LGBTQ+ Parent Adoption: Processes and outcomes (Symposium)

Many LGBTQ+ adults worldwide desire to be or are already adoptive parents (Goldberg & Conron, 2018; Patterson & Tornello, 2011). The international research literature, however, shows that despite numerous countries awarding statutory rights to adopt, LGBTQ+ adults continue to report facing ongoing difficulties when trying to adopt children. In addition, research demonstrates comparable adjustment among sexual minority and heterosexual parent adoptive families (e.g., Farr, 2017; Golombok et al., 2018), yet we know less about how LGBTQ+ parents talk with children about adoption and other unique family processes. Thus, this symposium extends this literature through five papers, offering a range of perspectives on challenges encountered by LGBTQ+ parents when navigating the adoption process as well as about family socialization and communication in LGBTQ+ adoptive parent families. The first paper explores the perceived barriers by trans parents in the U.S. and the second uniquely explores the role of lawyers - a professional group not yet empirically explored before in relation to LGBTQ+ adoption - as possible barriers. The third paper examines adoption socialization and outcomes among racially diverse sexual minority and heterosexual parent families and preadolescent adoptees. The fourth paper also investigates experiences among sexual minority and heterosexual adoptive parent families, particularly how heterosexism relates to early adolescent outcomes. The fifth and final paper explores adoptees’ perspectives on birth and adoptive (sexual minority and heterosexual parent) family connections. A key strength of this symposium is surfacing common threads about the value of LGBTQ+ adoptive parenting, emerging from diverse, international and cross-cultural locations. Topics • Family relationships • Identity • Open adoptio