Work

Identity Transformation During the Transition to Parenthood Among Same‐Sex Couples: An Ecological, Stress‐Strategy‐Adaptation Perspective

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: This article reviews the current research on the potential stressors associated with identity transformation experienced by same-sex couples during the transition to parenthood and the coping strategies they employ. By integrating disparate findings into an ecological, stress-strategy-adaptation framework, we demonstrate that the identity transformation experiences among same-sex couples during the transition to parenthood (a) involve various adaptive processes of navigating different stressors via their human agency within multiple nested contexts; (b) are products of the intersections of individual characteristics, relational dynamics, LGBT community culture, and heterosexual sociostructural norms; and (c) are complicated by social contextual factors such as social class, race/ethnicity, family structure, and the sociocultural environment associated with geographic location. Last, several avenues for future inquiry are suggested.

Source: Journal of Family Theory & Review

DOI: 10.1111/jftr.12124

Authors: Hongjian Cao, W. Roger Mills‐Koonce, Claire Wood, Mark A. Fine

Institution: University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Language: English

Topic: LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: Integrating Demography and Biosocial Stress Models of LGBTI Family Formation, G5470442941