Client Lifespan Experience & Family Context
These resources address client-reported experiences in change-oriented or exploratory therapy, family dynamics, and outcomes for children in same-sex-parent families.
Bondy, G. (n.d.). Subjective experiences in sexual orientation change efforts: A mixed-method analysis. Journal of Human Sexuality.
Summary: Uses mixed methods to report how participants themselves describe their experiences, perceived benefits, and perceived harms in sexual orientation change efforts.
Common misrepresentation: Selectively cited either only for positive narratives or only for negative experiences to support predetermined positions.
What it actually shows: A range of client-reported experiences, highlighting heterogeneity in both outcomes and perceived impacts.
Pela, C., & Sutton, P. M. (2021). Sexual attraction fluidity and well-being in men: A therapeutic outcome study. Journal of Human Sexuality, 12, 61–86.
Summary: Documents reductions in same-sex attraction and well-being improvements in 40 men over 2+ years of SAFE therapy.
Common misrepresentation: Rejected as lacking controls or proving common/permanent change.
What it actually shows: Some clients report fluidity shifts and reduced distress via value-aligned exploration, without guarantees for all.
Schumm, W. R., & Crawford, D. W. (n.d.). Sexual orientation differences between children of same-sex parents and children of heterosexual parents: A brief report using a meta-analysis. Journal of Human Sexuality.
Summary: Provides a brief meta-analytic report on sexual orientation outcomes among children of same-sex versus heterosexual parents.
Common misrepresentation: Used as proof that same-sex parenting is inherently harmful or deterministically produces non-heterosexual outcomes.
What it actually shows: Meta-analytic patterns that suggest some differences in orientation distributions, subject to methodological limits and interpretive caution.
Schumm, W. R., & Crawford, D. W. (n.d.). Differences between acceptance of sexual diversity and nonheterosexual sexual orientation among children of same-sex parents. Journal of Human Sexuality.
Summary: Examines whether children of same-sex parents differ from peers in their acceptance of sexual diversity and in nonheterosexual identification.
Common misrepresentation: Interpreted as showing that acceptance causes nonheterosexual orientation or that acceptance should therefore be restricted.
What it actually shows: Associations between parenting context, attitudes, and identity patterns, without proving causal direction or prescribing value judgments.
Golden, S. L. (n.d.). The relationship between father involvement and father-role confidence for fathers of gay sons. Journal of Human Sexuality.
Summary: Investigates how involvement and confidence in the father role relate among fathers of gay sons.
Common misrepresentation: Used to blame fathers for a son’s sexual orientation or to suggest that certain parenting “fixes” could prevent homosexuality.
What it actually shows: Relational and psychological dynamics of fathers adapting to and engaging with a son’s gay identity, not causal determinants of orientation.
Journal of Human Sexuality. Prepublication copy. Rosik, C. H. My conversation with a typical opponent of professional therapies that include change. Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity.
file:///Users/debrabaty/Downloads/Conversation%20with%20Ty%20Optic%202016-2.pdf
Summary: Presents a hypothetical, dialogue-style exchange between the author and a “Typical Opponent” of change-including therapies, systematically addressing many of the most common objections to such work. The article emphasizes client self-determination and critiques efforts to legally restrict professional speech in the treatment of unwanted same-sex attractions and behaviors.
Common misrepresentation: Often portrayed as if it were empirical outcome research proving that change-oriented therapies are broadly safe and effective or as a blanket dismissal of all reports of harm as fabricated or irrelevant.
What it actually shows: A conceptual and rhetorical exploration of arguments surrounding professional therapies that include change, focused on exposing perceived misrepresentations of the scientific record and stereotypes of clinicians who practice them. It underscores the author’s view that protecting clients’ rights to pursue care aligned with their moral, religious, and cultural convictions requires more accurate engagement with the evidence and with what licensed therapists actually do in ordinary talk therapy.
Rosik, C. H. (Year). My conversation with a typical opponent of professional therapies that include change. Journal of Human Sexuality, 7, 74–99.
https://www.journalofhumansexuality.com
Summary: Uses a dialogue with a “typical opponent” to organize and respond to many standard objections to professional therapies that include the possibility of change in unwanted same-sex attractions or behaviors, drawing heavily on existing empirical and ethical debates.
