Mental Health Disparities Between Lesbian Mothers and Heterosexual Parents: the Mediating Role of Positivity

Geva Shenkman; Henny M W Bos; Salvatore D'Amore; Nicola Carone

doi:10.1007/s13178-023-00800-8

Mental Health Disparities Between Lesbian Mothers and Heterosexual Parents: the Mediating Role of Positivity

Sex Res Social Policy. 2023 Feb 10:1-11. doi: 10.1007/s13178-023-00800-8. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Geva Shenkman¹, Henny M W Bos², Salvatore D'Amore³, Nicola Carone⁴

Affiliations

¹ Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University (IDC Herzliya), HaUniversita St, 4610101 Herzliya, Israel.
² Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
³ Research Centre of Clinical Psychology, Psychopathology and Psychosomatics, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
⁴ Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.

Abstract

Introduction: Previous evidence has shown better mental health outcomes for lesbian mothers, in comparison with heterosexual parents. The present study explored the mediating role of positivity (i.e., the tendency to view life with a positive outlook) in determining these mental health differences.

Methods: Seventy-two Israeli lesbian mothers by donor insemination (from 36 families) were compared with 72 Israeli heterosexual parents by assisted reproduction (without donated gametes; from 36 families) on positivity, life satisfaction, and depressive symptomatology. All parents were cisgender and had at least one child born through assisted reproduction, aged 3-10 years. Data were collected between December 2019 and February 2021.

Results: Mediational analyses indicated that lesbian mothers reported greater positivity, which was, in turn, associated with greater life satisfaction and less depressive symptomatology.

Conclusions: The results pinpoint the possible protective and strengthening role of positivity for lesbian mothers in the pronatalist and familistic environment of Israel. The research contributes to the literature on the mental health of parents with diverse sexual orientations living outside of the USA and Europe. Policy Implications Policymakers and mental health professional should be knowledgeable about the importance of improving positivity as a strategy for reducing depressive symptomatology and promoting life satisfaction among lesbian mothers. Moreover, policy makers and legislators are called to ease the access of sexual minority individuals to parenthood, as in this population parenthood associates with heightened mental health outcomes.

Keywords: Depression; Israel; Lesbian mothers; Life satisfaction; Positivity.

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