Young Adults’ Perceptions of Bisexual and Transgender Adoption
Session Title
Additional Abstracts
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Faculty Mentor
Merry Sleigh, Ph.D.
Abstract
Public support for LGBTQ+ rights is at an all-time high; however non-traditional adoptions remain a controversial issue. Previous research examined adopting homosexual parents as a collective group. We focused specifically on bisexual and transgender adoption. We hypothesized that male/female bisexual parents would have higher social approval than a bisexual pair of women, but lower social approval than a male/female straight couple. Participants were 100 adults with a mean age of 19.98 (SD = 1.71). Majority categories were women (70%), African American (45%) and heterosexual (75%). Participants randomly received a vignette that described an adoptive couple comprised of a bisexual woman and male partner, a bisexual woman and female partner, or a straight couple. Participants assessed the couple’s qualifications for adopting and the child’s likely mental and physical health. We also assessed participants’ perceptions of transgender couples adopting and LGBTQ+ rights. We found strong support among young adults for non-traditional parents and perceptions of positive outcomes for non-traditional parents’ adopted children. Women and politically liberal young adults were more supportive of non-heterosexual individuals and their adoption rights. These groups may also have perceived that their beliefs were widely endorsed as they predicted less prejudice for children adopted by non-heterosexual parents. These positive feelings may be restricted to very young adults, as age was correlated with more concerns about prejudice and a belief that sexuality is taught by parents. These findings suggest that society may be moving in a direction of more acceptance of non-traditional adoptions.
Course Assignment
PSYC 302 – Sleigh
Other Presentations/Performances
SEPA - Southeastern Psychological Association Conference, Virtual, March 2021
Young Adults’ Perceptions of Bisexual and Transgender Adoption
Public support for LGBTQ+ rights is at an all-time high; however non-traditional adoptions remain a controversial issue. Previous research examined adopting homosexual parents as a collective group. We focused specifically on bisexual and transgender adoption. We hypothesized that male/female bisexual parents would have higher social approval than a bisexual pair of women, but lower social approval than a male/female straight couple. Participants were 100 adults with a mean age of 19.98 (SD = 1.71). Majority categories were women (70%), African American (45%) and heterosexual (75%). Participants randomly received a vignette that described an adoptive couple comprised of a bisexual woman and male partner, a bisexual woman and female partner, or a straight couple. Participants assessed the couple’s qualifications for adopting and the child’s likely mental and physical health. We also assessed participants’ perceptions of transgender couples adopting and LGBTQ+ rights. We found strong support among young adults for non-traditional parents and perceptions of positive outcomes for non-traditional parents’ adopted children. Women and politically liberal young adults were more supportive of non-heterosexual individuals and their adoption rights. These groups may also have perceived that their beliefs were widely endorsed as they predicted less prejudice for children adopted by non-heterosexual parents. These positive feelings may be restricted to very young adults, as age was correlated with more concerns about prejudice and a belief that sexuality is taught by parents. These findings suggest that society may be moving in a direction of more acceptance of non-traditional adoptions.