Common misinterpretations: Cited as if it were outcome research proving that change-oriented therapies are broadly safe and effective for all, or as if it categorically dismisses every report of harm as fabricated, purely political, or clinically irrelevant.
What it actually shows: A conceptual and rhetorical defense of client-directed, change-allowing therapy that critiques overgeneralized harm narratives and legal restrictions, while arguing that protecting clients’ freedom to pursue faith- and value-consistent goals requires more accurate engagement with the scientific and clinical record.
The following is a list of 107 published, scientific references of direct observations from researchers and clinicians, supporting the three claims that male same sex attraction (SSA) is associated with the “classical pattern” - distant father/binding mother/man-with-SSA-is-attracted-to-features-in-other-men-that-he-wants-for-himself phenomena. These references span one century of scientific documentation.
References
Allen, C. (1958). Homosexuality: Its nature, causation and treatment. Staples Press.
Allen, F. H. (1940). Homosexuality in relation to the problem of human difference. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 10(1), 129–135. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1940.tb05667.x
Apperson, L. B., & McAdoo, W. G. (1968). Parental factors in the childhood of homosexuals. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 73(3), 201–206. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0025859
Bak, R. C. (1953). Fetishism. The Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 1(2), 285–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/000306515300100205
Bakwin, H. (1968). Deviant gender-role behavior in children: Relation to homosexuality. Pediatrics, 41(3), 620–629.
Barnhouse, R. (1977). Homosexuality: A symbolic confusion. Seabury Press.
Bell, A. P., Weinberg, M. S., & Hammersmith, S. K. (1981). Sexual preference: Its development in men and women. Indiana University Press.
Bender, L., & Paster, S. (1941). Homosexual trends in children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 11(4), 730–743. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1941.tb05864.x
Bene, E. (1965). On the genesis of male homosexuality: An attempt at clarifying the role of parents. British Journal of Psychiatry, 111(478), 803–813. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.111.478.803
Bibring, G. (1940). Über eine orale komponente bei männlicher inversion [Concerning an oral component in male inversion]. Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse und Imago, 25(2), 124–130.
Bieber, I., Dain, H., Dince, P., Drellich, M., Grand, H., Gundlach, R., Kremer, M. R., Wilber, C., & Bieber, T. (1962). Homosexuality: A psychoanalytic study of male homosexuals. Basic Books.
Bieber, I. (1965). Clinical aspects of male homosexuality. In J. Marmor (Ed.), Sexual inversion (pp. 248–267). Basic Books.
Bieber, I. (1967). Sexual deviations. II: Homosexuality. In A. M. Freedman & H. I. Kaplan (Eds.), Comprehensive textbook of psychiatry (pp. 963–976). The Williams & Wilkins Company.
Bieber, T. (1967). On treating male homosexuals. Archives of General Psychiatry, 16(1), 60–63. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1967.01730190062008
Blackman, J. S. (2002). Shift from homosexual to heterosexual orientation during the termination phase of analysis. In C. W. Socarides & A. Freedman (Eds.), Objects of desire: The sexual deviations (pp. 41–70). International Universities Press.
Boehm, F. (1933). Beiträge zur psychologie der homosexualität IV: Über zwei typen von männlichen homosexuallen [Contributions to the psychology of homosexuality IV: Concerning two types of male homosexuals]. Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse, 19(4), 499–506.
Brill, A. A. (1913). The conception of homosexuality. Journal of the American Medical Association, 61(5), 335–340. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1913.04350050017008
Brown, D. G. (1957). The development of sex-role inversion and homosexuality. Journal of Pediatrics, 50(5), 613–619. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3476(57)80228-5
Brown, D. G. (1963). Homosexuality and family dynamics. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 27, 227–232.
Bychowski, G. (1945). The ego of homosexuals. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 26(3–4), 114–127.
Bychowski, G. (1954). The structure of homosexual acting out. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 23, 48–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/21674086.1954.11925934
Bychowski, G. (1961). The ego and the object of the homosexual. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 42, 255–259.
