Gay Male Couples Who Decide to Parent: Motivations, Division of Child Care Responsibilities, and Impact on Relationship and Life Satisfaction

A convenience sample of 76 gay male-parented families whose children entered the family after the couple formed their relationship were studied through an online survey that assessed such matters as motivations for becoming a parent, the division of parenting tasks, and the effects of parenting responsibilities on career, life and relationship satisfaction. In families where one partner assumed greater child care responsibility (CCR) than the other, the partner with greater CCR, in comparison with his partner, reported having had lower life satisfaction and a greater desire to parent prior to the arrival of the first child; he contributed less to the household finances now and in the past; and he is more likely to find the division of household and child care duties unfair. Relationship satisfaction correlated positively with the partners' satisfaction with the parenting arrangements, with a constructive communications style between the partners, and with life satisfaction