Gay Father Families
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Psychology
Abstract
The study will explore the early social experiences and development of infants raised from birth by gay fathers in
the UK, France, and The Netherlands. Infants and parents will be observed interacting when the infants are four
months old, and the parents will be interviewed at the same time. When the infants are 12 months old, the
quality of their attachments to their parents will be assessed using Ainsworth's Strange Situation procedure. The
parental behaviour of these fathers and the quality of the relationships formed between the infants and their
parents will be compared with those of infants being raised by lesbian and heterosexual couples. All infants will
be conceived using reproductive technologies, including donor insemination and surrogacy, to ensure
comparability. In addition, the study will explore the extent to which the quality of infant-parent attachment at
one-year is predicted by individual differences in the parents' behaviour and indices of their social circumstances
when the infants are four months old. The study will be the first to examine families where children are raised in
gay father families from birth. It will allow us to determine whether infants 'need' women to be involved in their
early care and emotional lives, as many still believe; and whether infants raised not only by two men, but two
men with same-sex orientation, are as likely to develop normally as those raised from birth by heterosexual
parents or by two women with same-sex orientation. Sufficiently large samples will be recruited in each country
to allow exploration of the extent to which legal and cultural differences affect parental behaviour and infant
adjustment.
the UK, France, and The Netherlands. Infants and parents will be observed interacting when the infants are four
months old, and the parents will be interviewed at the same time. When the infants are 12 months old, the
quality of their attachments to their parents will be assessed using Ainsworth's Strange Situation procedure. The
parental behaviour of these fathers and the quality of the relationships formed between the infants and their
parents will be compared with those of infants being raised by lesbian and heterosexual couples. All infants will
be conceived using reproductive technologies, including donor insemination and surrogacy, to ensure
comparability. In addition, the study will explore the extent to which the quality of infant-parent attachment at
one-year is predicted by individual differences in the parents' behaviour and indices of their social circumstances
when the infants are four months old. The study will be the first to examine families where children are raised in
gay father families from birth. It will allow us to determine whether infants 'need' women to be involved in their
early care and emotional lives, as many still believe; and whether infants raised not only by two men, but two
men with same-sex orientation, are as likely to develop normally as those raised from birth by heterosexual
parents or by two women with same-sex orientation. Sufficiently large samples will be recruited in each country
to allow exploration of the extent to which legal and cultural differences affect parental behaviour and infant
adjustment.
Planned Impact
The findings will have far-reaching implications for the development of policy and legislation in relation to these new family forms, as well as the regulation of assisted reproduction. Same-sex marriage is recognised in the Netherlands and same-sex civil partnerships are recognized in the United Kingdom whereas same-sex partners are raising children without legal recognition of their relationships in France. Thus the legal status of the relationships we are studying is different in each of the countries involved in this research. Regarding assisted reproduction, important differences also exist between the three countries. In the UK, both partners in a same-sex relationship may be the legal parents of children conceived using donated gametes, and same-sex couples may become the legal parents of children born through surrogacy. In contrast, surrogacy is illegal in France and The Netherlands, so couples who wish to pursue this route to parenthood must travel abroad for treatment, which can carry additional risks. There are also key differences between countries with respect to donor anonymity. In the UK and the Netherlands, donor offspring are legally entitled to learn the identity of their donor at age 18 whereas in France donors remain anonymous, producing a climate of openness about the child's biological parentage in the UK and the Netherlands in contrast to a climate of secrecy in France. Such legislative and policy differences are likely to affect parenting and child development, underscoring the value of the cross-cultural comparisons that will be possible in the present study. These national differences notwithstanding, there will certainly be significant increases in the number of children growing up in gay father families in the future and it is thus imperative to establish the psychological consequences for all concerned.
