The Use of Representative Data Sets to Study LGBT-Parent Families: Challenges, Advantages, and Opportunities

Abstract

Understandings of LGBT-parent families have been advanced in recent years through analyses of several important national and/or population-based data sources, yet many of the opportunities that currently exist have been unrealized. This chapter draws attention to these data sources with the hopes of prompting new research on LGBT-parent families. We consider two areas of conceptual and methodological complexity: study design and identifying LGBT-parent families. We then identify challenges when using existing large-scale data sets to study LGBT-parent families. Having discussed challenges, we then describe the advantages of using large-scale secondary data sets. In our discussion we review recent studies that have broken new ground with results that could only be achieved through the analysis of large-scale secondary data sources. Finally, we note some areas in the study of LGBT-parent families that have been particularly underexamined and for which the use of secondary data sources may provide important new possibilities. We anticipate that more large-scale data sets will include attention to LGBT-parent families, offering the potential to greatly advance our understandings of LGBT parents and their children.

Appendix: Secondary Data Opportunities

American Community Survey (ACS, 2010)

• Population: Representative of U.S. population.

• Measure for LGBT-parent family: Combination of gender of participant, gender of others living in household, and type of relationship between participant and others living in household.

• Parent Data: Demographic, financial, housing, and economic data.

• Child Data: Assesses if children are in the home and their ages.

• Parenting Data: Not applicable.

• Description: Started in 2000, the yearly ACS mimics the decennial Population and Housing Census (commonly referred to as the U.S. Census), but rather than show the number of people who live in the USA the ACS shows how people live, with the goal of proportioning of funds for services.

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS, 2010)

• Population: Representative at state level.

• Measure: Varies by state: sexual orientation; transgender status.

• Parent Data: Demographic, health behaviors, and contextual factors (varies by state).

• Child Data: If children live in household and demographics (varies by state).

• Parenting Data: Assesses care giving to individuals (including children) with health problems, long-term illnesses, or disabilities, and the following vary by state: childhood asthma prevalence, childhood immunization, and child Human Papilloma Virus.

• Description: The BRFSS is a state-based system of health surveys that tracks health conditions and risk behaviors in the USA on a monthly basis by telephone in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam; approximately 350,000 adults are included annually.

British Cohort Study (BCS)

• Population: All infants (N  =  17,200) born during a 1 week period in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in April 1970.

• Measure: Combination of sex of respondent, marital status, sex of individuals living in household, and relationship between household members, and sex change status.

• Parent Data: Demographics, physical health, mental health, drug and alcohol use, attitudes and beliefs, and economic development.

• Child Data: Demographic.

• Parenting Data: How often children see the other parent if parents are divorced, type of relationship child has with each member of the household.

• Description: Six follow-up surveys, and plan for 2012; Initial survey data from midwives and information from clinical records; data have also been collected from parents, teachers, school health services, and participants in subsequent waves. One wave included daily diary reports.

• Relevant Reference: Strohm (2011).

California Health Interview Survey: Adult (CHIS, 2011)

• Population: Representative of the state of California.

• Measure: Gender of sexual partners, sexual orientation, and type of partnership assessed.

• Parent Data: Demographic and health topics are primarily assessed. Topics cover health conditions, health behaviors, general health, disabilities, sexual health, women’s health, mental health, and health insurance.

• Child Data: Demographics and health insurance.

• Parenting Data: Not applicable.

• Description: The CHIS is a random-dial telephone survey conducted every 2 years. Each round more than 50,000 California residents, including adults, teenagers, and children, are surveyed. The sample is extensive enough to be statistically representative of California’s diverse population.

• Relevant Reference: Carpenter & Gates (2008).

California Quality of Life Survey (Cal-QOS)

• Population: Gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals in the state of California.

• Measure: Data collected from the CHIS was used which assessed gender of sexual partners, sexual orientation, and type of partnership.

• Parent Data: Demographic and health topics are primarily assessed. Topics cover health conditions, health behaviors, general health, disabilities, sexual health, women’s health, mental health, and health insurance.

• Child Data: Demographics and health insurance.

