The gap between fatherhood and couplehood desires among Israeli gay men and estimations of their likelihood.

This study examined the frequencies of the desires and likelihood estimations of Israeli gay men regarding fatherhood and couplehood, using a sample of 183 gay men aged 19-50. It follows previous research which indicated the existence of a gap in the United States with respect to fatherhood, and called for generalizability examinations in other countries and the exploration of possible explanations. As predicted, a gap was also found in Israel between fatherhood desires and their likelihood estimations, as well as between couplehood desires and their likelihood estimations. In addition, lower estimations of fatherhood likelihood were found to predict depression and to correlate with decreased subjective well-being. Possible psychosocial explanations are offered. Moreover, by mapping attitudes toward fatherhood and couplehood among Israeli gay men, the current study helps to extend our knowledge of several central human development motivations and their correlations with depression and subjective well-being in a less-studied sexual minority in a complex cultural climate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).