Child Outcomes/Experiences

LGB Families: What We Know and What We Don’t

A recent report from UCLA’s Williams Institute on the state of research about LGB families not only reiterates that our children are doing as well as anyone else’s, but also offers some lesser-known insights about the composition and strengths of our families — and gives thoughtful suggestions for the direction of future research.

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Study Shows Children of Same-Sex Parents Still Doing Fine

A major academic study from Australia has shown that the children of same-sex attracted parents are doing as well as, if not better than, their peers in the general population on several key measures of health and well-being.

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Lesbian and Gay Parents and Bias in Child Custody Cases

A new academic review has surveyed the legal landscape for lesbian and gay parents in child custody cases, both with same-sex former partners and different-sex ones. It found that courts have not always taken into consideration the social science research that has found children raised by gay or lesbian parents are as well-adjusted as their peers

Even Utah Backs Away from Discredited Same-Sex Family Study

Remember Mark Regnerus, the University of Texas at Austin Sociology professor whose work showing children don’t do as well with same-sex parents has been widely discredited? Even the State of Utah, which is defending its ban on marriage for same-sex couples today in court, has backed away from his findings.

Exclamation

Scientific Studies of Same-Sex Parents Have Long and Legally Tested History

Yesterday in the Detroit Free Press (and picked up in USA Today), Tresa Baldas wrote about the federal case beginning today in Michigan that will determine whether same-sex couples can marry and adopt there. She states, “now, for the first time, scientific studies on same-sex parenting will undergo legal scrutiny.” Really? The first time? REALLY?

Study: Children from Intact Two-Mom Families Have Higher Self-esteem, Fewer Conduct Problems than Those from Intact Mom-Dad ones

A new study has found that adolescents with lesbian moms had higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of conduct problems compared with peers in families that have a mom and a dad. Importantly, this is the first study to compare adolescent—parent relationships and well-being in families where the parents — both lesbian and straight — were all continuously coupled. This is key to combating some of the apples-to-oranges comparisons that have plagued right-wing analyses of lesbian and gay parenting — and seems perfectly timed to help fight a federal case that starts today.

Kids with Two Moms Score Higher in Citizenship, Study Finds

Dutch pre-teen children raised by two moms scored higher on “core principles of democratic citizenship” than their peers with different-sex parents, according to a new study. But is the takeaway that children with two moms are better citizens? I don’t think so.

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New Study: How Children of Gay and Lesbian Parents Overcome Stigma

A new study looks at how children of gay and lesbian parents — parents who came out after their kids were born — overcome stigma and create a positive family identity. While most of the messages they heard about their families were negative, the children used a variety of methods to minimize the impact of such messages.

More Evidence: Having Same-Sex Parents Is Unrelated to Child Adjustment

Yet another study has confirmed what many of us already know: having same-sex parents doesn’t predict how well-adjusted a child will be. This new study is notable, however, for looking at adopted children who were placed in their adoptive homes at a very young age.

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