Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

Purpose: This study describes the experiences of stepfathers who are raising children with their male partner. Gay and lesbian families regularly fight oppression and negative messages sent from a non-accepting society (Berger, 2000; Hooyman & Kiyak, 2002). The connections that gay men and lesbians keep with their families are often fraught with difficulties, tensions and fragility (Barker, Herdt, & deVries, 2006) and this situation may add stress to the gay or lesbian person's intimate relationships (Connidis, 2001). Berger (1998, 2000) was one of the first individuals to outline some of the common issues of most gay and lesbian stepfamilies as members of multiple minority groups. Crosbie-Burnett and Helmbrecht (1993) examined the satisfaction, support, and role of gay stepfamilies, while Juretschko and Bigner (2005) sought to reveal gay stepfathers' perceptions of their role. The limited amount of research on gay and lesbian stepfamilies is surprising given the blended family or stepfamily will soon outnumber all other forms in the United States (Beaudry et al., 2004; Berger, 1998; Glick & Lin, 1986) as approximately one-half of all marriages are remarriages for one or both partners (Coleman, Ganong & Fine, 2000) and approximately 1 out of every 5 children live in stepfamilies (Berger, 1995).

Methods: The method used in this study was a phenomenological approach to qualitative inquiry. Phenomenology allows for greater examination of broad and nebulous phenomena (Priest, 2004) and concepts in contexts that otherwise would be difficult to observe or measure (Wilding & Whiteford, 2005). In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 gay men who were raising the biological children of their male partner. Additionally, 11 partners, or the male biological parents, were interviewed for additional data about the experiences of the stepfather. The transcriptions of these interviews were analyzed using a holistic and categorical approach (Rossman & Rallis, 2003). The author coded using the qualitative analysis software ATLAS.ti and patterns and themes were developed across the interviews.

Results: The analysis yielded descriptive information about the experiences of gay men raising the biological children of their male partner. The resulting six themes included: 1) inclusion issues in the family, 2) juggling multiple households, 3) unresolved issues from past relationships, 4) the place of the other biological parent, 5) divided loyalties between households, and 6) contentment with their couple relationship. These men describe their families as experiencing many expected struggles of step-parenting, but also face oppression from many additional sources.

Implications: This study provides new information for social workers who are working with gay and lesbian families and their loved ones. It offers a detailed picture of some of the factors contributing to the experiences from the perspective of the gay stepfather. The findings from this study highlight the complexity of relationships involved in these gay families. It is clear that research on the processes of family relationships in lesbian and gay families can benefit our understanding of all families (Lambert, 2005), influence the development of family theory, and inform future public policies (Savin-Williams & Esterberg, 2000).