College students' perceptual stigmatization of the children of lesbian mothers.

Abstract

To ascertain the extent to which children of lesbian mothers are stigmatized, 338 undergraduate students were asked to complete a child behavior checklist for a hypothetical child of either a divorced lesbian or a divorced heterosexual mother. Respondents attributed more problematic behavior in a variety of domains to the child of the lesbian mother, although this stigmatization was not compounded if lesbian mothers were depicted as living with adult female partners. Implications for child custody determinations and future research are considered.