Rockway Institute In the News

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Owning His Gay Identity -- at 15 Years Old Youths Coming Out Sooner, but Protections Against Harassment Lag By Theresa Vargas The Washington Post Monday, July 14, 2008; A01

School's out, and Saro Harvey and his best friend, Samantha Sachs, are hanging out in his Arlington County bedroom. She is slouched across his bed, and he is poised on a chair, posture-perfect, wearing dark, skinny jeans and a ruffled shirt meant for a girl. A rust-orange purse he sometimes carries hangs behind the door.

The 15-year-olds were voted most popular last spring in their section of ninth grade at Wakefield High School. Still, Saro knows there are those on and off campus who don't like him, who never will.

Gay Unions Shed Light on Gender in Marriage By Tara Parker-Pope The New York Times June 10, 2008

For insights into healthy marriages, social scientists are looking in an unexpected place.

A growing body of evidence shows that same-sex couples have a great deal to teach everyone else about marriage and relationships. Most studies show surprisingly few differences between committed gay couples and committed straight couples, but the differences that do emerge have shed light on the kinds of conflicts that can endanger heterosexual relationships. (more)

Science vs. ideology: Psychologists fight back against the misuse of research By Rebecca Clay Monitor on Psychology Volume 39, No. 6 June 2008

Gay couples an example to straight couples United Press International January 14, 2008

Studies of lesbian and gay couples reveal some key factors that may promote healthier relationships in straight couples, a U.S. psychologist says. (more)

What Straights Can Learn From Gays about Relationships and Parenting Social Work Today E-Zine January 17, 2008

Psychological studies of lesbian and gay couples reveal two key factors that promote healthier relationships and provide examples for all couples: flexibility about gender roles, and equal division of parenting and household tasks. (more)

Study shows elderly gays, lesbians and bisexuals rely on network of friends when ill By Karen Farkas Cleveland Plain Dealer January 7, 2008

When a 75-year-old gay man was dying from complications from diabetes, his family rallied to help.
Not only his biological family, but also his partner and other "family" - a close network of gay friends who brought him meals and provided companionship. (more)

Study: Gay men more likely to be right-handed Associated Press Tuesday Nov 27, 2007

A new study has provided a new twist on the connection between sexual orientation and right or left-handedness, claiming that gay or bisexual men have an elevated incidence of extreme right-handedness. (more) 

Costs of Disclosure Sirius Satellite Radio - Out Q Radio (Channel 109) November 1, 2007

Anchor: A new report says closeted gays are a lot less productive in the workplace than those who are open with their orientation. In their study, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Rice University researchers conclude that for gays in non-supportive workplaces, the costs of non-disclosure were significant.

Robert Jay Greene is the executive director of gay think tank Rockway Institute. He says a gay friendly workplace is a better workplace. (more)

Study: working 'in the closet' hurts employee and employer  Pam's House Blend (Blog)  November 1, 2007

The nonpartisan Rockway Institute, which conducts research on LGBT policies and programs in order to provide scientific, accurate information to the media and lawmakers, has released results from a poll of more than 500 gay, lesbian and bisexual employees across the U.S. about the toll of the closet in the workplace. (more)

Children of Lesbian Couples Are Doing Well Social Work Today September 28, 2007

A study of families in the Netherlands indicates that children raised by lesbian couples “do not differ in well being or child adjustment compared with their counterparts in heterosexual-parent families.” The study was conducted by Henny Bos, Frank van Balen, and Dymphna van den Boom of the University of Amsterdam and published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. (more)

Lesbian Parents More Involved in Child Rearing Than Straight Fathers by Michelle Garcia Advocate.com September 21, 2007

New research from the Netherlands shows that children raised by lesbian couples are as well-adjusted as those raised in heterosexual-parent families. The study shows results nearly identical to similar research in the United States, according to the Rockway Institute, a national center for public policy and research on LGBT issues. (more)

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Sex scandals hit conservatives hardest By Beth Frerking  The Politico  August 29, 2007

It’s all so depressingly familiar. First comes the news of an arrest for lewd behavior in some public park or bathroom. Next follow the tortured explanations and emphatic rebuttals, often with a tremulous wife in tow. Finally, more often than not, comes the fall from grace and departure from public life.

On Tuesday, Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig insisted, “I am not gay and never have been” and apologized for not telling his family and friends about his arrest and guilty plea to disorderly conduct in a men’s bathroom at the Minneapolis airport. (more)

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Victimized Gay Youth Linked to Post-Traumatic Stress By JOELLE L. QUARTINI The New York Blade  Aug. 10, 2007

No matter how much progress the community makes or how many lawmakers back gay rights, growing up as an LGBT youth remains a fraught and dangerous experience for many. Teens continue to endure the verbal taunting, physical abuse and sexual assault and discrimination.

