Is family structure a cue for stereotyping? A systematic review of stereotypes and parenthood

Abstract

Is family structure a cue for stereotyping? Past reviews on the topic of stereotypes and parenthood are divided. To update the current understanding on this important question, this systematic review summarizes and integrates the body of literature published between 2003 and 2013 on stereotypes associated with married, divorced, single, step, same-sex and adoptive parents. Seventeen articles met all of the inclusion criteria. An analysis of the final sample of studies helps main trends pertaining to these six parental types to be identified. Findings revealed that motherhood and fatherhood continue to be conceptualized differently, with stereotypes associated with different types of fathers appearing more positive than those associated with different types of mothers. Married parents also appear to remain the parental type that is the most positively stereotyped and against which other types are compared. These results are compared to past meta-analytic reviews and implications for future research are presented.

Keywords:

• systematic review
• stereotypes
• attitudes
• parenthood
• family type

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.