbianas, con un índice de permanencia del 93% hasta la fecha. Los datos del presente informe se recopilaron mediante cuestionarios que contestaron los adolescentes y sus madres. Se les preguntó a los adolescentes (39 mujeres y 39 varones) acerca de la conexión y la compatibilidad con la familia. También se les pidió que indicaran si se los había discriminado por la orientación sexual de sus madres. Se evaluó el bienestar de los adolescentes mediante un informe de los padres utilizando el “Listado de la Conducta del Niño/6 ‐18”(Child Behavior Checklist). El cuarenta y uno por ciento de los adolescentes había sufrido estigmatización basada en la homofobia. Los análisis jerárquicos y de regresión múltiple revelaron que la estigmatización estuvo asociada con má