ABSTRACT

Our knowledge of family relations and well-being in LGBTQ+ families is increasing, yet few studies so far have gathered quantitative data from both children and parents. The Finnish Rainbow Family study conducted surveys of 10–12-year-old children (N = 41), 13–18-year-old adolescents (N = 47), and of parents of 7–18-year-old children (N = 80 parents/103 responses) living in a LGBTQ+ family. Unlike many earlier surveys, we also asked about experiences of transgender adults in the family. Responses were compared with the nationwide School Health Promotion Study in Finland. Results suggest that the parental relationships and family functioning of underaged children in Finnish LGBTQ+ families are good and resemble those of other Finnish children. Children and parents describe their family life rather similarly. Rainbow families had slightly worse parental relations among 10–12-year-old children but overall better family functioning, and parents were very supporting and encouraging. The detected differences may relate to higher levels of both parental separation and parental education in Finnish rainbow families. Additionally, most adolescents with a transgender parent feel proud of their parent, although many have experienced difficulties talking about the transition with other people.

摘要

我们对 LGBTQ+ 家庭的家庭关系和幸福感的了解越来越多，但迄今为止很少有研究从儿童和父母那里收集定量数据。芬兰彩虹家庭研究对 10-12 岁儿童 (N = 41)、13-18 岁青少年 (N = 47) 以及 7-18 岁儿童的父母 (N = 80 位父母/103 位回复）生活在 LGBTQ+ 家庭中。与许多早期调查不同，我们还询问了变性成年人在家庭中的经历。将答复与芬兰全国学校健康促进研究进行了比较。结果表明，芬兰 LGBTQ+ 家庭中未成年儿童的亲子关系和家庭功能良好，与其他芬兰儿童相似。孩子和父母对他们的家庭生活的描述非常相似。彩虹家庭在 10-12 岁儿童中亲子关系略差，但整体家庭功能较好，父母非常支持和鼓励。检测到的差异可能与芬兰彩虹家庭中父母分离和父母教育水平较高有关。此外，大多数有变性父母的青少年都为他们的父母感到自豪，尽管许多人在与其他人谈论变性时遇到困难。