DIVISION-OF-LABOR AMONG LESBIAN AND HETEROSEXUAL PARENTS - ASSOCIATIONS WITH CHILDRENS ADJUSTMENT

This study compared lesbian and heterosexual parents' division of hous ehold labor, satisfaction with division of labor, satisfaction with co uple relationships, and associations of these variables with psycholog ical adjustment of children. Participating lesbian (n = 30) and hetero sexual (n = 16) couples all became parents by using anonymous donor in semination and had at least 1 child of elementary-school age. Although both lesbian and heterosexual couples reported relatively equal divis ions of paid employment and of household and decision-making tasks, le sbian biological and nonbiological mothers shared child-care tasks mor e equally than did heterosexual parents. Among lesbian nonbiological m others, those more satisfied with the division of family decisions in the home were also more satisfied with their relationships and had chi ldren who exhibited fewer externalizing behavior problems. The effect of division of labor on children's adjustment was mediated by parents' relationship satisfaction.