Abstract
Introduction
This study compared childless Israeli lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals to their heterosexual counterparts on anticipation of stigma upon parenthood and assessed its mediating role in the association between being a member of a sexual minority and lower parenting desires, intentions, and likelihood estimations.
Methods
A total of 612 childless participants (174 self-reported as LGB people) ranging in age from 18 to 49 (M = 31.18, SD = 3.89) were recruited through convenience sampling between November 2019 and February 2020. They completed online questionnaires assessing their anticipation of stigma upon parenthood, parenting desires, intentions, and likelihood estimations.
Results
LGB individuals reported a higher anticipation of stigma upon parenthood than their heterosexual counterparts. The anticipation of stigma upon parenthood fully mediated the association between being a sexual minority and lower parenting desires and intentions and partially mediated the association between being a sexual minority and lower estimated likelihood of parenthood.
Conclusions and Policy Implications
The findings are interpreted in light of LGB possible awareness of prejudice and discrimination by local legislation that prohibits or impedes sexual minorities from pursuing parenthood. Policymakers and health professionals should be alerted to the impact of anticipation of stigma when accounting for the disparities in parenting aspirations between LGB individuals and heterosexual counterparts and its possible connections to discriminatory Israeli social policies toward LGB rights.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, S. H., & Mendez, S. N. (2018). Hegemonic heteronormativity: Toward a new era of queer family theory. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 10, 70–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12241.
Baiocco, R., Argalia, M., & Laghi, F. (2014). The desire to marry and attitudes toward same-sex family legalization in a sample of Italian lesbians and gay men. Journal of Family Issues, 35, 181–200. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X12464872.
Baiocco, R., & Laghi, F. (2013). Sexual orientation and the desires and intentions to become parents. Journal of Family Studies, 19, 90–98. https://doi.org/10.5172/jfs.2013.19.1.90.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173.
Bartelt, E., Bowling, J., Dodge, B., & Bostwick, W. (2017). Bisexual identity in the context of parenthood: An exploratory qualitative study of self-identified bisexual parents in the United States. Journal of Bisexuality, 17, 378–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2017.1384947.
Bauermeister, J. A. (2014). How statewide LGB policies go from “under our skin” to “into our hearts”: Fatherhood aspirations and psychological well-being among emerging adult sexual minority men. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43, 1295–1305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-0059-6.
Birenbaum-Carmeli, D., & Dirnfeld, M. (2008). The more the better? IVF policy in Israel and women’s views. Reproductive Health Matters, 16, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0968-8080(08)31352-4.
Blake, L., Carone, N., Raffanello, E., Slutsky, J., Ehrhardt, A. A., & Golombok, S. (2017). Gay fathers’ motivations for and feelings about surrogacy as a path to parenthood. Human Reproduction, 32, 860–867. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dex026.
Bos, H., & Gartrell, N. (2020). Lesbian-mother families formed through donor insemination. In Abbie E. Goldberg & Katherine R. Allen (Eds.) LGBT-parent families: Innovation in research & implications for practice, 2nd Edition (pp. 25–44). Springer.
Carone, N., Baiocco, R., & Lingiardi, V. (2017). Single fathers by choice using surrogacy: Why men decide to have a child as a single parent. Human Reproduction, 32, 1871–1879. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dex245.
Carone, N., Baiocco, R., Lingiardi, V., & Kerns, K. (2020). Child attachment security in gay father surrogacy families: Parents as safe havens and secure bases during middle childhood. Attachment & Human Development, 22, 269–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2019.1588906.
Costa, P. A., & Bidell, M. (2017). Modern families: Parenthood desire, intention, and experience among Portuguese lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Journal of Family Issues, 38, 500–521. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X16683985.
Costa, P. A., & Salinas-Quiroz, F. (2018). A comparative study of attitudes toward same-gender parenting and gay and lesbian rights in Portugal and in Mexico. Journal of Homosexuality, 66, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2018.1519303.
Costa, P. A., & Shenkman, G. (2020). LGBT parent families in non-west contexts. In Abbie E. Goldberg & Katherine R. Allen (Eds.) LGBT-parent families: Innovation in research & implications for practice, 2nd edition (pp. 319–336). Springer.
Cox, M. J., & Paley, B. (1997). Families as systems. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 243–267. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.48.1.243.
Gates, G. J., Badgett, M. L., Macomber, J. E., & Chambers, K. (2007). Adoption and foster care by gay and lesbian parents in the United States. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Gato, J., Leal, D., Coimbra, S., & Tasker, F. (2020). Anticipating parenthood among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual young adults without children in Portugal: Predictors and profiles. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1058. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01058.
Gato, J., Leal, D., & Tasker, F. (2019). Parenting desires, parenting intentions, and anticipation of stigma upon parenthood among lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women in Portugal. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 23, 451–463. https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2019.1621733.
