Gay Dads More Likely to Scale Back Work

A study involving 40 gay men who became parents via surrogacy found a few differences between their habits and those of straight fathers.

Four psychology researchers conducted the study, which looked at four issues for gay dads: work and career changes; lifestyle issues; couple, family, and friendship experiences; and self-esteem and self-care issues.

The findings, published in the latest issue of the Journal of GLBT Family Studies, showed that gay fathers were more likely to scale back their careers in order to care for their children. Another difference was that gay fathers also saw their self-esteem and relationships with their extended families greatly improve when they had children.

Other issues like relations with coworkers, a transition toward friendships with other couples, and less time for sleep, exercise, and hobbies were similar to heterosexual fathers.

The average age of the gay men in the study was 41, and most couples were affluent, with the average annual household income listed as $270,000.