Lesbian women's perceptions of their parent-child relationships

Twenty-six self-identified lesbian women and a comparison group of twenty-six heterosexual women, who were either students in a human sexuality course, members of the National Organization for Women, or volunteers from a women's center, were administered the short form of Schaefer's Child Report of Parental Behavior Inventory, the Bem Sex Role Inventory, and an interview concerning family background relationships and sexual experiences and attitudes. Regression analysis revealed no significant family background variable or parental sex-role adherence variable that correlated with sexual orientation. Significant differences were found concerning sex-role adherence, with lesbian women being more masculinely sex-role typed than heterosexual women. Lesbian women were also found to be significantly more satisfied with their sex lives. It was concluded that there are no apparent family background variables that predict the development of a lesbian orientation.