Davenport-Pleasance, Ellen;
(2025)
Family Functioning, Well-being, and Meaning Making in Bi+ Mother Families: A Minority Stress and Family Systems Theory Perspective.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This thesis, comprised of two studies, used a mixed-methods approach guided by Minority Stress Theory, Family Systems Theory, and Intersectionality to gain an understanding of family functioning and meaning-making in bi+ mother families. In the first study, 168 bi+ mothers participated in an online survey comprised of various standardised measures of maternal mental health, minority stress, family processes, and child adjustment. Most participants identified as women, were white, highly educated, and lived in the UK, the US, and Canada. Participants were in various relationship constellations, however most had a singular male partner. Quantitative analysis illustrated the importance of minority stress for aspects of both maternal mental health and family functioning, but did not predict children’s adjustment. Between-group comparisons suggested that mothers with multiple partners experienced significantly higher levels of minority stress from their family of origin and relating to parenting than those with one male partner, but no differences were observed between groups in terms of children’s adjustment. In the second study, a subset of participants from the first study took part in online timeline interviews. Narrative analysis of these interviews suggested that bi+ mothers adopted various narrative strategies that reinforced and resisted the negative effects of minority stress and normalised or differentiated their family and their parenting. Together, these studies offer new insights into bi+ mother families, with implications both theoretically, for expanding Minority Stress Theory to better account for individual meaning-making processes, as well as the impact of minority stress on families, and practically, for supporting bi+ mothers, to promote the best outcomes for them and their families.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Family Functioning, Well-being, and Meaning Making in Bi+ Mother Families: A Minority Stress and Family Systems Theory Perspective |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10208667 |
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