Gato, J., Santos, S., & Fontaine, A. M. (2017). To have or not to have children? That is the question. Factors influencing parental decisions among lesbians and gay men. Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 14, 310–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-016-0268-3.
Gross, A. (2014). The politics of LGBT rights in Israel and beyond: Nationality, normativity & queer politics. Colombia Human Rights Law Review, 46, 82–151 Retrieved from https://heinonlineorg.ezprimo1.idc.ac.il/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/colhr46&div=14&g_sent=1&casa_token=&collection=journals&t=1558332641.
Goldberg, A. E., Downing, J. B., & Sauck, C. C. (2007). Choices, challenges, and tensions: Perspectives of lesbian prospective adoptive parents. Adoption Quarterly, 10, 33–64. https://doi.org/10.1300/J145v10n02_02.
Guo, N., Robakis, T., Miller, C., & Butwick, A. (2018). Prevalence of depression among women of reproductive age in the United States. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 131, 671–679. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000002535.
Hatzenbuehler, M. L., McLaughlin, K., Keyes, K., & Hasin, D. (2010). The impact of institutional discrimination on psychiatric disorders in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: A prospective study. American Journal of Public Health, 100, 452–459. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.168815.
Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium. Communication Monographs, 76, 408–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637750903310360.
Hayes, A. F. (2018). An introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
Herek, G. M. (2007). Confronting sexual stigma and prejudice: Theory and practice. Journal of Social Issues, 63, 905–925. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2007.00544.x.
Hicks, S. (2013). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender parents and the question of gender. In LGBT parent families. Innovations in Research and Implications for Practice (pp. 149–162). Springer, New York, NY.
Ioverno, S., Carone, N., Lingiardi, V., Nardelli, N., Pagone, P., Pistella, J., Salvati, M., Simonelli, A., & Baiocco, R. (2018). Assessing prejudice toward two-father parenting and two-mother parenting: The beliefs on same-sex parenting scale. The Journal of Sex Research, 55, 654–665. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2017.1348460.
Kimberly, C., & Moore, A. (2015). Attitudes to practice: National Survey of adoption obstacles faced by gay and lesbian prospective parents. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 27, 436–456. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720.2015.1085347.
Krueger, E. A., Fish, J. N., Hammack, P. L., Lightfoot, M., Bishop, M. D., & Russell, S. T. (2020). Comparing national probability and community-based samples of sexual minority adults: Implications and recommendations for sampling and measurement. Archives of sexual behavior. First online publication., 49, 1463–1475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01724-9.
Lamb, M. E. (2010). The role of the father in child development (5th ed.). New York: Wiley.
Lawson, K. L. (2004). Development and psychometric properties of the perceptions of parenthood inventory. The Journal of Psychology, 138, 433–455 Retrieved from https://searchproquestcom.ezprimo1.idc.ac.il/docview/213829463/fulltextPDF/1F4F3A7A568E418DPQ/1?accountid=38867.
Leal, D., Gato, J., & Tasker, F. (2019). Prospective parenting: Sexual identity and intercultural trajectories. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 21, 757–773. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2018.1515987.
Manley, M. H., & Ross, L. E. (2020). What do we now know about bisexual parenting? A continuing call for research. In Abbie E. Goldberg & Katherine R. Allen (Eds.) LGBT-parent families: Innovation in research & implications for practice, 2nd edition (pp. 65–85). Springer.
Marsiglio, W., Day, R. D., & Lamb, M. E. (2000). Exploring fatherhood diversity: Implications for conceptualizing father involvement. Marriage & Family Review, 29, 269–293. https://doi.org/10.1300/J002v29n04_03.
McCormack, M. (2014). Innovative sampling and participant recruitment in sexuality research. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, 31, 475–481. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407514522889.
Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 674–697. https://doi.org/10.1037/2329-0382.1.S.3.
OECD (2019), Society at a glance 2019: OECD social indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/soc_glance-2019-en.
Patterson, C. J., & Riskind, R. G. (2010). To be a parent: Issues in family formation among gay and lesbian adults. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 6, 326–340. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2010.490902.
Pistella, J., Tanzilli, A., Ioverno, S., Lingiardi, V., & Baiocco, R. (2018). Sexism and attitudes toward same-sex parenting in a sample of heterosexuals and sexual minorities: The mediation effect of sexual stigma. Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 15, 139–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-017-0284-y.
Prentice, D. A., & Carranza, E. (2002). What women and men should be, shouldn’t be, are allowed to be, and don’t have to be: The contents of prescriptive gender stereotypes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26, 269–281. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-6402.t01-1-00066.
Riskind, R. G., & Patterson, C. J. (2010). Parenting intentions and desires among childless lesbian, gay, and heterosexual individuals. Journal of Family Psychology, 24, 78–81. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017941.
