Table II.
Motivations to co-parent by gender and sexual orientation.
| Male |
Female |
Total |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heterosexual |
Gay/bisexual |
Heterosexual |
Lesbian/bisexual |
|||||||
| Median (interquartile range) | n | Median (interquartile range) | n | Median (interquartile range) | n | Median (interquartile range) | n | Median (interquartile range) | n | |
| I would like my child to know both their ‘biological’ parents | 4.5 (1.75) | 20 | 5 (1) | 41 | 5 (1) | 18 | 5 (1) | 19 | 5 (1) | 98 |
| I want to know the person who provides the sperm/egg to create my child | 4 (2) | 16 | 5 (1) | 40 | 5 (1) | 17 | 5 (1) | 18 | 5 (1) | 91 |
| Co-parenting is an ideal situation for bringing up a child | 4 (2) | 19 | 4 (1) | 40 | 3 (1) | 18 | 4 (1.25) | 18 | 4 (2) | 95 |
| I want the person who provides the sperm/egg to be involved in my child's upbringing | 4 (2) | 17 | 5 (2) | 41 | 5 (1) | 17 | 4 (2) | 19 | 4 (2) | 94 |
| I do not want to parent alone | 4 (1.5) | 17 | 4 (3) | 39 | 4 (1.5) | 17 | 3 (1.5) | 18 | 4 (2) | 91 |
| I am getting older | 4 (2) | 16 | 4 (2) | 35 | 5 (1) | 18 | 4 (2) | 19 | 4 (2) | 88 |
| I am single | 4 (1.75) | 16 | 3 (1) | 32 | 5 (1) | 16 | 4 (2) | 13 | 4 (2) | 77 |
| To pass on my genes | 3 (1.5) | 17 | 4 (2) | 37 | 3.5 (1.25) | 14 | 3 (2.75) | 16 | 4 (1.75) | 84 |
| To share the financial cost of parenting | 3 (1) | 16 | 3 (1) | 38 | 4 (1) | 17 | 4 (3.75) | 16 | 3 (1) | 87 |
| No other option available | 3 (1) | 16 | 3 (1.75) | 32 | 4 (2) | 17 | 3 (2) | 11 | 3 (1) | 76 |
| No reason not to | 3 (0.25) | 10 | 3 (2) | 33 | 3.5 (1.75) | 14 | 3 (1) | 14 | 3 (1) | 71 |
| My partner does not want a child | 3 (0.25) | 10 | 3 (1) | 19 | 4 (0.75) | 4 | 3 (3.25) | 6 | 3 (1) | 39 |
| Family/friends have used sperm/egg donation | 3 (0) | 11 | 2 (2.75) | 20 | 1 (2.5) | 8 | 3 (1) | 11 | 3 (3) | 50 |
| I do not wish to have a child within a relationship | 3 (2) | 16 | 3 (2) | 27 | 2 (3) | 10 | 2 (2) | 16 | 2 (2) | 69 |
Scale ranged from 1‘not at all important’ to 5 ‘very important’.
As not all participants ranked each of the motivations, the sample size comprises those who answered the question.