Chang, J., & Block, J. (1960). A study of identification in male homosexuals. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24(4), 307–310. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0046046
Chasseguet-Smirgel, J. (1974). Perversion, idealization, and sublimation. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 55, 349–357.
Dickes, R. (1991). Observations on the treatment of homosexual patients. In G. W. Socarides & V. D. Volkan (Eds.), The homosexualities and the therapeutic process (pp. 9–27). International Universities Press.
Edwards, H. E. (1963). The relationship between reported early life experiences with parents and adult homosexuality [Doctoral dissertation, University of Tennessee].
Ehrenwald, J. (1960). The symbiotic matrix of paranoid delusions and the homosexual alternative. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 20, 49–59.
Eidelberg, L. (1956). Analysis of a case of a male homosexual. In S. Lorand & M. Balint (Eds.), Perversions, psychodynamics and therapy (pp. 279–289). Random House.
Evans, R. B. (1969). Childhood parental relationships of homosexual men. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 33(2), 129–135. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0027186
Fenichel, O. (1945). The psychoanalytic theory of neurosis. W.W. Norton & Co.
Ferenczi, S. (1914). The nosology of female homosexuality (homoerotism). In Contributions to psychoanalysis (pp. 296–318). Brunner. (Reprinted 1950)
Ferenczi, S. (1916). Contributions to psycho-analysis (E. Jones, Trans.). Richard G. Badger. https://archive.org/details/cu31924012227850
Freedman, A. (1991). Identification processes in the therapy of male oedipal homosexuality. In C. W. Socarides & V. D. Volkan (Eds.), The homosexualities and the therapeutic process (pp. 159–190). International Universities Press.
Freud, A. (1949). Some clinical remarks concerning the treatment of male homosexuality. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 30, 195.
Freud, S. (1947). Leonardo da Vinci: A study in psychosexuality (A. A. Brill, Trans.). Random House. (Original work published 1910)
Freud, S. (1957). Some neurotic mechanisms in jealousy, paranoia and homosexuality. In J. Strachey (Ed.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 18, pp. 223–232). Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1922)
Friedman, R. C., & Stern, L. O. (1980). Juvenile aggressivity and sissiness in homosexual and heterosexual males. Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry, 8(3), 427–440. https://doi.org/10.1521/jaap.1.1980.8.3.427
Gershman, H. (1964). The meaning of homosexual trends in therapy: A round table discussion. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 24(1), 60–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01873309
Gershman, H. (1970). The role of core gender identity in the genesis of perversions. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 30(1), 58–67. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01873871
Glasser, M. (1986). Identification and its vicissitudes as observed in the perversions. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 67(1), 9–17.
Glover, E. (1949). Psycho-analysis: A handbook for medical practitioners and students of comparative psychology (2nd ed.). Staples Press.
Golden, S. L. (2018). Fathers of gay sons: The relationship between father-role confidence and father involvement [Doctoral dissertation, Capella University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
Golden, S. L. (2021). The relationship between father involvement and father-role confidence for fathers of gay sons. The Journal of Human Sexuality, 12, 147–167.
Gottlieb, D. (1977). The gay tapes. Stein and Day Scarborough House.
Green, R. (1987). The “sissy boy syndrome” and the development of homosexuality. Yale University Press.
Greenson, R. (1976). The technique and practice of psychoanalysis. International Universities Press.
Grellert, E. A., Newcomb, M. D., & Bentler, P. M. (1982). Childhood play activities of male and female heterosexuals and homosexuals. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 11(6), 451–478. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01542472
Hadden, S. B. (1968). Group psychotherapy for sexual maladjustments. American Journal of Psychiatry, 125(3), 327–332. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.125.3.327
Hamilton, D. (1939). Some aspects of homosexuality in relation to total personality development. The Psychiatric Quarterly, 13, 229–244.
Henry, G. W. (1937). Psychogenic factors in overt homosexuality. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 93(4), 889–908. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.93.4.889
Hirschfeld, M. (2000). The homosexuality of men and women (M. A. Lombardi-Nash, Trans.). Prometheus Books. (Original work published 1914).