Riskind, R. G., & Tornello, S. L. (2017). Sexual orientation and future parenthood in a 2011–2013 nationally representative United States sample. Journal of Family Psychology, 31, 792–798. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000316.
Rochlen, A. B., McKelley, R. A., & Whittaker, T. A. (2010). Stay-at-home fathers’ reasons for entering the role and stigma experiences: A preliminary report. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 11, 279–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017774.
Salinas-Quiroz, F., Costa, P. A., & Lozano-Verduzco, I. (2020). Parenting aspiration among diverse sexual orientations and gender identities in Mexico, and its association with internalized homo/transnegativity and connectedness to the LGBTQ community. Journal of Family Issues, 41, 759–783. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X19881675.
Scandurra, C., Bacchini, D., Esposito, C., Bochicchio, V., Valerio, P., & Amodeo, A. L. (2019). The influence of minority stress, gender, and legalization of civil unions on parenthood desire and intention in lesbian women and gay men: Implications for social policy and clinical practice. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 15, 76–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2017.1410460.
Shenkman, G. (2012). The gap between fatherhood and couplehood desires among Israeli gay men and estimations of their likelihood. Journal of Family Psychology, 26, 828–832. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029471.
Shenkman, G. (2016). Classic psychoanalysis and male same-sex parents: A reexamination of basic concepts. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 33, 585–598. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038486.
Shenkman, G. (2018). The association between basic need satisfaction in relationship and personal growth among lesbian and heterosexual mothers. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, 35, 246–262. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407516681192.
Shenkman, G., & Abramovitch, M. (2020). Estimated likelihood of parenthood and its association with psychological well-being among sexual minorities and heterosexual counterparts. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 1-12. First online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-020-00451-z.
Shenkman, G., Bos, H., & Kogan, S. (2019). Attachment avoidance and parenthood desires in gay men and lesbians and their heterosexual counterparts. Journal of Reproductive & Infant Psychology, 37, 344–357. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2019.1578872.
Shenkman, G., Ifrah, K., & Shmotkin, D. (2020a). Interpersonal vulnerability and its association with depressive symptoms among gay and heterosexual men. Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 17, 199–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-019-00383-3.
Shenkman, G., & Shmotkin, D. (2013). The hostile-world scenario among Israeli homosexual adolescents and young adults. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43, 1408–1417. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12097.
Shenkman, G., & Shmotkin, D. (2020). Self-perceived parental role and mental health concomitants among Israeli gay and heterosexual fathers. Journal of Homosexuality, 67, 712–732. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2018.1555392.
Shenkman, G., Siboni, O., Tasker, F., & Costa, P. A. (2020b). Pathways to fatherhood: Psychological well-being among Israeli gay fathers through surrogacy, gay fathers through previous heterosexual relationships, and heterosexual fathers. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 91. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00091.
Simon, K. A., Tornello, S. L., Farr, R. H., & Bos, H. M. W. (2018). Envisioning future parenthood among bisexual, lesbian, and heterosexual women. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 2, 253–259. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000267.
Sion, L., & Ben-Ari, E. (2009). Imagined masculinity: Body, sexuality, and family among Israeli military reserves. Symbolic Interaction, 32, 21–43. https://doi.org/10.1525/si.2009.32.1.21.
Stenfelt, C., Armuand, G., Wånggren, K., Skoog Svanberg, A., & Sydsjö, G. (2018). Attitudes toward surrogacy among doctors working in reproductive medicine and obstetric care in Sweden. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 97, 1114–1121. https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.13342.
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, 2679. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02679.
Tate, D. P., Patterson, C. J., & Levy, A. J. (2019). Predictors of parenting intentions among childless lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adults. Journal of Family Psychology, 33, 194–202. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000499.
Teman, E. (2010). The last outpost of the nuclear family: A cultural critique of Israeli surrogacy policy. In. D. Birenbaum-Carmeli & Y. S. Carmeli (Eds.), Kin, gen, community: Reproductive technologies among Jewish Israelis (pp. 107-122). New York, NY: Berghahn Books.
Tsfati, M., & Ben-Ari, A. (2019). Between the social and the personal: Israeli male gay parents, surrogacy and socio-political concepts of parenthood and gender. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 15, 42–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2017.1413475.
Van Houten, J. T., Tornello, S. L., Hoffenaar, P. J., & Bos, H. M. (2020). Understanding parenting intentions among childfree gay men: A comparison with lesbian women and heterosexual men and women. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 430. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00430.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
This study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya for compliance with standards for the ethical treatment of human participants prior to data collection.
Conflict of interest
The author declares no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shenkman, G. Anticipation of Stigma upon Parenthood Impacts Parenting Aspirations in the LGB Community in Israel. Sex Res Soc Policy 18, 753–764 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-020-00498-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-020-00498-y