Motives and Decisions for and Against Having Children Among Nonheterosexuals and the Impact of Experiences of Discrimination, Internalized Stigma, and Social Acceptance

Abstract

Same-sex parents are increasingly a topic of public discourse. A growing number of homosexuals openly speak about their desire to have children or are already living together in different family constellations. The current study examined the decisions for or against having children and the motivations behind those decisions among nonheterosexuals living in Germany. A sample of 1,283 nonheterosexuals participated by means of an online survey. As some nonheterosexual individuals do not identify themselves with a male or female gender identity, a third category, “gender different,” was generated. Motives for (not) having children, perceptions of social acceptance, experiences of discrimination in relation to one's sexual orientation, and levels of internalized stigma were taken into account regarding their influence on the decision about parenthood. Most respondents (80%) reported that they did not have children. However, among this group, 43% stated that they had decided to have children later in their lives, 24% were undecided, and 11% had already decided against having children. The most important influences on the decision of whether to have children were respondents’ age and their desire for emotional stabilization. Negative experiences as a result of sexual orientation and internalized stigma had no impact on the decisions regarding parenthood.

Acknowledgments

This research was conducted at the Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology in Leipzig and supported by the young researchers’ promotion program of the Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig.

Notes

Deviations of 1% are possible due to rounding.

^a German university entrance qualification.

Groups with different subscripts _(a,b) are significantly different at least at the p < .05 level, using the Dunnet-T3 post hoc test.

^* p ≤ .05; ^** p ≤ .01; ^*** p ≤ .001; df = 2; means with different subscripts _(a,b) are significantly different at least at the p < .05 level, using the Dunnet-T3 post hoc test.

Range from 1 = Not at all accepting to 5 = Fully accepting.

^* p ≤ .05; ^** p ≤ .01; ^*** p ≤ .001; df = 2; means with different subscripts _(a,b) are significantly different at least at the p < .05 level, using the Dunnet-T3 post hoc test.

B = regression coefficient; OR = odds ratio.

B = regression coefficient; OR = odds ratio.

^* p ≤ .05; ^** p ≤ .01; ^*** p ≤ .001.