• Parenting Data: Not applicable.

• Description: The Cal-QOS was a follow-up survey to the CHIS. Participants who reported a gay, lesbian, or bisexual identity or same-sex sexual activity and who agreed to participate in future surveys on the CHIS were reinterviewed. Additionally, as a heterosexual comparison group, a random sample of remaining 18–70 year olds was also reinterviewed. Of those contacted, 56% were successfully reinterviewed 6–18 months after they were contacted.

• Relevant Reference: Strohm et al. (2009).

General Social Survey (GSS, 2010)

• Population: Representative of U.S. population.

• Measure: Sexual behavior can be assessed in older data (1972–1988); same-sex relationships can be addressed in newer data (1988–present).

• Parent Data: Demographics, attitudes, and behaviors.

• Child Data: Demographic.

• Parenting Data: Extensive data on parenting attitudes and behaviors.

• Description: The GSS is unique in its aim to “take the pulse of America” through data on opinions and beliefs, and the ability to conduct comparisons with other nations. Sample sizes range from 1,500 to 3,000 each year.

• Relevant References: Black et al. (2000, 2007); Strohm et al., (2009).

The National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS)

• Population: Over 7,000 Americans aged 25–74.

• Measure: Sexual orientation assessed via a single item measure.

• Parent Data: Primarily concerned with physical and mental health, including medical history, history or risk behaviors, work history, and demographics.

• Child Data: Demographic.

• Parenting Data: General feelings about relationship with children and how children affected their work situation.

• Description: MIDUS began in 1994 with the intention of investigating the role of behavioral psychological and social factors in understanding age-related differences in physical and mental health. Data collection for the second wave began in 2004 and was completed in 2009. The second wave provides follow-up data on the psychosocial, sociodemographic, health, daily diary data collected at the first wave as well as new data including cognitive assessments, biomarker assessments (subsample), and neuroscience assessments (subsample).

• Relevant Reference: Mays and Cochran (2001).

National Child Development Study (NCDS)

• Population: All infants (N  =  17,500) born during a 1 week period in England, Scotland, and Wales in March 1958.

• Measure: Combination of sex of respondent, marital status, sex of individuals living in household, and relationship between household members; sex change status.

• Parent Data: Demographic, physical health, mental health, drug and alcohol use, attitudes and beliefs, and economic development.

• Child Data: Demographic.

• Parenting Data: How often children see the other parent if parents are divorced, type of relationship child has with each member of the household.

• Description: The NCDS included an interview and medical assessment of mothers during the week of birth and eight follow-up surveys regarding physical, educational, social, and economic development across the life span. Like the BCS early waves included multiple informants and school and medical records. In subsequent waves data when cohort members were adults, data were collected from partners and children.

• Relevant Reference: Strohm (2011).

National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS, 2010)

• Population: Approximately 2,500 adults, aged 18–44, from two middle-sized metropolitan areas.

• Measure: Combination of gender of participant and gender of others they have cohabitated with longer than 1 month (cohabitation defined by sexual relationship), attraction, and identification.

• Parent Data: Demographic, sexual practices, sexual histories, pregnancies, drug and alcohol use, physical health, attitudes.

• Child Data: Demographic.

• Parenting Data: Not applicable.

• Description: The aim of NHSLS is to investigate social organization of sexual behavior, including identifying a full range of sexual behaviors and examining patterns associated with specific types of partnerships and attitudes.

• Relevant References: Black et al. (2000, 2007)

National Health Interview Survey (NHIS, 2010)

• Population: Representative of U.S. population.

• Measure: Combination of gender of participant, gender of others living in household, and type of relationship between participant and others living in household.

• Parent Data: Demographic, health conditions, insurance, access to health care and utilization, and health behaviors.

• Child Data: Child health status and limitations.

• Parenting Data: Child access to health care and utilization.

• Description: The purpose of the NHIS is to monitor the health of the U.S. population; approximately 36,000 households are included annually.

National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health, 2010)

• Population: Representative of U.S. population.

• Measure: Sexual behaviors, romantic attractions, and orientation assessed (most recent wave).

