Attachment Patterns for Lesbian/Gay Individuals with Unaccepting Parents

Research has often considered how lesbian/gay parents affect straight children, but few studies have focused on how heterosexual parents affect their lesbian/gay children. Romantic partners for lesbian/gay individuals, compared to heterosexuals, may be a unique source of support against rejection sensitivity and attachment insecurity arising from unaccepting parents. The results of this study suggest that lesbian/gay individuals’ experience of parental rejection when coming out affects their rejection sensitivity and parental attachment. Moreover, parental attachments differentially predict romantic attachment patterns across sexual orientation, with lesbians/gays dissociating their romantic attachment from their parental attachment in a manner not observed for heterosexuals.