Adolescents of the US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: the impact of having a known or an unknown donor on the stability of psychological adjustment.

BACKGROUND: The current study is based on the US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS), which was designed to document the development of the first generation of lesbian families with children conceived through donor insemination. Data were collected in five waves, first at insemination or during pregnancy, and subsequently when the index children were 2, 5, 10 and 17 years old. The study is ongoing, with a 93% retention rate to date. The purpose of the current investigation was to assess changes in psychological adjustment of the index offspring between the time that they were 10 and 17 years old (T4 and T5) and to examine the effects of having a known or an as-yet-unknown donor. METHODS: The total T5 sample consisted of 78 adolescents. The mothers in 74 families completed a Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) on their offspring at both T4 and T5: 26 of these offspring had been conceived through known sperm donors and 48 through unknown donors. Changes in psychological adjustment were assessed through computations of stability coefficients between T4 and T5 on all CBCL subscales, and by means of a general linear model (GLM). RESULTS: On 10 out of 11 CBCL subscales, the stability coefficients were not significantly different for adolescents with known and unknown donors. Findings from the GLM showed that no main effect for donor type was found; for offspring in both donor groups thought problems and rule-breaking behaviour were higher and scores on social problems and aggressive behaviour were lower at T5 than T4. CONCLUSIONS: The development of psychological well-being in the offspring of lesbian mothers over a 7-year period from childhood through adolescence is the same for those who were conceived through known and unknown donors.

Sex differences in medical student mental health.

The authors studied first-year medical students to assess sex differences in psychological functioning. No initial sex differences in adjustment were found on any self-report measures. By mid-year, however, women students had developed more psychiatric symptoms and tended to report less satisfaction with life. By the year's end the women remained somewhat more symptomatic but to a lesser extent than had been apparent at mid-year. Women also reported more role conflict and described their families as less supportive of their career choice. The authors suggest that these findings point to the potentially negative impact of current medical training on women.

Plasma testosterone in homosexual and heterosexual women.

The authors measured plasma testosterone levels in 21 homosexual women and 19 age-matched heterosexual women. Although values for the two groups overlapped considerably, testosterone concentrations averaged 38% higher in homosexual than in heterosexual subjects. A statistically significant inverse correlation between age and testosterone level was found for heterosexual but not for homosexual women.

Hormones and sexual orientation: a questionable link.

This paper critically reviews the studies which explore a possible causal relationship between sex hormones and the development of sexual orientation. Early studies focused on hormone measurements in adult men and women. While definitive interpretations are hindered by methodological problems, the studies as a whole do not support a causal relationship between postnatal hormone levels and sexual orientation. More recently, a theory that prenatal hormone levels produce varying degrees of brain androgenization and subsequent dimorphic sex role behavior has consistently been supported by studies in lower mammals. Attempts to generalize the causes of sexual orientation from animals to humans have been controversial. Efforts to measure the estrogen feedback as an indication of brain androgenization have produced inconsistent results. Studies of men and women who experienced defect in hormone metabolism (i.e., CAH and testicular feminization) have not found a concurrent increase in homosexual behavior. Overall, the data do not support a causal connection between hormones and human sexual orientation.

Shoestring science.

ABSTRACT Nanette K. Gartrell, MD, is a psychiatrist, teacher and researcher who has served on the faculties of Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Francisco. For the past thirty years, without relying on major grants, she has been gathering data to depathologize lesbianism. Her earliest investigations contributed to the effort to remove "homosexuality" from the list of mental disorders. More recently, Dr. Gartrell has been conducting a national, longitudinal study of lesbian families. In this overview of her research career, Dr. Gartrell discusses the strategies that she has used successfully for pursuing scientific investigations on a shoestring budget.

If this is tuesday, it must be dee confessions of a closet polyamorist.

SUMMARY The author discusses the evolution of non-monogamy in a 24-year lesbian relationship. The couple's initial agreement stipulated that outside liasions be concealed as much as possible. More recently, the couple has established a complex system for incorporating other paramours into their lives.

Rainbow philanthropy.

ABSTRACT Martina Navratilova was the first professional athlete to proclaim her lesbianism. After retiring from a stunning tennis career, Martina Navratilova has emerged as a prominent author, television commentator, and public speaker. She is an influential advocate of lesbigay causes, and a major contributor to the lesbigay community. This article describes Martina's "passion [and] #1 cause"-the Rainbow Endowment.

Physician-patient sexual contact. Prevalence and problems.

To document the current prevalence of physician-patient sexual contact and to estimate its effect on involved patients, 10,000 family practitioners, internists, obstetrician-gynecologists, and surgeons were surveyed. Of the 1,891 respondents, 9% acknowledged sexual contact with 1 or more patients. Even in the unlikely case that none of the nonrespondents had sexual contact with patients, its prevalence among all 10,000 physicians surveyed would still be 2%. Of respondents, 23% had at least 1 patient who reported sexual contact with another physician; 63% thought this contact was "always harmful" to the patients. Almost all (94%) responding physicians opposed sexual contact with current patients; 37% also opposed sexual contact with former patients. More than half of respondents (56%) indicated that physician-patient sexual contact had never been addressed in their training; only 3% had participated in a continuing education course focusing on this issue. Clear and enforceable medical ethics codes concerning physician-patient sexual contact are needed, as well as preventive educational programs for medical schools and residency programs.

Prevalence of hormone replacement therapy and antidepressant use in peri- and postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and antidepressant use in peri- and postmenopausal women. DESIGN: Prevalence survey. SUBJECTS: Peri- and postmenopausal outpatients (N = 253) at five medical clinics. METHODS: Participants completed a 47-item questionnaire requesting information on mood changes associated with menstruation, childbirth, oral contraceptive use, and menopause. Peri- and postmenopausal participants were asked to rate the severity of dysphoric symptoms experienced during the menopausal transition and to specify whether HRT, antianxiety medication, or antidepressant medication relieved the symptoms. RESULTS: Forty percent of respondents experienced more severe depression than anticipated during menopause, but only 8% were treated with antidepressants. Forty-six percent of respondents were treated with HRT. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that antidepressant and antianxiety medications are more helpful than HRT in relieving peri- and postmenopausal depression or anxiety. However, most women managed the mood changes associated with menopause without psychopharmacologic intervention. This is consistent with other reports on the transitory nature of peri- and postmenopausal depression for most women.