LGBTQ+ Families

At a moment of unprecedented visibility alongside renewed political backlash, understanding the research on LGBTQ+ families has never been more important.

This book presents current research on LGBTQ+ parenting and families, illuminating the tension between growing social recognition and persistent legal, political, and social marginalization. It examines pathways to parenthood, family dynamics, parent and child well-being, and children's educational and community contexts, offering practical implications for practitioners, scholars, policymakers, and advocates. Situated within the landmark gains of marriage equality and the mounting pressures of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation, the book supplies rigorous research as an indispensable tool for validation, education, and the dismantling of harmful myths, while also highlighting how experiences of marginalization are shaped by race, class, gender identity, and geography.

• Chapter 1. Introduction: Science Matters, and It Matters Now 
• Chapter 2. Pathways to Parenthood: Reproductive Routes, Adoption Avenues, and Beyond 
• Chapter 3. The Transition to Parenthood: Stigma and Stress, Roles and Relationships 
• Chapter 4. Early Childhood Education, School, and Community Contexts: Parents' Experiences with and Advocacy for Inclusion and Belonging 
• Chapter 5. Children of LGBT Q+ Parents: Well-Being, Academic Adjustment, and Diverse Lived Experiences 
• Chapter 6. LGBTQ+ Parents' Well-Being, Relationship Quality, and Relationship Dissolution
• Chapter 7. Coparenting, the Division of Labor, and Parent Socialization 
• Chapter 8. Challenging and Invisible Topics Within LGBTQ+ Parent Families 
• Chapter 9. From Surviving to Thriving: Contexts and Strategies for Empowerment

Abbie Goldberg, PhD, is a professor of psychology, director of women's and gender studies, and the Jan and Larry Landry University Professor at Clark University in Worcester, MA. She earned her PhD from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 2005.

Dr. Goldbergopens in new window is the author of Lesbian and Gay Parents and Their Children: Research on the Family Life Cycle and LGBTQ Family Building: A Guide for Prospective Parents. She is editor of The Sage Encyclopedia of LGBTQ+ Studies (Second Edition) and co-editor of LGBTQ-Parent Families: Innovations in Research and Implications for Practice (Second Edition). She has spoken internationally about these topics; consults regularly with attorneys, therapists, and educators; and has been interviewed by numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, USA Today, and People.com.