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
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
A second study published within the past week has concluded that how adoptive parents relate to each other is more important to their children’s development than their sexual orientation is.
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.
The world’s largest study of children with same-sex parents, from the University of Melbourne in Australia, has released initial findings that show the children are doing just as well as any others—and better on some indicators. Before you dismiss this with an “I could have told them that,” read on for why this is important, and why we must use it with caution.
Young adults with lesbian moms and male donors are generally happy with their relationships with the donors, a new study has found. Most do not view their donors as dads, but some still have a growing interest in seeing them more often than when they were younger.
