Men in the lives of mothers with intellectual disabilities

This paper examines the part played by men in the lives of mothers with intellectual disabilities. The study involved secondary analysis of data from three earlier studies of parenting by people with intellectual disabilities undertaken by the authors. The data challenge the widespread assumption that men are either exploitative or bring troubles of their own to relationships. The findings show that this view presents only a part of the picture and that supportive men were in the majority among the families surveyed. Men's contributions mostly came in the form of increments to their family's human capital rather than through the traditional breadwinner role.