The Impact of Legal Status on Sexual Minority and Parental Stress for Parents in Same-Sex Relationships

Often only one parent in a same-sex relationship is permitted to have legal parenting rights to the children, even when they have planned the children together. Prohibiting parents from being legally recognized as parents to their children is an issue that is unique to same-sex couples. Based on sexual minority stress theory, I hypothesized that same-sex parents without legal rights would report more sexual minority stress (i.e., less disclosure of sexual orientation and experience significantly more stigma consciousness, internalized homophobia, and discrimination) and more parental stress (including family worry and the need for parental justification) than same-sex parents with legal rights, and that this effect would be above and beyond the contribution of social support, and the effects of age, gender, education, and number of children in the home. This study was conducted via an online survey with 418 participants, 75% of which were female and 85% were Caucasian. Non-legal status predicted greater worry about legal family issues and discrimination, but did not predict general worry about family issues. Additionally, same-sex parents who reported greater social support reported less parenting stress and sexual minority stress than did parents with less social support. Legal parenting status was not a significant unique predictor for parental stress, parental justification, internalized homophobia, stigma consciousness, or experiences of harassment and discrimination. However, social support was a significant positive predictor for both parental and sexual minority stress but not a significant predictor of worry about legal family issues and discrimination. In comparison to same-sex parents with legal rights, same-sex parents without legal rights may carry greater worry and concern about the lack of legal rights and the discrimination they may encounter, and social support does not appear to predict less worry. However, the results suggest that same-sex parents, with and without legal rights, overall appear to have low parental and minority stress. Implications for same-sex couples, families, and social policy are discussed

Paper Moon

Paper Moon focused on work that, in one way or another, served as a substitute for the real thing. The emphasis of this exchange was not on artifice but rather on a sincere effort to imitate an ideal, the desire for which may be motivated by limited circumstances, need, adoration, and longing, rather than greed or irony. The show examined how these substitutes were intended to function, the nature of their appeal, and what role authenticity and our ability to “make believe” played in the proffered illusion. The idea for this exhibition began with a documentary about teenage magicians and evolved into a project in which the sleight of hand and trickery behind the illusion is made evident, but the willingness to be entertained remains. The title, Paper Moon, was borrowed from a Depression-era song, “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” written by Harold Arlen and made popular by versions released by Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole during the later years of World War II. It referred to a paper maché world of theater sets, homemade high school dance props, and parade floats—inexpensive backdrops that provide a bit of temporary glamour or romance. Exhibition Dates: August 30 - December 6, 2012 Location: Don Russell Clayton Gallery and The Art Gallery, Sturgis Library Image: Adam Parker Smith. This Side of Paradise (I Lost All My Money in the Great Depression and All I Got Was This Room) (detail), 2012. Mixed media wall treatment. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Adam Parker Smith.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/zuckermanmuseum_exhibitionpublications/1001/thumbnail.jp

Developing a cultural competence assessment tool for people in recovery from racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds: the journey, challenges and lessons learned.

In 1997, Maryland implemented a new managed care mental health system. Consumer satisfaction, evaluation and cultural competency were considered high priorities for the new system. While standardized tools for measuring consumer satisfaction were readily available, no validated, reliable and standardized tool existed to measure the perception of people from minority groups receiving mental health services. The MHA*/MHP* Cultural Competency Advisory Group (CCAG) accepted the challenge of developing a consumer assessment tool for cultural competency. The CCAG, composed of people in recovery, clinicians and administrators used their collective knowledge and experiences to develop a 52-item tool that met standards for validity and reliability. Consultation from a researcher helped to further develop the tool into one possessing tremendous potential for statewide implementation within Maryland's Public Mental Health System. Recognizing the limitations of the study and the need for further research, this instrument is a work in progress. Strategies to improve the instrument are currently underway with the Mental Hygiene Administration's Systems Evaluation Center of the University of Maryland and several national researchers