Publications
Golombok S
(2014)
Adoptive gay father families: parent-child relationships and children's psychological adjustment.
in Child development
Golombok S
(2012)
Families Created by Reproductive Donation: Issues and Research
in Child Development Perspectives
Ellis-Davies K
(2022)
Parental sensitivity and intrusiveness in gay-, lesbian-, and heterosexual-parent families with infants conceived using artificial reproductive techniques: Do parents' gender and caregiver role matter?
in Early Childhood Research Quarterly
Van Rijn-Van Gelderen L
(2020)
Determinants of Non-paid Task Division in Gay-, Lesbian-, and Heterosexual-Parent Families With Infants Conceived Using Artificial Reproductive Techniques.
in Frontiers in psychology
Van Rijn-Van Gelderen L
(2018)
Wellbeing of gay fathers with children born through surrogacy: a comparison with lesbian-mother families and heterosexual IVF parent families.
in Human reproduction (Oxford, England)
Ilioi EC
(2015)
Psychological adjustment in adolescents conceived by assisted reproduction techniques: a systematic review.
in Human reproduction update
Ellis-Davies, K
(2013)
Early attachment research: New and recurring themes
in ISSBD Bulletin
Ellis-Davies, K
LGBT Parenting Aspirations
in Journal of Family Psychology
Rubio B
(2017)
Transition to parenthood and quality of parenting among gay, lesbian and heterosexual couples who conceived through assisted reproduction
in Journal of Family Studies
Winstanley A
(2015)
The subjective well-being of adults born preterm
in Journal of Research in Personality
Fagan J
(2014)
Should researchers conceptualize differently the dimensions of parenting for fathers and mothers?
in The Journal of Family Theory and Review
Bornstein, M
(2013)
Development in Infancy: A Contemporary Introduction
Ellis-Davies, K
(2017)
Sage Encyclopedia of LGBT Issues
Golombok, S
(2015)
Modern Families: Parents and Children in New Family Forms
Description | The study focused on gay, lesbian and different-sex couples in the UK, Netherlands, and France. All achieved parenthood using reproductive technologies, including surrogacy and IVF. The families were visited at home when the infants were 4 months old, and were assessed in a standardised setting when the infants were 12 months old. Based on interviews questionnaires completed initially, there were no differences between the three family groups with respect to the parents' motivations for and attitudes to parenting and in the parents' reported well-being, levels of stress, or couple satisfaction. Observations of the parents interacting individually with the children showed that the parents' sensitivity or responsiveness was not associated with their gender, caretaking role, or sexual orientation. These findings are important because they undercut assertions that mothers are inherently more sensitive than fathers, and that sexual orientation is a predictor of parental behaviour. Two reports of these findings have been accepted for publication; others are currently in preparation. |
Exploitation Route | The results will be of great interest to practitioners advising parents who contemplate pursuing parenthood using reproductive technologies, as well as to professionals who make recommendations about parenting responsibility and adoption. Indeed, CAFCAS, which assisted with recruitment, has requested a summary of the findings to guide the professionals advising courts regarding the legal parenthood petitions sought by those who achieved parenthood using surrogacy. |
Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare |
Description | Pathways to Impact Within the last decades, major changes in public attitudes and reproductive technologies have helped create extensive new opportunities for individuals to become parents with the assistance on new reproductive technologies and for gay and lesbian parents to take advantage of these technologies and opportunities as well. Many researchers have sought to document the health status of parents and children in families created using such technologies, and a smaller number have examined the behaviour of the parents and the well-being of the children. Few of these studies have examined parents with infants, however, and none have previously included gay and lesbian parents with infants. As a result, the findings obtained in this multi-country study have proved to be of great interest to professionals advising prospective parents about reproductive technologies as well as to those seeking to advise couples about the pros and cons of different pathways to parenthood (e.g., surrogacy, donor insemination, IVF, adoption). The results of the study have been presented to multiple user groups, especially by the Co-Investigator, Prof Golombok, and the former Research Associate, Dr Ellis-Davies, and the audiences have been extremely receptive, underlining the usefulness of these findings to service providers. We intend to continue making presentations to these groups and Dr Ellis-Davies has also agreed to help groups such as CAFCASS take the findings into account in their practice guidelines. We have asked agencies to inform us of any changes they make to practices and guidelines so that these can be reported to ESRC by updates to this report. The following presentations have been made to non-academic user groups and the public: Ellis-Davies, K., & Golombok, S. (2017). Honest conversations with parents. ESRC Festival of Science, Cambridge. Ellis-Davies, K. (2017). Family structure and function. Presentation to Operation-Orphan, Nottingham. Ellis-Davies, K. (2017). Assisted reproduction technologies and family building. Presented to Surrogacy UK Annual Conference. Ellis-Davies, K. (2017). Parent experiences of surrogacy. Presented to Surrogacy UK Annual Conference. Ellis-Davies, K. (2016) The role of fathers in children's development. Presentations to Men Having Babies Forums, New York and San Francisco. Ellis-Davies, K. & Lamb, M. E. (2014). What makes a family? National Science Week, Cambridge, UK. |
