Office Address: 140J Gilmer Hall
Office Hours: By Appointment Only

Biography

CHARLOTTE J. PATTERSON (she, her, hers) is professor of psychology in the Psychology Department at the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on the role of sexual orientation in human development and family lives, particularly the study of child development in lesbian- and gay-parented families.  She co-edited the Handbook of Psychology and Sexual Orientation (Oxford University Press, 2013), and a 2020 report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine entitled, Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQ Populations. A fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Association for Psychological Science (APS), Patterson has been the recipient of APA’s Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy Award, and a number of other recognitions. Patterson’s Ph.D. degree in psychology is from Stanford University.

Selected Recent Publications

Patterson, C. J., Tate, D., Sumontha, J. & Xu, R.  (2018). Sleep difficulties among sexual minority adults: Associations with family relationship problems.  Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 5, 109 – 116.

Farr, R.H., Bruun, S. T., Doss, K. M., & Patterson, C. J. (2018).  Children’s gender-typed behavior from early to middle childhood in adoptive families with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents. Sex Roles, 78, 528 – 541.

Patterson, C. J. (2019). Lesbian and gay parenting. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of Parenting 3rd Edition, Volume 3. New York:  Routledge. 

Tate, D. P., Patterson, C. J., and Levy, A. J. (2019). Predictors of parenting intentions among childless lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adults. Journal of Family Psychology, 33, 194 – 202.

Patterson, C. J., & Potter, E. C. (2019). Sexual orientation and sleep difficulties: A review of research. Sleep Health, 5, 227 – 235.

Potter, E. C., & Patterson, C. J. (2019). Health-related quality of life among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults: The burden of health disparities in the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. LGBT Health, 6, 357 – 369.

Tate, D. P., & Patterson, C. J. (2019). Desire for parenthood in context of other life aspirations among lesbian, gay, and heterosexual young adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, article 2679 (published Nov 28 2019).

Farr, R. H., Bruun, S. T., & Patterson, C. J. (2019). Longitudinal associations between co-parenting and child adjustment among lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adoptive parent families. Developmental Psychology, 55, 2547 – 2560.

Farr, R. H., Vazquez, C. P. & Patterson, C. J. (2020). LGBTQ Adoptive Parents and Their Children. In A. E. Goldberg & K. R. Allen (Eds.), LGBT-Parent Families: Innovations in Research and Implications for Practice (2nd Ed.). New York:  Springer. 

Potter, E. C., Tate, D. P., & Patterson, C. J. (2021).  Perceived threat of COVID-19 among sexual minority women.  Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 8 (2), 188 – 200.

Patterson, C. J., & Potter, E. C. (2022). Sleep difficulties among sexual minority adults: Evidence from the 2018 National Health Interview Study. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity 9(2), 242-253. doi: 10.1037/sgd0000473

Li, Y. (B.) & Patterson, C. J. (2022).  Parenting Aspirations Among Chinese International Students of Diverse Sexual Identities: A Cultural Perspective, LGBTQ+ Family, 18, 20-37. doi: 10.1080/1550428X.2021.1999360

Li, Y. (B.) & Patterson, C.J. (2022). Ideas about family formation among sexual minority and heterosexual Chinese international students. Journal of Family Psychology, 36, 1194 – 1204. Doi:10.1037/fam0001007

Patterson, C. J. (2022, in press).  Parental sexual orientation, parental gender identity, and the development of children. In J. J. Lockman (Ed.), Advances in Child Development and Behavior, volume 63.  Elsevier Press.