A recent study of 528 New York City youths links the victimization of gay youth to post-traumatic stress disorder and casts an expectant eye on schools, where the majority of bashing takes place. (more)

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My Ex-Gay Life - Choosing Heterosexuality by David Foucher EDGE - Boston July 11, 2007

"It became clear to me, as I really thought about it, - and really prayed about it - that homosexuality prevents us from finding our true self within. We cannot see the truth because we’re blinded by homosexuality."

Such were the words of Michael Glatze, posted to a conservative Christian website on July 3rd 2007, less than one week after three leaders of an ex-gay ministry called Exodus publicly apologized at Soulforce’s recent Ex-Gay Survivor’s Conference for their roles in creating patterns of "guilt, anxiety and self-loathing" in the individuals who, struggling with their homosexuality, sought their help, indirectly or directly, to be "cured" of it. (full story - part one of three)

Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues - A Division of the American Psychological Association

Division 44 Invited Address by Robert-Jay Green “Antigay Groups: Using Our Professional Expertise to Counter Their Propaganda" Division 44 Newsletter Volume 23, Number 2, Summer 2007

Antigay groups have slowed progress toward LGBT equal rights through their effective disinformation campaigns and political advocacy activities. Many of their oft-repeated assertions are based on pejorative stereotypes that have been refuted by psychological research. This invited address will profile the rise of these antigay groups over the last 30 years and describe the beginnings of a nationwide effort to confront their false claims as well as to proactively educate the American public about the realities of LGBT life. (more)

Vital Data Overlooked in Fight for Equality By Brett Krutzsch The New York Blade  Jun. 15, 2007

Greater advances will be made for the LGBT community if legislators, activists and policy-makers use scientific research and  data to back their ideas, according to a new think tank.

“All of the currently active court cases and legislative hearings concerning same-sex marriage and same-sex parenting rights depend heavily on well-conducted and fresh research,” said Dr. Robert-Jay Green, executive director of the Rockway Institute, a San Francisco-based organization that hosted a panel discussion Thursday, June 7, at The New School to discuss the critical role research plays in policy decisions. (more)

Gay think tank wants part in debate June 6, 2007 EDT By Daniel Trotta

(The following wire-service story was picked up by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Sydney Morning Herald, Yahoo! News, AOL, and a number of other blogs and websites. Additional coverage resulted on the Voice of America and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A new think tank specializing in gay issues wants a say in the U.S. debate over same-sex marriage and other matters, seeking to counter the influence of religious conservatives by beating them at their own game.

The Rockway Institute is the brainchild of executive director Robert-Jay Green, a California psychology professor who says the media, courts and politicians often make wrong assumptions about what the latest scientific research shows. (more)

Welcome Samuel David Cheney! By Robert-Jay Green June 7, 2007 Published on RHRealityCheck.org (http://www.rhrealitycheck.org)

Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne are the proud grandparents of a new baby boy. Their daughter Mary gave birth to Samuel David Cheney at a Washington D.C. area hospital May 23, 2007.

Baby Samuel has been the recipient of much more attention than his family's love. From first word that Mary and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, were to become parents, their pregnancy created controversy. (more)

Everyday acts of advocacy New national public policy think tank presents objectives at The Center By Randy Hope San Diego Gay & Lesbian Times Thursday, May 31,2007

Robert-Jay Green, executive director of Rockway Institute, a new national public policy think tank, recently spoke at The Center describing the institute’s efforts to positively affect public opinion about the GLBT community and to conduct ground-breaking research that is directly relevant to key public policy objectives.  (more)

Family findings:  A sampling of research by Council on Contemporary Families members May 3, 2007

GAYS AND LESBIANS
* Children raised by two mothers develop at least as successfully as kids parented by a mother and father. (New York University)
* Same-sex couples frequently have closer and more-egalitarian relationships than heterosexual couples. (Rockway Institute for LGBT Research) (full list)

Assembly panel passes marriage bill April 12, 2007 By Matthew S. Bajko

A bill to allow same-sex couples to wed passed its first legislative test in Sacramento Tuesday, April 10 when the Assembly Judiciary Committee approved it on a party line 7-3 vote.

Despite assurances from the bill's author that he has enough votes to guarantee passage by the Legislature, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has already announced he intends to veto the bill, as he did two years ago to similar legislation. (more)

New organization will balance psychological claims made by anti-gay right Rockway Institute comes to San Diego to recruit psychiatrists and spread word to GLBT journalists by John Bilow, San Diego Gay & Lesbian Times April 5, 2007

A new organization of experts in GLBT psychological issues will visit San Diego three times in coming months to meet community leaders, recruit members at the annual American Psychiatric Association meeting, and to offer themselves as a resource to the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association.