• Parent Data: Demographic, social, economic, psychological, and physical well-being, contextual data on the family, neighborhood, community, school, friendships, peer groups, and romantic relationships.

• Child Data: Demographics and health.

• Parenting Data: Parent–child relationship, general feelings about being parent.

• Description: Add Health began with a representative sample of over 12,000 adolescents in grades 7–12 and has since followed them into young adulthood. The most recent wave of data was collected in 2008 with an in-home interview of the now 24–32-year-old participants and includes biological data. Add Health offers data on respondent’s social, economic, psychological, and physical well-being with contextual data on the family, neighborhood, community, school, friendships, peer groups, and romantic relationships.

• Relevant References: Wainright and Patterson (2006, 2008), Wainright et al. (2004).

National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG, 2011)

• Population: Prior to 2002, the sample was representative of women 15–44 living in the USA. Starting with the sixth wave in 2002, the population became representative of all people 15–44 living in the USA.

• Measure: Sexual behavior, sexual attraction, and sexual identity are assessed.

• Parent Data: Demographics and health.

• Child Data: Demographics.

• Parenting Data: Family life, marriage and divorce, infertility, use of contraception.

• Description: Began in 1973, NSFG only surveyed women. During this period, five waves of data were collected. Starting with the sixth wave, in 2002, men were included. A seventh wave of data was collected in 2010.

• Relevant Reference: Chandra et al. (2011).

Survey of Income and Program Participation (2010)

• Population: Representative of U.S. population.

• Measure: Combination of gender of participant, gender of others living in household, and type of relationship between participant and others living in household.

• Parent Data: Demographics, poverty, income, employment, work experience, program participation, transfer income, asset income, and health coverage.

• Child Data: Within topic module children’s well-being is assessed.

• Parenting Data: Within topic module child care, family activities, rules governing TV viewing, and quality of the neighborhood are assessed.

• Description: SIPP provides detailed information on respondent’s income and program participation, principal determinants of income and program participation, detailed information on various forms of income, and data on taxes, assets, liabilities, and participation in government transfer programs.

United States Census (2010)

• Population: Representative of U.S. population.

• Measure: Combination of gender of participant, gender of others living in household, and type of relationship between participant and others living in household.

• Parent Data: Demographics.

• Child Data: Demographics.

• Parenting Data: Not applicable.

• Description: The U.S. Population and Housing Census is collected every 10 years while the Economic Census and Census of Governments are conducted every 5 years. The Population and Housing Census offers the most comprehensive estimates of the number of LGBT-families living in the country.

• Relevant References: Bennett and Gates (2004), Black et al. (2000), Gates and Ost (2004), Gates and Romero (2009), Gates et al. (2007), Sears et al. (2005), Simmons and O’Connell (2003), and Smith and Gates (2001).

U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS, 2010)

• Population: Recruitment occurred in Boston, Washington, DC, and San Francisco.

• Measure: Self-identified as lesbian.

• Parent Data: Demographics, parental relationships, social supports, pregnancy motivations and preferences, stigmatization, and coping.

• Child Data: Peer and school contexts, socialization, externalizing problem behavior, and well-being.

• Parenting Data: Family dynamics, parent–child relationship.

• Description: The NLLFS follows a cohort of nearly 70 planned lesbian families with the goal of examining the social, psychological, and emotional development of the children, and the dynamics of planned lesbian families.

• Relevant References: Bos & Gartrell (2010), Gartrell et al. (1996).

Welfare, Children, & Families: A Three-City Study (WCF, 2010)

• Population: Low income families in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio.

• Measure: Combination of gender of participant, gender of others living in household, and type of relationship between participant and others living in household.

• Parent Data: Demographics, self-esteem/self-concept, family routines, home environment, welfare participation, health and disability, illegal activities, and domestic violence.

• Child Data: Behavior checklist, schooling, delinquency, and ages and stages (younger children).

• Parenting Data: Parenting styles, farther involvement, parent–child relationships (older children), and parental monitoring.

• Description: The WCF assesses the well-being of low income children and families in the Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio areas.