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“You Live Where ?!” Lesbian Mothers' Attachment to Nonmetropolitan Communities
Author(s) -
Oswald Ramona Faith,
Lazarevic Vanja
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
family relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1741-3729
pISSN - 0197-6664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2011.00663.x
Subject(s) - lesbian , transgender , religiosity , psychology , mental health , attachment theory , gender studies , developmental psychology , social psychology , sociology , psychiatry
A positive attachment to one's residential community has been linked to better mental health ( McLaren, 2009 ), stronger social support ( Young, Russell, & Powers, 2004 ), and a higher quality of life ( Mak, Cheung, & Law, 2009 ). Attachment to residential community has been understudied in research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families. The current study attempts to fill this gap by using family and minority stress theories to examine the predictors of residential community attachment among 77 lesbian mothers living in nonmetropolitan communities. Our findings indicate that stronger residential community attachment is predicted by more frequent contact with family of origin, low religiosity, and an interaction between close LGBT friendships and the presence of at least one local LGBT organization. Contrary to expectations, anti‐LGBT victimization perpetrated by community members did not have an effect on residential community attachment.