Stigmatization and Promotive Factors in Relation to Psychological Health and Life Satisfaction of Adolescents in Planned Lesbian Families

The aim of this study was to investigate whether stigmatization was associated with psychological adjustment in adolescents from planned lesbian families and, if so, to examine whether individual and interpersonal promotive factors influenced this association. Seventy-eight adolescents (39 girls, 39 boys; mean age 17.05 years) completed an online questionnaire about psychological health problems and life satisfaction. In addition, information was obtained about androgynous personality traits (an individual factor) of the adolescents. The adolescents were also queried about family compatibility and peer group fit (two interpersonal factors). Hierarchical multiple-regression analyses revealed that stigmatization was associated with more psychological health problems and less life satisfaction, but family compatibility and peer group fit ameliorated this. These findings suggest that stigmatization has a negative impact on the psychological adjustment of adolescents with Article at UVA Universiteitsbibliotheek on December 31, 2013 jfi.sagepub.com Downloaded from 810 Journal of Family Issues 34(6) same-sex parents. Interpersonal promotive factors decrease the strength of this association.