Hooker, E. (1957). The adjustment of the male overt homosexual. Journal of Projective Techniques, 21, 18–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/08853126.1957.10380742
Jacobi, J. (1969). A case of homosexuality. The Journal of Analytical Psychology, 14(1), 48–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-5922.1969.00048.x
Jones, S. L. (2007, October 27). Can homosexuals change? Is the attempt harmful? A longitudinal study of religiously mediated change in sexual orientation: Implications for NARTH [Conference presentation]. National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality Conference, Irving, TX, United States.
Kaplan, E. A. (1967). Homosexuality: A search for the ego-ideal. Archives of General Psychiatry, 16(3), 355–358. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1967.01730210095014
Kardiner, A. (1954). Sex and morality. The Bobbs-Merrill Company.
Kaye, H. E. (1974). Male survival: Masculinity without myth. Grosset & Dunlap.
Kaye, H. E. (1975). Discussion of “the effect of group therapy on compulsive homosexuality in men and women.” The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 35, 313–316. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01249465
Klein, M. (1960). The psychoanalysis of children (A. Strachey, Trans.). Grove Press. (Original work published 1932)
Klein, M. (1975). A contribution to the psychogenesis of tics. In R. Money-Kyrle (Ed.), The writings of Melanie Klein: Vol. 1: Love, guilt and reparation and other works, 1921-1945. The Free Press. (Original work published 1925)
Kolb, L., & Johnson, A. (1955). Etiology and therapy of overt homosexuality. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 24(4), 506–515.
Kronemeyer, R. (1980). Overcoming homosexuality. Macmillan.
Lagache, D. (1950). Homosexuality and jealousy. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 31, 24–31.
Lamberd, W. G. (1969). The treatment of homosexuality as a monosymptomatic phobia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 126(4), 512–518. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.126.4.512
Litman, R. E. (1961). Psychotherapy of a homosexual man in a heterosexual group. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 11(4), 440–448.
Mallen, C. A. (1983). Sex role stereotypes, gender identity and parental relationships in male homosexuals and heterosexuals. Journal of Homosexuality, 9(1), 55–74. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v09n01_05
Mesnikoff, A. M., Rainer, J. D., Kolb, L. C., & Carr, A. C. (1963). Inframilial determinants of divergent sexual behavior in twins. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 119(8), 732–738. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.119.8.732
Milic, J. H., & Crowne, D. P. (1986). Recalled parent-child relations and need for approval of homosexual and heterosexual men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 15(3), 239–246. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01542415
Miller, M. L. (1956). Nostalgia: A psycho-analytic study of Marcel Proust. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Mowrer, O. H. (1953). Neurosis and psychotherapy as interpersonal processes: A synopsis. In O. H. Mowrer (Ed.), Psychotherapy theory and research (pp. 69–94). Ronald Press.
Nicolosi, J. (1991). Reparative therapy of male homosexuality: A new clinical approach. Jason Aronson.
Nunberg, H. (1938). Homosexuality, magic and aggression. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 19, 1–16.
O’Connor, P. J. (1964). Aetiological factors in homosexuality as seen in Royal Air Force psychiatric practice. British Journal of Psychiatry, 110(466), 381–391. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.110.466.381
Ovesey, L. (1965). Pseudohomosexuality and homosexuality in men: Psychodynamics as a guide to treatment. In J. Marmor (Ed.), Sexual inversion: The multiple roots of homosexuality (pp. 211–233). Basic Books.
Parker, N. (1964). Homosexuality in twins: A report on three discordant pairs. British Journal of Psychiatry, 110, 489–495. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.110.467.489
Phelan, J. E. (1996). Recollections of their fathers by homosexual and heterosexual men. Psychological Reports, 79(3), 1027–1034. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1996.79.3.1027
Poe, J. S. (1952). The successful treatment of a 40-year-old passive homosexual based on an adaptational view of sexual behavior. Psychoanalytic Review, 39(1), 23–33.
