The Family Minority Stress Model: Theoretical conceptualization and empirical evidence [Doctoral Dissertation]

Psychosocial research with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) parent families has been pivotal in challenging societal prejudice on LGBTQ+ parenthood and advancing family-related human rights. Paradoxically, this impeded the field in maturing theoretically, as these structurally stigmatizing contexts necessitated, in part, comparative research designs. As a result, minority-specific, within-group experiences that have been formalized as main drivers of LGBTQ+ health and well-being at the individual level – including exposure to structural stigma (i.e., hostile legal environments, prejudicial societal attitudes) and minority stress (i.e., identity-based stress resulting from systematic oppression) – lack theoretical integration within LGBTQ+ family contexts. This thesis addresses this gap through four primary aims: (i) synthesizing evidence on structural stigma exposure in LGBTQ+ parent families, (ii) synthesizing evidence on minority stress exposure in these families, (iii) providing a concomitant test of minority stress and structural stigma exposure in LGBTQ+ parent families, and (iv) developing a novel Family Minority Stress Model based on this evidence that extends minority stress theory to the family level, integrating core theories and perspectives from family science and LGBTQ+ health and family research. A fifth aim transcends these objectives: (v) Moving LGBTQ+ parent family research forward by honoring its legacy through incorporating advanced statistical and research synthesis techniques as well as open science principles. Chapter 1 presents a mixed-methods systematic review (55 studies, 1999-2020) synthesizing qualitative and quantitative evidence on the impact of sexual orientation laws on same-gender parent families as a notable exemplification of structural stigma exposure in LGBTQ+ parent families. It introduces a novel Legal Vulnerability Model that formalizes the findings of this synthesis. Chapters 2 and 3 develop a blueprint for a comprehensive research synthesis on minority stress in LGBTQ+ parent families and provide results of the main analysis: A multiverse-based, meta-analytic systematic review on associations between minority stress (on the individual-, couple-, and family-level) and key outcomes for parents, children, and the family system (43 studies, 1982-2022, 3803 families, 3552 models), showing that minority stress across all levels is linked to outcomes in parents, children, and the family system. Chapter 4 provides a concomitant test of minority stress and structural stigma exposure – both stratified across multiple levels of the family system – for LGBTQ+ parents from 19 European countries. It introduces non-linear, machine learning based techniques to the field to overcome methodological obstacles within quantitative, intersectionality-informed investigations. The thesis concludes with the introduction of the Family Minority Stress Model, which formalizes structural and personal experiences of marginalization within LGBTQ+ parent families. Taken together, this thesis integrates the empirical basis with a theoretical formalization of understanding experiences of marginalization within LGBTQ+ parent families, holding implications for research, policy, and practice.Author Note: Martina Zemp supervised the thesis and is thus listed as a contributor.