Parental acceptance of lesbian, gay, and bisexual children in Taiwan: Towards relationship‐based practice

• Published date: 01 February 2023
• Author: Yu‐Te Huang
• Date: 01 February 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12675

RESEARCH

Parental acceptance of lesbian, gay, and bisexual

children in Taiwan: Towards relationship-based

practice

Yu-Te Huang

Department of Social Work and Social

Administration, The University of Hong

Kong, Hong Kong

Correspondence

Yu-Te Huang, Department of Social Work

and Social Administration, The University of

Hong Kong, RM515, The Jockey Club Tower,

The Centennial Campus, Hong Kong.

Email: yuhuang@hku.hk

Funding information

This study was supported by Research Grants

Council Early Career Scheme #27616418.

Abstract

Objective: To delineate the process and contributors to

parental acceptance of their child’s lesbian, gay, or bisex-

ual (LGB) identity.

Background: Research has depicted the processes through

which parents accept their LGB child. This study extends

the scope of inquiries to a non-Western context and delin-

eates the factors for shifts in parental attitudes.

Method: Twelve mothers and four fathers in Taiwan par-

ticipated in interviews recounting their responses to learn-

ing of their child’s LGB status. Following grounded

theory methodology, we coded and analyzed data using

constant comparative analysis.

Results: Two themes were identified. The first involved

parents’initial reactions to their child coming out, which

were dominated by emotional unrest and lingering con-

cerns regarding their child’s future. The second highlighted

the mechanisms of change, including seeking support and

knowledge, emotional connections with LGB children,

and social and legal changes. The results of this study pro-

vide contextualized descriptions of how Taiwanese parents

navigate their child’s disclosure of their LGB identity.

Conclusion: Contemporary parents need psychosocial sup-

port from peers and professionals to understand and

accept their LGB child.

Implications: This study highlights the importance of a

contextual understanding and relationship-based approach

to support parental acceptance of their LGB child.

KEYWORDS

grounded theory, mechanisms of changes, parental acceptance, sexual

minority children, Taiwan

Received: 2 June 2021Revised: 30 December 2021Accepted: 5 March 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12675

© 2022 National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2023;72:159–175. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 159

Parental acceptance of their child who belongs to a sexual minority group involves parents’

affirmative attitudes and expression of support and affection toward their child (Bebes

et al., 2015; Fuller, 2017). Studies have documented the significant implications of parental

acceptance for gay, lesbian, or bisexual (LGB) people’s health and their family relationships

and functioning (Bouris et al., 2010; Ghosh, 2020; Goodrich, 2009; Hall, 2018; Ryan et al.,

2010; Wigderson et al., 2019). However, parents may feel uncomfortable or be unable to

validate and embrace their child’s LGB identity even in societies perceived as LGB-friendly or

providing legal protections for LGB people, such as Australia (Carastathis et al., 2017) and the

United States (van Bergen et al., 2020). Moreover, the barriers to parental acceptance are cul-

ture specific. Before the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan, many parents experienced

difficulty accepting their child’s LGB status because they expected them to marry and hoped to

become grandparents (Lin & Hudley, 2009; Wang et al., 2009). Given the far-reaching implica-

tions of parental attitudes toward LGB children, more research and supportive services are nec-

essary to delineate and promote the formation of parental acceptance toward LGB children

(Ghosh, 2020; Goldfried & Goldfried, 2001; Newcomb et al., 2019).

GUIDING FRAMEWORK

Previous researchers paralleled the process of parental acceptance with Kübler-Ross’s grief

model comprising discrete stages of shock, denial, anger, guilt, and acceptance (e.g., Bozett &

Sussman, 1989; Robinson et al., 1989) or with Cass’s homosexual identity development model

in defining parental acceptance as a successful formation of the identity as parents of a gay or

lesbian child (e.g., DeVine, 1984; Goodrich, 2009). Chrisler (2017) developed an integrative

model suggesting that parents usually need to undergo an iterative, complex process to become

empathetic and supportive of their LGB child’s sexual orientation. This process sometimes

commences with a parent’s suspicion about the child’s sexual orientation, and some subse-

quently engage in uncertainty reduction activities, such as asking a spouse whether they also

suspect or observing the child’s behaviors for explicit evidence. Through the child’s disclosure,

either voluntary or accidental, some parents may embark on an appraisal period where they

seek information to make sense of what it means to be a sexual minority and to navigate the

change in their relationship with their child. This appraisal endeavor shapes their attitudes as

neutral, positive, negative, or mixed and determines their coping strategies as avoidant

(e.g., not thinking about or talking about it) or approaching (e.g., trying to make sense of what

it means to have an LGB child or actively seeking support). During this process, parents may

eventually develop a positive meaning of having an LGB child, construct an identity as a parent

of an LGB child, and learn to interact differently with other people (Glennon, 2012).

FACTORS THAT NURTURE PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE

Viewing parental acceptance as an unfolding process, some researchers have located the turning

points at which parents’attitudes and parent–child relationships shift and delineated the con-

tributors to these shifts (Phillips & Ancis, 2008; Tyler & Abetz, 2020). For example, early

awareness and prior knowledge of sexual orientation contribute to parents’affirmative attitudes

by providing them with the opportunity to prepare psychologically and access to resources to

address their child’s coming out (Ben-Ari, 1995; Saltzburg, 2004; Samarova et al., 2014;

Trussell et al., 2015; van Bergen et al., 2020). Regarding the child’s coming out as a stressful

event, some researchers have sought to identify individual capacities and family environments

that can facilitate parental acceptance, including flexibility and adaptability, clear family

boundaries, and intact family functioning (Baiocco et al., 2015; DeVine, 1984; Rosenkrantz

160 FAMILY RELATIONS