The Rockway Institute is a new GLBT organization whose primary goal is to discredit what it calls false psychological claims made by the anti-gay movement. (more)

SF think tank opens March 22, 2007 By Matthew S. Bajko

The Rockway Institute, a new San Francisco-based thinktank, has been launched in an effort to stop the rightwing's "blatantly anti-gay distortion of research..." Located across the street from Pier 39 along the city's
waterfront, the institute's primary goal is to assemble a group of prominent social scientists, mental health
professionals, and physicians to participate in media interviews, conduct research, and provide expert testimony about LGBT issues to federal and state legislatures and the courts.  "We have to change public opinion, and to change public opinion is a long range effort. The way to do it is through the media, that is the key way to reach all of America," said Robert-Jay Green , Ph.D., a professor at the California School of Professional Psychology and the institute's founder and executive director. (more)

LGBT activists, researchers start think tank March 13, 2007 by Michelle Garcia

Approximately 30 experts have been selected to provide testimony and research on LGBT issues for a new progressive think tank. The Rockway Institute is made up of a group of faculty members at the California School of Professional Psychology as well as 20 Rockway Institute Fellows who are international leaders in their specialized areas of LGBT research. In a statement Rockway officials said the think tank is being established at a time when LGBT experts are needed to answer questions about same-sex marriage, legal benefits, and family building for courts and legislative bodies. (more)

Rockway Institute to Fight the False Science of Antigay Groups March 6, 2007 By Pam Spaulding

Hooray for philanthropist Tim Gill, who has provided part of the funding for this think tank, which has as its goal to assemble a group of prominent social scientists, mental health professionals, and physicians to participate in media interviews and to provide expert testimony about LGBT issues to federal and state legislatures and the courts.  Robert-Jay Green, PhD, Executive Director of the Rockway Institute:
     "Because courts and politicians are now asking questions about why same-sex marriage rights are needed when civil unions or domestic partner laws offer some of the same legal benefits, we urgently need studies of the psychological effects of being excluded from marriage per se.
     Such data would be useful immediately in court cases and legislative decisions concerning same-sex marriage bans.  In addition, although there are several outstanding quantitative studies of children conceived and raised by lesbian mothers, we now need a large scale quantitative study examining the developmental outcomes of children raised by gay fathers after early adoption or after surrogacy.  Results from such a study could inform LGBT adoption laws and child custody cases involving gay fathers nationwide."

NATIONAL ROUNDUP by Andrew Davis, Windy City Times (Chicago) March 14, 2007

The Rockway Institute, a think tank funded in part by The Gill Foundation, has brought together scientists and other professionals to counter anti-gay opinions and attitudes, according to a press release from the organization. According to the Web site (http://rockway.alliant.edu), “a primary goal is to convey accurate scientific and professional information about LGBT issues to the media, legislatures and the courts.”

New study explores impact of marriage discrimination on mental health By Anthony Baldman, San Diego Gay & Lesbian Times March 15, 2006

 A new study conducted by the National Sexuality Resource Center exploring the impact of marriage discrimination on the mental health and well-being of gay men and lesbians concludes that they experience psychological and social harm from being denied the right to marry.
     Robert-Jay Green, Ph.D., director of the Rockway Institute, a GLBT research and public policy center at Alliant International University, and a professor at the California School of Professional Psychology, said the denial of marriage rights leads lesbian and gay people to feel that there’s no way to fulfill their deepest yearnings for a relationship.
     “And without a vehicle to fulfill those yearnings, they have to live in the shadows,” he said. “If you have to live in the shadow, then [you] tend to live a shadowy existence.” (more)

US study: Marriage bans harm gay health Christopher Curtis, GAY.COM/PlanetOut.com Network March 1, 2006

Discrimination, including denial of legal recognition of relationships, could be to blame for higher levels of depression and substance abuse amongst lesbians and gay men, according to a US study that is set to re-open the gay marriage row stateside.
     Robert-Jay Green, director of the Rockway Institute, an LGBT research and public policy centre at California's Alliant International University, added, "I think that what's most important is that the denial of marriage rights leaves gays and lesbians with feelings that they cannot fulfill their deepest dreams." (more)

Study: Denial of marriage hurts gays' mental health by Roger Brigham March 2, 2006

Within a handful of years, marriage equality has catapulted from an obscure social concept to a polarizing political issue on par with abortion, stem cell research, and the death penalty. Yet while the political debate has raged about the meaning of marriage and who should have the right to marry, little is known about the effect denial of same-sex marriage has on the gay and lesbian population.
     "If you force people to live in the shadows," said co-author Robert-Jay Green, Ph.D. of the Rockway Institute at Alliant International University, "they tend to live a shadowy life."
     The marital lock-out also is a barrier to many LGBT people accepting their own sexuality, Green said.
"One of the reasons gay and lesbian people don't come out is because they can't conceive of a full and complete relationship," he said. "They can't conceive of a normal relationship. That can lead to all kinds of secretive, underground relationships." (more)