The Impact of Alloparenting and Minority Stress on Child and Adult Psychological Wellbeing in Non-Monogamous Family Structures

In popular discourse, the raising of children in non-monogamous settings is often centred around the practice of

religiously-motivated polygamy, such as Mormonism or Islam. While these families still face stigma in Western society, their practices have been studied and understood. More recently, there has been growing attention to non-religiously-motivated polyamorous families, both within academia and in public discourse. Only in 2023, the city of Somerville, Massachusetts, USA passed pioneering legislation to protect non-traditional families from

discrimination.

My project will investigate how contemporary polyamorous adult relationships might impact parenthood choices and the raising of children using Life Course Theory to consider adults and children within family contexts. Specifically, how non-monogamous individuals approach the concept of family and their perspectives on raising children in non-traditional households, as well as how these choices affect child wellbeing.

The distinction between polygamy (i.e. multiple spouses) and polyamory (i.e. multiple lovers) is critical when considering many socio-cultural differences, including that of raising children. Children are usually raised within the context of polygamy from birth, whereas a polyamorous family might be formed at any stage of a child's development. The principles of Life Course Theory (LCT) state that both historical time and place and individual or developmental timing within the life course are essential factors contextualising how a life transition (or turning point) affects future development.

There are currently no studies investigating the relationship of a child's age when their family transitions to non-monogamy to their wellbeing through the lens of life course timing. LCT further posits that all 'lives are lived interdependently'. This linkage means that a parental decision to structure their family polyamorously will likely affect their children's lives in varying ways. Identifying the extent of this impact is a key goal of this project.

Polyamorous parents may provide a unique opportunity to identify the potential risks or benefits, for both adults and children, of involving non-kin romantic partners in child-rearing duties. A variety of benefits or drawbacks may be associated with having a wider network of adults involved in childcare. Since the rise of the nuclear family in the Global North, family-based alloparenting (i.e. by grandparents or extended family) has seen a steady decline, accompanied by an increase in dual income and single parent families leading to more frequent outsourcing of childcare.

However, research on non-polyamorous stepfamilies indicates gains from both material (e.g. money, housing, food) and non-material resources (e.g. time and attention) under some circumstances. Nevertheless, significant stigma still attaches to non-monogamous families, including the belief that parental sexual and romantic promiscuity exposes a child to risk of abuse or in some way damages the psyche of a minor.

Social stigma and the potential for discrimination, whether directly experienced or feared, could increase the risk of negative psychological wellbeing or serve as a catalyst to resilience congruent with gender and sexual minority stress theory. To date, academic literature examining minority stress theory and resilience and community support has tended to exclude non-monogamous family dynamics and their impact on children. Resilience may

be linked to both community processes and sense of personal agency, another LCT concept.