The Australian Community Psychologist - APS Member Groups

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Same-sex parents 54 contextual and developmental challenges” (p. 30). This research clearly demonstrates the role of societal support systems in fostering resiliency, which is of great importance to this current study when considering the impact of heterosexism on families with same-sex parents, which in many ways are not supported by society. Family Resilience The literature examined thus far has solely discussed resilience in individuals. However families by their very nature are made of several individuals, making the resiliency of the family more complex. Family resilience should be viewed as a cohesive unit rather than the sum of the resilience of all the individuals who make up the family (Simon, Murphy, & Smith, 2005). Family resilience researchers concur that family resilience is a multidimensional construct composing of three parts (Simon et al., 2005). The first dimension is the length of the stressful situation experienced by the family. A ‘challenge’ is the label given to a short-term situation, whereas ‘crisis’ is used to describe a long-term adverse situation (Simon et al., 2005). How a family is able to negotiate the situation will depend on its duration. The second dimension of family resilience is the life stage of the family when it encounters the challenge or crisis, for example families with preschool age children face different issues to families with teenagers. The characteristics and solutions of the family members must therefore appropriately match the life stage of the family, to foster resilience. The third dimension of resilience is the external and internal sources of support that a family accesses during an adverse situation or crisis. Research suggests that families that utilise support from outside the immediate family such as extended family members, friends and support from the wider community display higher levels of resilience and this may be of particular importance to individuals from cultures that value collectivism (McCubbin, McCubbin, Thompson, & Thompson, 1995). These three dimensions can be used as a theoretical framework to help assist in the formulation of research questions and topics when conducting qualitative research into resiliency within families of same-sex parents. Walsh (1998) presented the systems theory of family resilience, which enables researchers to identify and target pivotal family processes that reduce stress in highrisk situations, foster coping and empowerment. Walsh (1998) put forward three key processes of family resilience. The first is the family belief system, which encompasses the attitudes and values of the family, and thus shapes how they respond to adverse situations. If a family holds a positive belief system which values interconnectedness and problem resolution to overcome the challenges and crises that arise, the family may be able to perceive this adverse situation as a ‘normal’ life challenge. By normalising the situation the family is therefore able to determine what resources are available to them and how they should respond accordingly (Simon et al., 2005). The second process is organisational patterns, which foster family resiliency through flexibility and connectivity. The third key process is communication (Walsh, 1998). Open communication within the family can foster mutual understanding and respect of individual family members and the opportunity to express emotions freely (Simon et al., 2005). Again this framework can be of particular use when investigating the experiences of families with same-sex parents, as some of the key processes may not be present, such as open communication because some parents may wish to keep their relationship a secret from their children, for fear of rejection and or losing custody (Fredriksen-Goldsen & Erera, 2004). Similarly, homophobic attitudes may have become a very ‘normal’ everyday life challenge for such families. Lesbian and Gay Families as Candidates for Resilience Studies Despite the knowledge that lesbian The Australian Community Psychologist Volume 23 No 2 August 2011 © The Australian Psychological Society Ltd
Same-sex parents 55 and gay couples can be successful parents, they still face an assortment of issues. Ungar (2008) suggests that societal norms can foster resilience; however, clearly homosexuality is not currently considered a cultural norm, and heterosexism permeates that being gay is abnormal (Chesir-Teran, 2003). These families therefore have to develop resilience, despite not fitting with traditional societal attitudes of what should formulate a ‘typical’ family. Such families are therefore living in a chronic stressor condition (Connolly, 2005). While gay families in general may not be at risk of poor parenting, the family still has to negotiate the dangers heterosexism presents, such as being victims of discrimination and oppression (Litovich & Langhout, 2004). These families then may face both challenges and crises. For example they may experience a specific harmful incident (a challenge) such as a hurtful taunt in the playground towards their child as well as having to cope with heterosexism within their surroundings on an ongoing basis (a crisis), such as restrictive legislative policies. Therefore, the research objective of the current study is therefore to investigate the nature of family resiliency within a sample of same-sex households in Western Australia. Methodology The current study will adopt a phenomenological methodological approach in which the life experiences of participants and the meanings that they attach to these experiences is the focus