Children of lesbian and gay parents grow up in sociopolitical climates shaping their exposure to stigma, yet the family-level processes that might buffer its impact remain poorly understood across countries. These processes matter because they locate modifiable, within-family resources, not family structure, as the levers of well-being under stigma. This cross-cultural dyadic study examined how perceived stigmatization, parental self-efficacy in socializing children about family diversity and assisted conception, and LGBTQ+ community connectedness relate to children’s dysregulation in lesbian mother and gay father families. Participants were 526 parents from 263 families (155 lesbian mother families formed through sperm donation, 108 gay father families through surrogacy), with children aged 3–11 years (M = 6.26, SD = 2.12; 43.73% assigned female at birth), living in Belgium, France, Israel, Italy, or the Netherlands. Parents completed questionnaires analyzed with multilevel models. Across countries and family types, higher perceived stigmatization was associated with greater child dysregulation, and parental self-efficacy in family diversity socialization moderated this association, with stigmatization predicting dysregulation primarily when parents felt less confident. Assisted conception socialization self-efficacy and community connectedness showed no significant main effects. Family diversity socialization self-efficacy emerges as a protective factor and a target for clinical and policy support.
Parental Self-Efficacy in Socializing Children About Family Diversity: Associations with Stigma and Child Dysregulation in a Cross-Cultural Dyadic Study of Lesbian and Gay Parents in Belgium, France, Israel, Italy, and The Netherlands
Jacopo Tracchegiani;
2026-01-01
Abstract
Children of lesbian and gay parents grow up in sociopolitical climates shaping their exposure to stigma, yet the family-level processes that might buffer its impact remain poorly understood across countries. These processes matter because they locate modifiable, within-family resources, not family structure, as the levers of well-being under stigma. This cross-cultural dyadic study examined how perceived stigmatization, parental self-efficacy in socializing children about family diversity and assisted conception, and LGBTQ+ community connectedness relate to children’s dysregulation in lesbian mother and gay father families. Participants were 526 parents from 263 families (155 lesbian mother families formed through sperm donation, 108 gay father families through surrogacy), with children aged 3–11 years (M = 6.26, SD = 2.12; 43.73% assigned female at birth), living in Belgium, France, Israel, Italy, or the Netherlands. Parents completed questionnaires analyzed with multilevel models. Across countries and family types, higher perceived stigmatization was associated with greater child dysregulation, and parental self-efficacy in family diversity socialization moderated this association, with stigmatization predicting dysregulation primarily when parents felt less confident. Assisted conception socialization self-efficacy and community connectedness showed no significant main effects. Family diversity socialization self-efficacy emerges as a protective factor and a target for clinical and policy support.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