First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare |
Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
Description | Communication with the public and user groups Pathways to Impact Within the last decades, major changes in public attitudes and reproductive technologies have helped create extensive new opportunities for individuals to become parents with the assistance on new reproductive technologies and for gay and lesbian parents to take advantage of these technologies and opportunities as well. Many researchers have sought to document the health status of parents and children in families created using such technologies, and a smaller number have examined the behaviour of the parents and the well-being of the children. Few of these studies have examined parents with infants, however, and none have previously included gay and lesbian parents with infants. As a result, the findings obtained in this multi-country study have proved to be of great interest to professionals advising prospective parents about reproductive technologies as well as to those seeking to advise couples about the pros and cons of different pathways to parenthood (e.g., surrogacy, donor insemination, IVF, adoption). The results of the study have been presented to multiple user groups, especially by the Co-Investigator, Prof Golombok, and the former Research Associate, Dr Ellis-Davies, and the audiences have been extremely receptive, underlining the usefulness of these findings to service providers. We intend to continue making presentations to these groups and Dr Ellis-Davies has also agreed to help groups such as CAFCASS take the findings into account in their practice guidelines. We have asked agencies to inform us of any changes they make to practices and guidelines so that these can be reported to ESRC by updates to this report. The following presentations have been made to non-academic user groups and the public: Ellis-Davies, K., & Golombok, S. (2017). Honest conversations with parents. ESRC Festival of Science, Cambridge. Ellis-Davies, K. (2017). Family structure and function. Presentation to Operation-Orphan, Nottingham. Ellis-Davies, K. (2017). Assisted reproduction technologies and family building. Presented to Surrogacy UK Annual Conference. Ellis-Davies, K. (2017). Parent experiences of surrogacy. Presented to Surrogacy UK Annual Conference. Ellis-Davies, K. (2016) The role of fathers in children's development. Presentations to Men Having Babies Forums, New York and San Francisco. Ellis-Davies, K. & Lamb, M. E. (2014). What makes a family? National Science Week, Cambridge, UK. |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Description | Jacobs Foundation Junior Scholar Award |
Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Jacobs Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | Switzerland |
Start | 01/2016 |
End | 01/2019 |
Description | Jacobs Foundation Researcher in Residence |
Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Jacobs Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | Switzerland |
Start | 04/2016 |
End | 09/2016 |
Description | CAFCASS |
Organisation | Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Dr. Kate Ellis-Davies has established a partnership with CAFCASS through the titled award's work. This has involved presentations and developing appropriate materials. |
Collaborator Contribution | CAFCASS have engaged with the research, asked Dr. Kate Ellis-Davies to present on training events, and to request a briefing paper from Dr. Kate Ellis-Davies on research into the population of interest for the project - with the intention to further training and guidance for practitioners. |
Impact | Research-to-professionals events, briefing paper in preparation, research collaboration. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Interview on parenting quality |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Radio interview with BBC on parenting quality and discipline across parenting populations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Surrogacy UK information sesssion 1 of 2 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Information presentation on surrogacy and family functioning results to national surrogacy charity organisation |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Training provided to Social Workers as part of child protection adoption and surrogacy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Dr. Kate Ellis-Davies took part in training for professional practitioners engaging with families formed by surrogacy or adoption. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |