Parental Responses to Gay and Lesbian Children: Differences in Homophobia, Self-Esteem, and Sex-Role Stereotyping

This study investigated parental reactions to knowledge of a child's gay or lesbian sexuality. Parents (N = 55) of gay and lesbian children completed the Index of Homophobia (IHP), the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory for Adults (SEI), and short versions of the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS) and the Texas Social Behavior Inventory (TSBI) to measure homophobia and to examine possible differences and changes in self-esteem and sex-role stereotyping. Parents with high IHP scores differed significantly from those parents with low IHP scores with respect to scores on the AWS (p ≤ .001) and TSBI (p ≤ .001), as well as differing as to the amount of time elapsed since their child's disclosure (p ≤ .01). As expected, IHP scores correlated negatively with all measures. Also, the amount of time a parent has known of his or her child's sexuality in combination with the parent's sex-role stereotypes proved a good predictor of his or her homophobia score. Implications of these findings with regard to our understanding of homophobia are discussed, as well as the possible impact of homophobia on the self-esteem and sex role attitudes of parents of gay and lesbian children.