The purpose of the present systematic and critical review was to assess the findings and to identify the gaps in the literature concerning gay and bisexual fathers. A comprehensive search of relevant literature using electronic databases and reference lists for articles published until December 2016 was conducted. A total of 63 studies, spanning from 1979 to 2016, were collected. More than half of the studies were published after 2011 and the overwhelming majority were conducted in the United States. Nine themes were identified in the studies reviewed: (1) Pathways to fatherhood; (2) Motivations for fatherhood; (3) Parenting experiences and childrearing; (4) Family life and relationship quality; (5) Gender and father identities and gender-role orientation; (6) Disclosure of sexual identity; (7) Social climate; (8) Father's psychosocial adjustment; and (9) Children's psychosocial adjustment. It was found that research on gay fatherhood appears to be more heterogeneous than on lesbian motherhood, perhaps because of the variety of pathways to parenthood (via co-parenting, adoption, fostering, or surrogacy). Two-father families are becoming more visible in research on sexual minority parenting and gradually transforming the conceptualization of parenting in family research.

The objective of this study was to document the prevalence and evolution of sexual prejudice toward gay men and lesbian, same-gender marriage, and same-gender parenting among a large sample of Portuguese young adults. The sample consisted of 704 self-identified heterosexual individuals (24% men and 76% women), aged between 18 and 30 years (M = 22; SD = 3), who participated in an online survey. ANOVA results revealed that women were less sexually prejudiced, were less likely to endorse social etiological beliefs of homosexuality, and were more supportive of samegender marriage and same-gender parenting than were men. Further mediation analysis revealed that the effects of gender, religiosity, importance of religious beliefs, and political leaning on the support for same-gender marriage and same-gender parenting were partially mediated by etiological beliefs and attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. The complexity of attitudes toward same-gender marriage and same-gender parenting was highlighted, indicating how attitudes toward gay men and lesbians and the belief that homosexuality is controllable impact on the support for same-gender parented families. These results are important to inform affirmative polities designed to correct inequalities and recognize same-gender families.

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has a doctoral degree in Psychology and is a researcher at ISPA-Instituto Universitário, specialized in developmental and family psychology. His research interests span developmental psychology, family psychology, and gender and sexuality studies.