In celebration of Pride Month in June, NCFR is highlighting recent research and resources pertaining to LGBTQ individuals and their families.

Open to the Public

Two articles from the Journal of Marriage and Family (JMF) were cited in the New York Times story, “Gay Couples Can Teach Straight People a Thing or Two About Arguing.” These JMF articles are currently free access for the general public to read:

• Intimacy and Emotion Work in Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Relationships by Debra Umberson, Mieke Beth Thomeer, and Amy C. Lodge
• The Psychological Toll of Emotion Work in Same‐Sex and Different‐Sex Marital Dyads by Debra Umberson, Mieke Beth Thomeer, Amanda M. Pollitt, and Sara E. Mernitz

The NCFR Policy Brief, Lesbian and Gay Parents and Their Children (PDF), by Charlotte J. Patterson and Abbie E. Goldberg, finds that lesbian and gay parents and their children are well adjusted yet are more likely to live in poverty. Policy implications to help these families thrive are included.

Newly-published study co-authored by NCFR member Natasha D. Williams: LGBTQ Populations: Psychologically Vulnerable Communities in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.

Related NCFR resource collections:

• Transgender Individuals and Families — This is a collection of resources that NCFR has gathered on family-related research on transgender individuals.
• Support for LGBTQ Individuals and Families — This collection provides a number of places for LGBTQ individuals, families, and others to find trained counselors, peer support, toolkits, fact sheets, and additional resources and information for individual support or about issues within the larger LGBTQ community, including violence against the LGBTQ community.

Resources Exclusive for NCFR Members

The following resources are available to NCFR members and NCFR journal subscribers as a benefit of their membership (Learn more about membership). Members will be prompted to log in to view the following resources:

• Queer Kinship: Family Networks Among Sexual and Gender Minorities — Jory M. Catalpa and Jasmine M. Routon. NCFR Report: Family Focus, March 2018.
  The term queer kinship represents the ways that sexual and gender minorities create and sustain meaningful family connections across variable family formations. As queer individuals and family scholars, the authors' goal is to share new concepts emerging from scholarship at the intersection of queer studies and Family Science.

• Overlooked: Minorities’ Mental Health Gains From the ACA and the Consequences of Repeal — Natasha D. Williams and Elaine A. Anderson. NCFR Report: Family Focus, March 2019.
  People of color and LGBT individuals have unintentionally benefited from major provisions n the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and their repeal would disproportionately affect these groups.

• [Audio Recording] An Examination of Well-being Among LGB+ People of Color
  Amanda Pollitt, Allen Mallory, Jessica Fish, Shane Kavanaugh, Ashley Taylor, Greta Stuhlsatz, Tricia Neppl, Brenda Lohman, Samuel H. Allen, Leigh Leslie; Discussant: Stephen T. Russell; Chair: Shane Kavanaugh. 2017 NCFR Annual Conference.
  The purpose of this symposium is to provide insight to the impact community and family level predictors have on overall well-being among LGB+ people of color from adolescence through adulthood.

• The Qualities of Same‐Sex and Different‐Sex Couples in Young Adulthood
  Kara Joyner, Wendy Manning, and Barbara Prince. Journal of Marriage and Family, April 2019.
  The recognition of sexual minorities in social science research is growing, and this study contributes to knowledge on this population by comparing the qualities of same‐sex and different‐sex relationships among young adults.

• The 2019 article from the Journal of Family Theory & Review, Is “Coming Out” Still Relevant? Social Justice Implications for LGB‐Membered Families, by Daniel J. Alonzo and Deborah J. Buttitta, is a literature review investigating the changes in discussions around "coming out" over the past 40 years.

• A video recording of LGBTQ Family Members in Community Contexts from the 2016 NCFR Annual Conference is available for NCFR members and CFLE to watch on demand. The focus of this symposium is on research that examines the interactions between LGBTQ family members and their residential and identity communities.

Is there new research that should be added to this list? Let us know. We welcome your suggestions at any time. Email Trip Sullivan, NCFR communications manager.