(S)+(CP) Same Sex Parents

Question 1

What is some support for the Oedipus complex? What did it suggest?

Answer 1

There is some support for the Oedipus complex. Rekers and Morley rated the gender identity of 49 boys aged 3-11 and found that 75% of those judged ‘gender disturbed’ did not have a father figure living with them. This may suggest that being raised w/o a father may have a negative impact upon gender identity, in correlating with what Freud’s theory would predict.

Question 2

However what was the research to contradict this link? (Bos and Sandfort)

Answer 2

However there is research to contradict this link. Bos and Sandfort compared 63 children with lesbian parents and 68 children from ‘traditional’ families.

Question 3

What did children raised by lesbian parents feel less pressure to?

Answer 3

Children raised by lesbian parents felt less pressure to conform to gender stereotypes and were less likely to assume their own gender was superior, but there was no differences in terms of psychosexual adjustment or gender identity.