Findings are presented on a study of 40 gay father families created through surrogacy and a comparison group of 55 lesbian mother families created through donor insemination with a child aged 3–9 years. Standardized interview, observational and questionnaire measures of stigmatization, quality of parent–child relationships, and children's adjustment were administered to parents, children, and teachers. Children in both family types showed high levels of adjustment with lower levels of children's internalizing problems reported by gay fathers. Irrespective of family type, children whose parents perceived greater stigmatization and children who experienced higher levels of negative parenting showed higher levels of parent‐reported externalizing problems. The findings contribute to theoretical understanding of the role of family structure and family processes in child adjustment.

STUDY QUESTIONWhy do gay men choose to start their families through surrogacy?SUMMARY ANSWERMost fathers chose surrogacy because they considered adoption to be a less desirable and/or accessible path to parenthood.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYLittle is known of gay fathers’ motivations to use surrogacy as a path to parenthood over and above other forms of family building, such as adoption, and no studies have examined fathers’ satisfaction with the surrogacy process.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONThis study used a cross-sectional design as part of a larger investigation of parent–child relationships and child adjustment in 40 gay father surrogacy families. Multiple strategies (e.g. surrogacy agencies, social events and snowballing) were used to recruit as diverse a sample as possible. Data were obtained from 74 fathers (in 6 families only 1 father was available for interview).PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSemi-structured interviews, lasting ~1 h, were conducted in the family home (65%) or over Skype (35%) with 74 gay fathers (35 genetic fathers, 32 non-genetic fathers and 7 fathers who did not know or did not disclose who the genetic father was), when the children were 3–9 years old.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCEGenetic and non-genetic fathers were just as likely to want to become parents and had similar motivations for choosing surrogacy as a path to parenthood. Most fathers (N = 55, 74%) were satisfied with surrogacy and were satisfied (N = 31. 42%) or had neutral feelings (N = 21, 28%) about their choice of who would be the genetic father. Most fathers received supportive reactions to their decision to use surrogacy from both families of origin (e.g. parents, siblings) (N = 47, 64%) and from friends (N = 63, 85%).LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTIONAlthough diverse recruitment strategies were used, data were obtained from a volunteer sample. Therefore, the possibility that fathers who had a positive surrogacy experience may have been more likely to participate in the study, and therefore introduce bias, cannot be ruled out. Due to the high average annual income of the fathers in the study, findings may not generalize to gay fathers with lower incomes.WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGSIt is often assumed that parents’ primary motivation for using ART is to have a genetic connection to the child. This study revealed that whilst genetic fatherhood was important for some gay fathers in surrogacy families, it was not important for all. This information will be of use to surrogacy agencies and organizations supporting men who are considering the different routes to parenthood.STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)This work was funded by the Wellcome Trust [097857/Z/11/Z] and the Jacob's Foundation. None of the authors has any conflict of interest to declare.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERN/A.

ObjectiveTo study the nature and quality of relationships between gay father families and their surrogates and egg donors and parental disclosure of children's origins.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingFamily homes.Patient(s)Parents in 40 gay father families with 3–9-year-old children born through surrogacy.Intervention(s)Administration of a semistructured interview.Main Outcome Measure(s)Relationships between parents, children, surrogates, and egg donors and parental disclosure of children's origins were examined using a semistructured interview.Result(s)The majority of fathers were content with the level of contact they had with the surrogate, with those who were discontent wanting more contact. Fathers were more likely to maintain relationships with surrogates than egg donors, and almost all families had started the process of talking to their children about their origins, with the level of detail and children's understanding increasing with the age of the child.Conclusion(s)In gay father surrogacy families with young children, relationships between parents, children, surrogates, and egg donors are generally positive.