Psychology

Perceptions of children's parental preferences in lesbian two-mother households

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This study explores how lesbian mothers perceive their 3/12;-year-old children's parental preferences in families in which one mother is genetically linked to the child. Thirty lesbian couples (60 women) were interviewed about their children's parental preferences, their explanations of why preferences for one parent existed (or not), and their affective and behavioral reactions to such preferences. Many women acknowledged that their children, as infants, preferred their birth mothers due to biological factors (i.e., breastfeeding) or differential time spent with the child. Despite this initial preference, most women perceived little stability in children's preferences over time, such that children preferred both mothers equally. Findings support the power of "social motherhood" in fostering maternal connections that transcend biological relatedness over time. © National Council on Family Relations, 2008.

Publication Title

Journal of Marriage and Family

Publication Date

5-1-2008

Volume

70

Issue

2

First Page

419

Last Page

434

ISSN

0022-2445

DOI

10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00491.x

Keywords

early childhood, lesbian, mother-child relations, motherhood, qualitative, social construction

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