!["The impact of sexual minority parents’ attitudes toward gender on their children might be uniquely positive. Exploration of gender identity and sexuality may actually enhance children’s ability to succeed and thrive in a range of contexts." —Zhang Y, Huang H, Wang M, et al. Family outcome disparities between sexual minority and heterosexual families: a systematic review and meta-analysis, BMJ Global Health 2023;8:e010556. [Background image: colored pencils]](https://i0.wp.com/mombian.com/images/attitudes_research_banner.jpg?fit=1024%2C538&ssl=1)
A new analysis has found that children with queer parents have similar outcomes as those with heterosexual parents, and may even have better ones in some areas—surprising no one reading this post, I suspect. But let’s dig deeper, since that’s what we do here at Mombian.
A new study has found that children with same-sex parents do better academically than those with different-sex ones. This is yet another study among dozens that show our children do as well as—or better than—those with different-sex parents, based on various metrics of well-being. Such studies have been vital in fighting for our rights in courts and legislatures—but often the “better than” results lead to a flurry of headlines asking if same-sex parents are better than different-sex ones. Sure, I’d like to believe in my family’s superpowers—but there’s a danger in jumping to that conclusion.
The first report from a new project dedicated to families with LGBTQ children or parents shows the negative impact of stigma on both groups—and points the way forward to keeping these families strong and healthy.
It’s International Lesbian Day, so let’s celebrate with the latest results from the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS), the longest-running study on any LGBTQ-parent families. This summer, the project published a study of the relationships between the adult offspring of lesbian parents and their unknown or known donors.
The American Psychological Association (APA) on Monday issued updated resolutions in support of LGBTQ parents and LGBTQ children, and opposing laws, policies, and practices that discriminate against LGBTQ people.
Young adults with lesbian parents were more likely than their peers to report a same-sex attraction, identity, or experiences, according to the latest results from the longest-running study on LGBTQ-parent families. But while this might trigger panic among those who have fought for years to convince the world that queer parents don’t “make” our kids queer, too, we should all just calm down. Here’s the deal–and why these findings should be celebrated.
“Children raised by same-sex couples do better in school, new study finds,” said yesterday’s headline in the Washington Post. Much as I would like to believe in our kids’ general awesomeness, though, there’s more going on here than first meets the eye. Let’s take a closer look.
A new study has shown the key, damaging, role parents play in “conversion therapy” efforts to change their LGBT children’s sexual orientation, and how this exacerbates health and adjustment problems for their children even into young adulthood.
Thirty-two years ago, Nanette Gartrell, M.D., launched a project to follow the first wave of lesbian families created through donor insemination. Now, her National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) is the longest-running study on LGBTQ-parent families, and Gartrell and her team have just released a paper about the now-grown children at 25 years old. Gartrell, a psychiatrist and Visiting Distinguished Scholar at the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, spoke with me about the latest results and more.
Young adults with lesbian parents are just as mentally healthy as their peers–and while that may feel like another “We could have told you that” headline, the data is coming from the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS), the longest-running study on LGBTQ-parent families, so it’s worth paying attention.