Sachs, H. (1978). On the genesis of perversions (H. F. Bernays, Trans.). In C. W. Socarides (Ed.) Homosexuality (Appendix B, pp. 531–546). Jason Aronson. (Original work published 1923)
Saghir, M. T., & Robins, E. (1973). Male and female homosexuality: A comprehensive investigation. Williams & Wilkins.
Satinover, J. (1995, July 29). The complex interaction of genes and environment: A model for homosexuality [Conference presentation]. National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality Conference, United States.
Schilder, P. (1929). On homosexuality: A lecture. Psychoanalytic Review, 16(4), 377–389.
Seutter, R. A., & Rovers, M. (2004). Emotionally absent fathers: Furthering the understanding of homosexuality. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 32(1), 43–49.
Shearer, M. (1966). Homosexuality and the pediatrician: Early recognition and preventative counseling. Clinical Pediatrics, 5(8), 514–518. https://doi.org/10.1177/000992286600500815
Siegelman, M. (1974). Parental background of male homosexuals and heterosexuals. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 3(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541038
Singer, M., & Fischer, R. (1967). Group psychotherapy of male homosexuals by a male and female co-therapy team. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 17(1), 44–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207284.1967.11642987
Snortum, J., Marshall, J., Gillespie, J., Mosberg, L., & McLaughlin, J. (1969). Family dynamics and homosexuality. Psychological Reports, 24, 763–770. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1969.24.3.763
Socarides, C. W. (1968). The overt homosexual. Basic Books.
Socarides, C. W., & Freedman, A. (Eds.). (2002). Objects of desire: The sexual deviations. International Universities Press.
Stekel, W. (1946). The homosexual neurosis (J. S. V. Teslaar, Trans.). Emerson Books. (Original work published 1921)
Stephan, W. G. (1973). Parental relationships and early social experiences of activist male homosexuals and male heterosexuals. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 82(3), 506–513. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0035367
Stoller, R. (1978). Boyhood gender aberrations: Treatment issues. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 26(3), 541–558. https://doi.org/10.1177/000306517802600304
Storr, A. (1964). Sexual deviation (2nd ed.). Penguin Books.
Strecker, E. A. (1946). Their mothers’ sons: The psychiatrist examines an American problem. J. B. Lippincott.
Sullivan, H. S. (1972). Personal psychopathology: Early formulations. W. W. Norton.
Tabin, J. J. (1985). On the way to the self: Ego and early oedipal development. Columbia University Press.
Terman, L. M., & Miles, C. C. (1936). Sex and personality: Studies in masculinity and femininity. McGraw-Hill.
Thompson, N., Schwartz, D., McCandless, B., & Edwards, D. (1973). Parent-child relationships and sexual identity in male and female homosexuals and heterosexuals. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 41, 120–127. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0035612
Tripp, C. (1987). The homosexual matrix (Rev. ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Tyson, P. (1982). A developmental line of gender identity, gender role, and choice of love object. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 30(1), 61–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/000306518203000103
Ullman, P. S. (1960). Parental participation in childrearing as evaluated by male social deviates. The Pacific Sociological Review, 3(2), 89–95. https://doi.org/10.2307/1388205
Van den Aardweg, G. (1985). Homosexuality and hope: A psychologist talks about treatment and change. Servant Books.
Van den Aardweg, G. (1986). On the origins and treatment of homosexuality: A psychoanalytic reinterpretation. Praeger.
Wallace, L. (1969). Psychotherapy of a male homosexual. Psychoanalytic Review, 56(3), 346–364. https://doi.org/10.1080/21674086.1969.11926487
West, D. J. (1955). The other man: A study of the social, legal, and clinical aspects of homosexuality. Whiteside.
Westwood, G. (1960). A minority: A report on the life of the male homosexual in Great Britain. Longmans, Green and Co.
Whitener, R. W., & Nikelly, A. (1964). Sexual deviation in college students. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 34(3), 486–492. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1964.tb02217.x
Wortis, J. (1940). Intersexuality and effeminacy in the male homosexual. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 10(3), 567–570. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1940.tb05723.x
Photo by Luemen Rutkowski on Unsplash