IN-LAW RELATIONSHIPS WHEN A CHILD IS HOMOSEXUAL

The purpose of this study is to review related literature concerning i n-law relationships and begin an empirical exploration of the relation ship between parents of gay men and lesbians and their child's signifi cant other. Three hundred forty-seven parents of lesbians and gay men were surveyed regarding their sexuality, religiosity, socioeconomic st atus, attitude toward homosexuality, years they have known their child was homosexual, number of other children in the family, and acceptanc e Of their homosexual child's significant other. A model was designed and tested via analysis of covariance structures in the LISREL VII pac kage (Joreskog & bom, 1989). Results suggest that the proposed model a nd the model estimated for the data are not significantly different, i ndicating support for the model. Future research issues are offered.