Adolescents with Lesbian ******* Describe Their Own Lives
Teens with lesbian ******* are academically successful and happy with their lives. The 17-year-olds participating in the longest-running study of lesbian families had high school GPAs in the A- to B+ range, and nearly all planned to attend four-year colleges. These adolescents had strong ****** bonds, and they were nearly unanimous in describing their ******* as good role models. They also reported having numerous close friends—generally with same-age peers who were predominantly heterosexual. Most of the teens felt comfortable bringing friends home, informing friends about their *******’ lesbianism and confiding in their *******.
The teenagers were asked a series of questions about their everyday life experiences including academics, extracurricular activities, aspirations, friendships, ****** interactions, role models, health problems and wellbeing. Notably, almost all of the 78 adolescents described their ******* as good role models. Prior studies on the same group of teenagers found that they demonstrated more competencies and fewer behavioral problems than an age-matched normative sample of American youth; although some adolescents with lesbian ******* had experienced homophobic stigmatization, ****** closeness helped counteract its negative effects.
The 78 adolescents in the current report were drawn from families that are participating in the National Longitudinal Lesbian ****** Study (NLLFS), the longest-running and largest prospective investigation of lesbian ******* and their ******** in the United States. Initiated by Dr. Gartrell in 1986, the NLLFS examines the social, psychological and emotional development of the ******** as well as the dynamics of planned lesbian families.
The current study appears in the current issue of the Journal of Homosexuality.
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