Desire for Parenthood in Context of Other Life Aspirations Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Young Adults

Abstract

Research has established that sexual minority young adults generally report fewer desires and fewer expectations for parenthood than do their heterosexual peers. Little is known, however, about other desires and expectations. Is parenthood the only domain in which lesbian and gay individuals report fewer desires and expectations than their heterosexual peers? Or do lower aspirations among lesbian and gay adults about parenthood also occur in other domains, such as marriage and work? In this study, we explored a variety of desires and expectations for the future among lesbian, gay, and heterosexual young adults. Participants for this internet survey were recruited via social media, and included 368 childless cisgender young adults (211 lesbian or gay and 157 heterosexual) living in the United States. There were three main findings. First, while lesbian/gay individuals were less likely than heterosexual participants to express desire for parenthood, desires in the other future domains did not vary across sexual orientation. Lesbian/gay participants were as likely as heterosexual individuals to desire marriage, friendships, and community connections, as well as career and economic success. Results for expectations were, however, very different. Lesbian/gay participants were less likely than heterosexual individuals to expect that they would marry, become parents, feel connected to a community, achieve meaningful careers, live in their ideal housing, or that they would attain financial stability. Thus, although desires were largely unrelated to sexual orientation, many expectations were strongly linked to it. Lesbian and gay individuals were also far more likely than their heterosexual peers to desire future goals that they did not expect to achieve. Overall, for lesbian/gay young adults, low parenthood aspirations were part of a general pattern of low expectations (though not reduced desires) across a number of life domains.

Anticipating Parenthood Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Young Adults Without Children in Portugal: Predictors and Profiles

“…Nonetheless, other psychological variables could be evaluated in future investigations. More nuanced aspects of relationship status could also be considered in forthcoming works, such as relationship duration, expectations of relationship permanence or expectation of marriage, or whether bisexual individuals are involved in a current same-gender or different-gender partnership (Tate and Patterson, 2019a;Tate et al, 2019). Other variables that could be taken into account in future studies as predictors of parenthood intentions among LGB individuals include adherence to gender roles (Salvati et al, 2018), beliefs on children's adjustment in same-gender parented families (Ioverno et al, 2018), or self-efficacy in the achievement of parenthood (Riskind et al, 2013;Simon et al, 2019).…”

United States Normative Attitudes for Pursuing Parenthood as a Function of Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Age

“…Moreover, these results showed that parenthood was also something that most participants believed that only a minority of married same-sex couples, especially male couples, would achieve during their marriage, regardless of participants’ sexual orientation, gender, and age. This is also reflective of the parenthood desire and expectation gap found in the literature, parenthood is an aspect of life that many gay and lesbian individuals want, but do not believe that they can actually achieve ( Shenkman, 2012 ; Tate and Patterson, 2019 ).…”

“…For same-sex married couples, however, less is known about the social processes and norms involved in the pursuit of parenthood. However, there have been well-documented disparities within parenting intentions, desires, and achievement for lesbian and gay individuals compared to heterosexual individuals ( Gates et al, 2007 ; Patterson and Riskind, 2010 ; Riskind and Patterson, 2010 ; Riskind and Tornello, 2017 ; Tate et al, 2019 ; Tate and Patterson, 2019 ). More and more lesbian and gay people are choosing to parent within same-sex relationships after coming out, and this trend is expected to increase with changing social climates ( Rabun and Oswald, 2009 ; Riskind and Patterson, 2010 ; Goldberg et al, 2012 ; Bauermeister, 2014 ).…”

“…In other words, lesbian and gay individuals were less likely than their heterosexual peers to express a desire or intention to become parents. Gay and lesbian individuals are also less likely to expect to achieve parenthood compared to heterosexual individuals ( Tate and Patterson, 2019 ). In both United States and Israeli samples, gay and lesbian individuals tend to report desiring parenthood more than they expect to achieve it ( Shenkman, 2012 ; Tate and Patterson, 2019 ).…”

“…Gay and lesbian individuals are also less likely to expect to achieve parenthood compared to heterosexual individuals ( Tate and Patterson, 2019 ). In both United States and Israeli samples, gay and lesbian individuals tend to report desiring parenthood more than they expect to achieve it ( Shenkman, 2012 ; Tate and Patterson, 2019 ). Why do lesbian and gay adults report lower aspirations for parenthood?…”