Inclusion of one's partner in family events also emerged as a significant benefit. Not having to hide the relationship was seen as a primary relationship advantage.
However, most men believed that it benefitted their unions to be out to their parents and partner's parents.
Virtually all of the respondents who had come out to their parents experienced initial and ongoing parental and in-law disapproval for their lifestyles and relationships. Data were collected from an accidental sample of 40 men in 20 homosexual couples using a standardized, open-ended interview.
This exploratory study applied grounded theory methodology to examine what coupled gay men thought were the relationship impacts of being out to parents and in-laws.
