Resources

National and Local (KY) Resources for LGBTQ+ Parents and Children

Family Equality Council: https://www.familyequality.org/

Human Rights Campaign: https://www.hrc.org/

COLAGE Resources: https://www.colage.org/resources/

PFLAG of Central Kentucky: https://www.pflagcentralky.org/

Bluegrass Rainbow Faith Communities: https://www.uky.edu/lgbtq/sites/www.uky.edu.lgbtq/files/2018%20Bluegrass%20Rainbow%20Faith%20Communities%20DIRECTORY%20-%20FINAL_0.pdf

Lexington Fairness Inc: http://www.lexfair.org/

Bluegrass Black Pride: https://www.facebook.com/BluegrassBlackPride/

Pride Community Services Organization KY: http://www.pcsoky.org/site/?page_id=3079

Office of LGBTQ* Resources at the University of Kentucky: https://www.uky.edu/lgbtq/

Debriefing Information

In this study, we are exploring the experiences of adolescents and emerging adults who have LGBTQ+ identified parents. We are specifically interested in how youth with LGBTQ+ parents navigate the world in terms of their own identity development and feel supported in doing so. We are also interested to know about how families with LGBTQ+ parents talk about identity and sexual health. Finally, we want to know more about the positive and challenging experiences of youth who have LGBTQ+ parents.

This research is important for a number of reasons. First, although there have been a number of research studies showing that LGBTQ+ parents, as well as LGBTQ+ people broadly, experience microaggressions and discrimination, there is less work about these experiences among their children. What little research that has been conducted has shown that children of LGBTQ+ parents do experience microaggressions. At the same time, many studies about child development overwhelmingly show that youth with LGBTQ+ parents develop in healthy and positive ways. By interviewing children with LGBTQ+ parents about their experiences, we hope to provide foundational information for future research, policy, and practice with diverse families. Further, we hope to support the development of measures that can be adapted to work with populations that have less often been studied, such as youth with LGBTQ+ parents. Finally, we hope to understand the experiences of youth with LGBTQ+ parents regarding their own identities, their relationship to the LGBTQ+ community, and family dynamics.

Our research team here at the University of Kentucky hopes this study will help answer some very important unanswered questions. When we complete data collection and analysis (sometime during 2020), we are happy to share a summary of our results. We hope that our findings will help to inform public policy that can better support LGBTQ+ individuals and families. This work should play a part in adding to growing knowledge of research on youth with LGBTQ+ parents.