Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology

Sexual diversity in families has been a sustained focus of research since the early investigations of families headed by lesbian mothers, initiated in the 1970s to settle disputes about child custody arrangements following divorce. Since that time, changes in legislation, technological advancements, and shifts in societal attitudes have facilitated parents with minoritized sexual and gender identities to form their families through assisted reproduction techniques (ARTs). Although all share the feature of challenging the hegemonic, hetero- and cisnormative family model, each family arrangement presents peculiarities related to the intersection of, for example, parents’ sexual orientation, child’s method of conception, partners dynamics, and parenthood decision-making.

The current Special Issue focuses on several main areas related to the reproductive experiences and psychological outcomes of LGBTQ+ parents and their children throughout their family life cycle, such as family building by LGBTQ+ people, the transition to parenthood for LGBTQ+ parents, functioning of LGBTQ+ parents and their children. Broad questions of interest include, but are not limited to:

• How does children’s non-adherence to traditional gender roles affect their lives in ART families headed by LGBTQ+ parents?
• How do parents’ gender transition shape the experiences of their children?
• How do children feel about their surrogate and egg donor in gay single father families?
• How LGBTQ+ parents through ARTs handle with the ending of their relationship when children are present?
• How the different experiences of LGBTQ+ parents and their ART children may inform reproductive psychology?
• What factors may influence prospective bisexual parents’ choice of their path to parenthood?
• Does biological relatedness with their child affect family relationships differently in lesbian mother families who share biological parenthood and in lesbian mother families who do not?
• How are children’s attachment needs addressed in surrogacy families where gay fathers are the primary caregivers?
• Which are the unique and positive aspects of LGBTQ+ parent families formed through ARTs that help their children flourish?

We seek original articles (quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods) and review articles (e.g., systematic reviews, meta-analysis) from different socio-cultural contexts to examine gender and sexual diversity in families formed through ARTs and their impact on the parenting, child development, and daily experiences of their members throughout their life cycle.

Although not required, preliminary letters of intent and an abstract are encouraged so that the editors can give authors early feedback on the suitability of their proposed papers for this Special Issue. Once reviewed, the editors will invite submission of a full manuscript. However, an invitation to submit a full paper is not a guarantee of acceptance.

All submitted papers will undergo the journal’s regular double-blind peer review process. All submitted manuscripts will undergo an initial screen by the editors, and papers that appear appropriate for this Special Issue will be sent out for peer review. Manuscripts should be concise and as brief as possible, while also providing relevant theoretical and methodological information.

As for journal norms, a typical quantitative paper should be no more than 3500 words. The word limit excludes title, abstract, tables and references. The limit for a paper based on qualitative methods or systematic review is 5000 words.

Letters of intent and abstracts received: April 1, 2024
Potential authors notified and full papers invited: May 1, 2024
Manuscript submission deadline: October 15, 2024

For more information and/or to submit abstracts, contact Nicola Carone ([email protected]), Henny M. W. Bos ([email protected]), and Geva Shenkman ([email protected]).

Instructions for AuthorsSubmit an Article