Preschool Selection Considerations and Experiences of School Mistreatment Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents

March 2014

This study examines factors that are important to parents as they select preschools for their children. The analysis is based on 105 same-sex and different-sex couples who had adopted their children three years earlier. It was published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly in 2014.

AUTHORS

Abbie Goldberg
Visiting Scholar, Former
JuliAnna Z. Smith
The University of Massachusetts, Amherst

CONTACT US ABOUT THIS STUDY

Highlights

LGB parents tended to emphasize the presence of other gay or lesbian parents at the school.

LGB parents were more likely to consider the racial diversity of the school community than heterosexual parents.

Heterosexual parents were more likely to perceive mistreatment due to their children's adoptive status than LGB parents.

Data Points

57%

of same-sex female parents considered racial diversity of the school

38%

of same-sex male parents considered racial diversity

81%

of same-sex female parents considered educational philosophy

87%

of same-sex male parents considered educational philosophy

16%

of same-sex female parents considered the presence of other LGB parents at the school

24%

of same-sex male parents considered the presence of other LGB parents

Please contact our communications office for a full copy of the study.

Related Publications

Report

Adoption and Foster Care by Gay and Lesbian Parents in the United States

March 2007

Report

Predictors of Psychological Adjustment in Early Placed Adopted Children With Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Parents

July 2013

Report

Predictors of Parenting Stress in Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents During Early Parenthood

May 2014