Children of gay/lesbian couples

[Anonymous]

Wondering whether there are any studies out there that look at the psychological health of children raised by same-sex couples?

I find myself having a hard time believing that such children end up leading normal happy adult lives.

I realize this is closed-minded of me, but it seems unfair to the children.

What do people think, other than nasty thoughts about me?

[Anonymous]

I think you're stupid and lazy. The tiniest bit of Googling would lead you to these studies, which do in fact show that people raised by gay or lesbian parents grow up to be normal, happy adults, who are perhaps a smidge more compassionate and open-minded than people raised by straight parents like you.

[Anonymous]

Actually, op is right. Recent studies show that children of same sex couples are less likely to graduate high school, and are more prone to addiction. I admit it's difficult to find objective info, and easier to engage in the ironically lazy name-calling of the PP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually, op is right. Recent studies show that children of same sex couples are less likely to graduate high school, and are more prone to addiction. I admit it's difficult to find objective info, and easier to engage in the ironically lazy name-calling of the PP

I have seen many studies that compare outcomes and find no disadvantage for children of same sex couples, and one study that found a difference. That one study compared a group of adults who had grown up in intact heterosexual married couple families, with a group of adults who reported that their parents had, at least once, had a same sex relationship. The second group included children whose married biological parents got divorced, and one of whom later had a same sex relationships. It included people who raised children in single parent households. It included families where one parent died. It also included exactly two adults who were raised by intact homosexual couples, that is couples who were together from the child's birth onward. We know that divorce, single parenting, and parental death all increase the likelihood of negative outcomes for children, there's plenty of research that supports that view. So, why not take it out of the question, by controlling for those factors?

[Anonymous]

Stupid, lazy, and bigoted. Wow.

[Anonymous]

Children of same sex couples are in the minority. That alone would make me think the child would be facing challenges. It's not easy growing up with any kind of label.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are a closed-minded bigot. Not that this gives me any real credibility on an anonymous online forum, but I recently completed my Master's degree in a field where many of my peers are studying alternatively-structured families.

Recent research has shown conclusively that children raised by same sex couples are not at higher risk for negative outcomes than children raised by heterosexual couples. It's been studied, it's been decided, sorry OP but you're wrong.

More importantly, heterosexual families are not the "gold standard" to which alternative family structures need to live up to. Families are unique and of all the factors that predict negative or positive outcomes for children, family structure is not a major one. SES, parent's level of education, access to education, early exposure to trauma... these are all exponentially more influential than whether little Timmy has 2 moms or 2 dads or a single, cross-dressing, transgendered mom, or whatever the hell else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually, op is right. Recent studies show that children of same sex couples are less likely to graduate high school, and are more prone to addiction. I admit it's difficult to find objective info, and easier to engage in the ironically lazy name-calling of the PP

Citation, please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wondering whether there are any studies out there that look at the psychological health of children raised by same-sex couples?

I find myself having a hard time believing that such children end up leading normal happy adult lives.

I realize this is closed-minded of me, but it seems unfair to the children.

What do people think, other than nasty thoughts about me?

I guess that wherever you live, they don't have the Google. For your convenience, I've copied the abstract and included the link to the article.

This paper reviews research evidence regarding the personal and social development of children with gay and lesbian parents. Beginning with estimates of the numbers of such children, sociocultural, theoretical, and legal reasons for attention to their development are then outlined. In this context, research studies on sexual identity, personal development, and social relationships among these children are then reviewed. These studies include assessment of possible differences between children with gay or lesbian versus heterosexual parents as well as research on sources of diversity among children of gay and lesbian parents. Research on these topics is relatively new, and many important questions have yet to be addressed. To date, however, there is no evidence that the development of children with lesbian or gay parents is compromised in any significant respect relative to that among children of heterosexual parents in otherwise comparable circumstances. Having begun to respond to heterosexist and homophobic questions posed by psychological theory, judicial opinion, and popular prejudice, child development researchers are now in a position also to explore a broader range of issues raised by the emergence of different kinds of gay and lesbian families.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1992.tb01679.x/abstract

[Anonymous]

Here's another saying that children of same-sex parents are no more likely to choose same-sex partners than children raised by heterosexual parents:

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/32/1/3/

[Anonymous]

Or there's this one from the American Pediatrics Association:

A growing body of scientific literature demonstrates that children who grow up with 1 or 2 gay and/or lesbian parents fare as well in emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning as do children whose parents are heterosexual. Children’s optimal development seems to be influenced more by the nature of the relationships and interactions within the family unit than by the particular structural form it takes.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/109/2/341.short

[Anonymous]

Here are the conclusions from the largest longitudinal study of children raised by same-sex parents. Again, the link is below.

CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents who have been reared in lesbian-mother families since birth demonstrate healthy psychological adjustment. These findings have implications for the clinical care of adolescents and for pediatricians who are consulted on matters that pertain to same-sex parenting.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/1/28.abstract

[Anonymous]

I think I'll raise my kids and you raise yours. Focus on your own family.

[Anonymous]

OP, please tell me you aren't so dense that you didn't think about the fact that there are same-sex parents who use this website. How would you feel if you logged on to check DCUM and saw a post saying "I have a hard time believing that children of people who are (your religion, your skin colour, your age, whatever) can grow up to be psychologically healthy".

You've made this post with absolutely no information to back yourself up and with the knowledge that it is close-minded and nasty. You should be ashamed.

Just FYI: Children of same-sex couples are not negatively affected in any way. Research has proven this. Children of ignorant, nasty, rude parents often grow up to be the same. Some food for though.

[Anonymous]

I do think there is value in having parents of two genders to learn how to behave with people of both genders, and although these studies are compelling, I do think something is missing when children don't live with both genders. This goes for hetero single parents as well. I think humanity figured this out early on and this is why marriage was structured the way it is, to maximize development of children.

So many gender roles are taught this way. In a way that the occasional visit from uncle, aunt, grandpa, our neighbor doesn't deeply satisfy it. Our neighbors are lesbians raising two boys. They cling to my husband when he comes over, because they are so hungry to just see male behavior from a father figure. Their grandfather visits regularly. but they honestly find my husband more compelling.. The boys mother is very handy and fix most stuff on her own, but again- I think it's just a hunger to be around other men. When they come over to play, they spend much of their time following my husband around. I am not pathologizing any of this, and I know that their mothers love them very much. I just see there is a hole to be filled there that no one is acknowledging in this conversation.