Examining the demographic and psychological variables associating with the childbearing intention among gay and bisexual men in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Equality for marriage and reproduction has become a major policy agenda worldwide. Opportunities for sexual minority individuals to pursue planned parenthood through assisted reproductive technologies, adoption or surrogacy emerged only recently. Perhaps due to socio-cultural and structural barriers, sexual minority individuals consistently report lower parenthood desires and intentions than heterosexual individuals. Using a cross-sectional online survey, we examined the relationship between parenthood desire and demographic and psychosocial characteristics in a sample of 1,395 gay and bisexual men in Taiwan. Results showed that sexual orientation, relationship status, psychosocial well-being and cultural factors such as filial piety are significant predictors of parenthood desire. Implications for social work practice are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Childbearing intention
• perceived importance of childbearing
• gay and bisexual men
• Taiwan

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Research Grants Council [Early Career Scheme (27616418)].