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OBJECTIVE: To assess whether lesbian mothers of 17-year-old adolescents conceived through donor insemination are satisfied with their choice of a known, open-identity, or unknown sperm donor and whether the mothers' satisfaction is associated with psychological health problems in the index adolescent offspring. DESIGN: Mixed-method study. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): One hundred twenty-nine lesbian mothers and 77 index offspring. INTERVENTION(S): Semistructured interviews with the mothers conducted by telephone and the State-Trait Personality Inventory (STPI) completed online by the adolescent offspring. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Satisfaction with the type of sperm donor selected was assessed through multiple choice questions, and adolescent psychological health problems by the STPI. The reasons for the mothers' (dis)satisfaction were evaluated through a thematic analysis of transcribed interviews. RESULT(S): Overall, 77.5% of mothers were satisfied with the type of donor chosen. There were no significant differences between birth mothers and comothers on (dis)satisfaction. In comparing satisfied with dissatisfied birth mothers by donor type, the only significant differences were that those selecting open-identity donors were more satisfied than dissatisfied and that those using unknown donors were more dissatisfied than satisfied; (dis)satisfaction with donor type was unrelated to offspring psychological health problems. Qualitative analyses revealed six themes concerning all mothers' reasons for (dis)satisfaction. CONCLUSION(S): Donor access and custody concerns were the primary themes mentioned by lesbian mothers regarding their (dis)satisfaction with the type of sperm donor they had selected.

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Few studies have examined history of intimate partner violence (IPV) among sexual minorities. We assessed prevalence and predictors of IPV using a probability sample of California residents ages 18 to 70. Lifetime and 1-year IPV prevalence was higher in sexual minorities compared with heterosexuals but this was significant only for bisexual women and gay men. IPV of bisexual women, but not gay men, occurred in a heterosexual relationship. We tested whether the higher prevalence of IPV in gay men and bisexual women was explained by two mental health indicators--psychological distress and binge drinking--but this hypothesis was not supported.

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Although studies show that adolescents with same-sex parents experience homophobic discrimination, little is known about associations between stigmatization and substance use in this population. The 17-year-old offspring of lesbian parents from the largest, longest-running, longitudinal study of same-sex parented families were surveyed about substance use, experiences of homophobic stigmatization, and overall life satisfaction. Compared to matched adolescents from a national probability sample, adolescents with same-sex parents were more likely to report occasional substance use but not more likely to report heavy use. No associations were found between substance use and homophobic stigmatization or life satisfaction.

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This study assessed Kinsey self-ratings and lifetime sexual experiences of 17-year-olds whose lesbian mothers enrolled before these offspring were born in the longest-running, prospective study of same-sex parented families, with a 93% retention rate to date. Data for the current report were gathered through online questionnaires completed by 78 adolescent offspring (39 girls and 39 boys). The adolescents were asked if they had ever been abused and, if so, to specify by whom and the type of abuse (verbal, emotional, physical, or sexual). They were also asked to specify their sexual identity on the Kinsey scale, between exclusively heterosexual and exclusively homosexual. Lifetime sexual behavior was assessed through questions about heterosexual and same-sex contact, age of first sexual experience, contraception use, and pregnancy. The results revealed that there were no reports of physical or sexual victimization by a parent or other caregiver. Regarding sexual orientation, 18.9% of the adolescent girls and 2.7% of the adolescent boys self-rated in the bisexual spectrum, and 0% of girls and 5.4% of boys self-rated as predominantly-to-exclusively homosexual. When compared with age- and gender-matched adolescents of the National Survey of Family Growth, the study offspring were significantly older at the time of their first heterosexual contact, and the daughters of lesbian mothers were significantly more likely to have had same-sex contact. These findings suggest that adolescents reared in lesbian families are less likely than their peers to be victimized by a parent or other caregiver, and that daughters of lesbian mothers are more likely to engage in same-sex behavior and to identify as bisexual.

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