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To Have or Not to Have Children? That Is the Question. Factors Influencing Parental Decisions Among Lesbians and Gay Men

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Abstract

Few studies have examined lesbians’ and gay men’s parental decision-making processes. Our goal in this work was to review what literature says about this understudied area of research. We first looked at transformations that have made it possible for lesbian- and gay-parented families to gain visibility. We then described how parental aspirations of lesbians and gay men have been operationalized. Factors shaping parental decisions were categorized as sociodemographic (gender, age and cohort, and race/ethnicity), personal (internalization of anti-homosexual prejudice and openness about one’s non-heterosexual orientation), relational (one’s partner’s parental motivation and social support), and contextual (work conditions, access to LGBT support networks, information and resources, and social, legal, and medical barriers). Research findings were discussed and implications for future research and social policies regarding the issue of prospective lesbian and gay parenthood were drawn.

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Correspondence to Jorge Gato.

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This study was funded by the FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia under the project PEst-OE/PSI/UI0050/2014.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Gato, J., Santos, S. & Fontaine, A.M. To Have or Not to Have Children? That Is the Question. Factors Influencing Parental Decisions Among Lesbians and Gay Men. Sex Res Soc Policy 14, 310–323 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-016-0268-3

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