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Parent Perspectives on Child Health and Wellbeing in Same-Sex Families: Heteronormative Conflict and Resilience Building

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Abstract

Measurable aspects of child health and wellbeing for children in same-sex parented families show that these children develop well, overall. Increasingly however, it is understood that stigma can have a negative impact on their health within a same sex family context. The aim of this study is to understand how child health in same-sex parented families is constructed by same-sex attracted parents and what this teaches us about the impact of stigma on child health in this context. Families from across Australia were sampled from a larger study of child health and wellbeing. We used family interviews, which took place between January and August 2013. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes. We report on the data from 11 parents with 10 children. Families presented stories of heteronormative conflict that arose from their position in society. Through family constructs, gender assumptions, discrimination and challenging interactions with institutions this heteronormative conflict had a significant influence on child health, sometimes through the generation of broader familial stress. Resilience building was used by parents to construct a positive environment for child health by combating the lack of understanding and discrimination seen at a societal level. Resilience that is developed to combat stigma provides significant benefits, particularly in a heteronormative world where traditional assumptions about families dominate. The anticipation of stigma, and heteronormative pressures, can stimulate same-sex attracted parents to prepare their children for potential negativity. This should be supported through appropriate school programs and considered political leadership.

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Funding

This study was funded by an Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council Postgraduate Scholarship (grant number APP1038716).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC, Australia

    Simon Robert Crouch, Ruth McNair & Elizabeth Waters

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  1. Simon Robert Crouch
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  2. Ruth McNair
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  3. Elizabeth Waters
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Correspondence to Simon Robert Crouch.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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We honour the memory of co-author Professor Elizabeth Waters whose leadership, vision and vitality will never be forgotten.

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Crouch, S.R., McNair, R. & Waters, E. Parent Perspectives on Child Health and Wellbeing in Same-Sex Families: Heteronormative Conflict and Resilience Building. J Child Fam Stud 26, 2202–2214 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0796-3

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