Stereotype Threat of LGBT Parents and Adoption
Stereotyping in adoption is something that has been persistent over the years, in particular for members of the LGBT community. When a person fears being judged or condemned because of persistent stereotypes of their in-group (stereotype threat), it can cause a person to change their opinions on taking action in a certain situation or cause them to change their behavior to fit the stereotype that persists according to Kassin, Fein, and Markus (2014). In adoption, stereotype threat can cause a person to no longer have the desire to adopt a child, to change whom the family or person chooses to adopt from, or even cause the person to act in a way that fulfills the stereotype given to them, whether …show more content…
Riskind, Patterson, and Nosek (2013) found that self-efficacy was a large predictor in whether or not LGBT members would become parents. “However, they [lesbian and gay people] were somewhat optimistic about overcoming barriers to adoptive and foster parenthood…” (Riskind, Patterson, and Nosek 2013). The optimistic outlook of adoption and fostering lead to the belief that LGBT members that are higher in self-efficacy were more likely to attempt to have children, and also more likely to adopt or foster children than to pursue medical assistance in order to have children biologically. Having biological children is also incredibly expensive due to in vitro fertilization costs, which adds to a lower self-efficacy if the LGBT couples are worried about jumping over financial hurdles in order to have children. While the cost to adopt a child is also high, it is often less of a financial burden because the LGBT couple will not have to pay for the hospital bills seeing as the child has already been born in some adoption cases. When it comes to fostering children, the process to obtain a license to foster is often times overwhelming and cumbersome, making it more likely that a family will choose to adopt as opposed to foster a …show more content…
Stereotype threat can contribute to the stress of the adoption process by forcing a parent to change the way they are adopting or even to go above and beyond the law to make adoption a possibility. Often times, the laws can cause discrepancies that force the couple to change the agency they want to adopt through, or even force them to move to another state if there are laws against LGBT couples adopting together. A lot of times it is okay for a single person, who is LGBT, to adopt, but it is very difficult for an LGBT couple to adopt together and they may have to go to court in order for that to be a possibility. “Sexual minority mothers reported using four primary methods to learn about the law: doing independent research, relying on friends, relying on LGBT organizations, and hiring an attorney.” (Kazyak 2015). A lot of these mothers looked online and did independent searches, but for second parent adoption, it was very difficult for some parents to find information because of the information being withheld from parents who were same sex; for instance a couple in Iowa was unable to do a second parent adoption even after Iowa had passed laws that allow homosexual marriage. Discrepancies like those that this couple faced, can cause a lot of stress on the prospective family, and even though this couple chose to continue on with their lives without doing a second parent
Stereotyping in adoption is something that has been persistent over the years, in particular for members of the LGBT community. When a person fears being judged or condemned because of persistent stereotypes of their in-group (stereotype threat), it can cause a person to change their opinions on taking action in a certain situation or cause them to change their behavior to fit the stereotype that persists according to Kassin, Fein, and Markus (2014). In adoption, stereotype threat can cause a person to no longer have the desire to adopt a child, to change whom the family or person chooses to adopt from, or even cause the person to act in a way that fulfills the stereotype given to them, whether …show more content…
Riskind, Patterson, and Nosek (2013) found that self-efficacy was a large predictor in whether or not LGBT members would become parents. “However, they [lesbian and gay people] were somewhat optimistic about overcoming barriers to adoptive and foster parenthood…” (Riskind, Patterson, and Nosek 2013). The optimistic outlook of adoption and fostering lead to the belief that LGBT members that are higher in self-efficacy were more likely to attempt to have children, and also more likely to adopt or foster children than to pursue medical assistance in order to have children biologically. Having biological children is also incredibly expensive due to in vitro fertilization costs, which adds to a lower self-efficacy if the LGBT couples are worried about jumping over financial hurdles in order to have children. While the cost to adopt a child is also high, it is often less of a financial burden because the LGBT couple will not have to pay for the hospital bills seeing as the child has already been born in some adoption cases. When it comes to fostering children, the process to obtain a license to foster is often times overwhelming and cumbersome, making it more likely that a family will choose to adopt as opposed to foster a …show more content…
Stereotype threat can contribute to the stress of the adoption process by forcing a parent to change the way they are adopting or even to go above and beyond the law to make adoption a possibility. Often times, the laws can cause discrepancies that force the couple to change the agency they want to adopt through, or even force them to move to another state if there are laws against LGBT couples adopting together. A lot of times it is okay for a single person, who is LGBT, to adopt, but it is very difficult for an LGBT couple to adopt together and they may have to go to court in order for that to be a possibility. “Sexual minority mothers reported using four primary methods to learn about the law: doing independent research, relying on friends, relying on LGBT organizations, and hiring an attorney.” (Kazyak 2015). A lot of these mothers looked online and did independent searches, but for second parent adoption, it was very difficult for some parents to find information because of the information being withheld from parents who were same sex; for instance a couple in Iowa was unable to do a second parent adoption even after Iowa had passed laws that allow homosexual marriage. Discrepancies like those that this couple faced, can cause a lot of stress on the prospective family, and even though this couple chose to continue on with their lives without doing a second parent