Scott Comber

Gay Sons' Disclosure of Homosexual Identity: (Or Preference) to Their Fathers Scott Comber

Fathers of gay sons were the focus of this study, the purpose of which was to examine the father's perceptions of their relationship with their son concerning the disclosure of their homosexual identity (preference). The study examined fathers' perceived emotive, cognitive, and behavioural reactions during disclosure and the way these related to their prior father-son relationship. Fathers shared and interpreted their disclosure experiences verbally through two, one-on-on interviews and nonverbally through a Mandala drawing. This study used a descriptive, narrative, qualitative approach that recorded and analyzed the experiences of 14 fathers aged 44 - 67 from Washington, U. S. A., and British Columbia, Canada. The participants represented biological fathers who had a son currently aged 12-31, had lived with the son until the age of 16, and did not know, for certain, their son was gay before the disclosure event. Two data collection tools were used to capture fathers' narratives: an interview protocol and a Jungian Mandala drawing. Face and content validity and reliability of the self-developed protocol was established.