of attention (Groenewald, 2004; Liamputtong & Ezzy, 2007; Wertz, 2005). The phenomenological approach is based on the idea that reality, as humans experience it, is pure phenomena and is therefore absolute data that can be studied (Groenewald, 2004). Through phenomenological studies, researchers are able to identify recurrent themes amongst participants along with individual variations (Groenewald, 2004). According to Mishler (2001), telling stories is one of the important ways that people construct and express meaning, therefore participants should be encouraged to describe their experiences. This is based on the assumption every individual has their own personal story and are able to make sense of their experience through moulding the events into narrative form (Cohen, Pooley, Harms, & Ferguson, 2009). Participants Five lesbian couples raising children within the greater metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia participated in this study (n = 10 total participants). Each couple was raising one child (identified as a person below the age of 18 years) in their home. The number of children in this study was therefore five. Two families also had four additional adult children (total number of adult offspring = 8). In both of these families, one of the adult children was also living in the family premises at the time of the current study. Below are brief vignettes describing the familial structure of the participants. All names have been changed to protect the identities of those involved. Mary and Charlene. Mary (48) and Charlene (49) have been in a relationship for over eight years. Mary has two biological children from a previous heterosexual relationship and Charlene has three biological children from a previous heterosexual relationship. At the beginning of the relationship, two of the children were twelve, one was ten, one was nine and one was eight. All the children were familiar with one another and attended the same schools. Within a year Mary and Charlene were living together with all five children. Mary’s children were co-parented by their father, and would split their time between homes. Charlene’s children did not have as much contact with their father. At the time of the study, the youngest child Adam (16) is living at home, as is Alice (19). Sarah (18), Tom (20) and Amy (21) have all left home. Neither partner has full legal rights to each other’s biological children, although parenting responsibilities have been shared equally. Both Mary and Charlene say that they have supportive families of origin, although they live The Australian Community Psychologist Volume 23 No 2 August 2011 © The Australian Psychological Society Ltd
Page 1 and 2:
The Australian Community Psychologi
Page 3 and 4: Contents Contents 3 General Informa
Page 5 and 6: Editorial 5 Lynne Cohen Catherine F
Page 7 and 8: 7 Psychologists’ Understandings o
Page 9 and 10: Psychologists’ definitions of res
Page 23 and 24: 23 On Cultural Resiliency Naji Abi-
Page 25 and 26: Cultural resiliency 25 any degree,
Page 27 and 28: Cultural resiliency 27 cultural sel
Page 29 and 30: Cultural resiliency 29 supernatural
Page 31 and 32: Cultural resiliency 31 Resilience.
Page 33 and 34: Single mothers’ experiences and r
Page 51 and 52: Same-sex parents 51 were reported t
Page 53: Same-sex parents 53 is becoming the
Page 57 and 58: Same-sex parents 57 Table 1 Themes
Page 59 and 60: Same-sex parents 59 first when init
Page 61 and 62: Same-sex parents 61 Andersen, Burto
Page 63 and 64: Same-sex parents 63 supports the li
Page 65 and 66: Same-sex parents 65 attitudes and f
Page 67 and 68: Same-sex parents 67 gay parents. Ch
Page 69 and 70: Negotiating Resilience 69 to guide
Page 71 and 72: Negotiating Resilience 71 Figure 1.
Page 73 and 74: Negotiating Resilience 73 Table 1 S
Page 75 and 76: Negotiating Resilience 75 Simultane
Page 77 and 78: Negotiating Resilience 77 determini
Page 79 and 80: Negotiating Resilience 79 ‘Owners
Page 81 and 82: Negotiating Resilience 81 associati
Page 83 and 84: Negotiating Resilience 83 South Afr
Page 85 and 86: 85 Resilience in Western Australian
Page 87 and 88: Resilience in adolescence 87 identi
Page 89 and 90: Resilience in adolescence 89 Partic
Page 91 and 92: Resilience in adolescence 91 my emo
Page 93 and 94: Reflections on Poverty 93 relations
Page 95 and 96: Resilience in adolescence 95 being
Page 97 and 98: Resilience in adolescence 97 has hu
Page 99 and 100: Resilience in adolescence 99 critic
Page 101 and 102: Resilience in adolescence 101 Resil
Page 103 and 104: 103 Resilience through the Eyes of
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Resilience and Professional Nurses
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121 The Resilience of Illegal Afric
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Migrant resilience 123 participants
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Migrant resilience 125 Step 2: Dete
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Migrant resilience 127 home is econ
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Migrant resilience 129 better than
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Migrant resilience 131 share, to ex
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Migrant resilience 133 positive psy
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135 Measurement Performance of the
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Measurement performance of the SCI
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Manuscript Preparation 149 2. The c
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The Australian Community Psychologi
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