Psychological report^, 1978,43, 814.
@ Psychological Reports 1978
ON BIRTH ORDER AMONG LESBIANS1 MURIEL W. PERKINS
Mississippi lndus~rialCollege2 In a 1967 report Gundlach and Riess reported that 43 of 217 homosexual women and 31 of 231 comparisons were single or only children. In analyzing data from 212 exclusively homosexual women3 who responded to a similar question in a 1972-1975 Dallas survey, we found that 40 of these women were only children. The ratio of lesbian only children seems about the same in the two samples, though these were from different geographic areas and times. Gundlach (1977, p. 250) later noted that 16 of these 217 lesbian women had experienced sexual abuse by older male relatives and family friends, and that of these 16, 9 were only children. Gundlach withdrew the unique group of 9 from the total group, which in reducing the N from 43 to 34 made the homosexual group not statistically different from the controls. For the present sample of 212 homosexual women, 12 of them had experienced rape. In three cases the transgressor was a stranger; in the other nine cases the rapist was a close relative. Eight of these 9 were only children. If, following Gundlach, we withdraw the unique group from the total group, we find that the N for only children is reduced from 40 to 32, which is likewise not significant. This replicates Gundlach's earlier finding. Gundlach had suggested in earlier publications (1967, 1969, 1972) that parental cross-preference regarding the sex of only children may have been a factor in the etiology of lesbianism. Recent data presented by Gundlach (1977) and substantiated by this report indicate that there is no relationship between being an only child and lesbian psychosexual development. REFERENCES GUNDLACH,R. H. Childhood parental relationships and the establishment of gender roles of homosexuals. Journal o f Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1969, 33, 136-139. GUNDLACH,R. H. Data on the relation of birth order and sex of siblings of lesbians oppose the hypothesis that homosexu~lityis generic. Annals o f the N e w York Academy o f Sciences, 1972, 197, 179-182. GUNDLACH,R. H. Birth order among lesbians: new light on an only child. Psycho' logical Reportr, 1977, 40, 250. GUNDLACH,R. R.,& RIESS, B. F. Birth order and sex of siblings in a sample of lesbians and non-lesbians. Psychological Reports, 1967, 20, 61-62.
Accepted October 25, 1978. 'This work was financed by a generous grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, for which I am deeply grateful. -Department of Social Science, Mississippi Industrial College, Holly Springs, MS 38635. 'Aged 17 to 60 yr., all but two were Caucasian.
@ Psychological Reports 1978
ON BIRTH ORDER AMONG LESBIANS1 MURIEL W. PERKINS
Mississippi lndus~rialCollege2 In a 1967 report Gundlach and Riess reported that 43 of 217 homosexual women and 31 of 231 comparisons were single or only children. In analyzing data from 212 exclusively homosexual women3 who responded to a similar question in a 1972-1975 Dallas survey, we found that 40 of these women were only children. The ratio of lesbian only children seems about the same in the two samples, though these were from different geographic areas and times. Gundlach (1977, p. 250) later noted that 16 of these 217 lesbian women had experienced sexual abuse by older male relatives and family friends, and that of these 16, 9 were only children. Gundlach withdrew the unique group of 9 from the total group, which in reducing the N from 43 to 34 made the homosexual group not statistically different from the controls. For the present sample of 212 homosexual women, 12 of them had experienced rape. In three cases the transgressor was a stranger; in the other nine cases the rapist was a close relative. Eight of these 9 were only children. If, following Gundlach, we withdraw the unique group from the total group, we find that the N for only children is reduced from 40 to 32, which is likewise not significant. This replicates Gundlach's earlier finding. Gundlach had suggested in earlier publications (1967, 1969, 1972) that parental cross-preference regarding the sex of only children may have been a factor in the etiology of lesbianism. Recent data presented by Gundlach (1977) and substantiated by this report indicate that there is no relationship between being an only child and lesbian psychosexual development. REFERENCES GUNDLACH,R. H. Childhood parental relationships and the establishment of gender roles of homosexuals. Journal o f Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1969, 33, 136-139. GUNDLACH,R. H. Data on the relation of birth order and sex of siblings of lesbians oppose the hypothesis that homosexu~lityis generic. Annals o f the N e w York Academy o f Sciences, 1972, 197, 179-182. GUNDLACH,R. H. Birth order among lesbians: new light on an only child. Psycho' logical Reportr, 1977, 40, 250. GUNDLACH,R. R.,& RIESS, B. F. Birth order and sex of siblings in a sample of lesbians and non-lesbians. Psychological Reports, 1967, 20, 61-62.
Accepted October 25, 1978. 'This work was financed by a generous grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, for which I am deeply grateful. -Department of Social Science, Mississippi Industrial College, Holly Springs, MS 38635. 'Aged 17 to 60 yr., all but two were Caucasian.
