LGBT parenting
Encyclopedia
LGBT parenting refers to lesbian
, gay
, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT
) people parent
ing one or more children. This includes children raised by same-sex couples (same-sex parenting), children raised by single LGBT parents, and children raised by an opposite-sex couple where at least one partner is LGBT.
LGBT people can become parents through various means including current or former relationships, coparenting
, adoption, donor insemination, and surrogacy.
Scientific research has been generally consistent in showing that gay and lesbian parents are as fit and capable as heterosexual parents, and their children are as psychologically healthy and well-adjusted as children reared by heterosexual parents. Major associations of mental health professionals in the U.S., Canada, and Australia have not identified credible empirical research that suggests otherwise. Based on the robust nature of the evidence available in the field, Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida was satisfied in 2010 that the issue is so far beyond dispute that it would be irrational to hold otherwise; the best interests of children are not preserved by prohibiting homosexual adoption.
LGBT people can become parents through various means including current or former relationships, coparenting
, adoption, foster care
, donor insemination, and surrogacy. A gay man or lesbian may have children within an opposite-sex relationship, such as a mixed-orientation marriage
, for various reasons.
Some children do not know they have an LGBT parent; coming out
issues vary and some parents may never reveal to their children that they identify as LGBT.
Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are parents. In the 2000 U.S. Census
, for example, 33 percent of female same-sex couple households and 22 percent of male same-sex couple households reported at least one child under the age of 18 living in the home. As of 2005, an estimated 270,313 children in the United States live in households headed by same-sex couples.
Since the 1970s, it has become increasingly clear that it is family processes (such as the quality of parenting, the psychosocial well-being of parents, the quality of and satisfaction with relationships within the family, and the level of co-operation and harmony between parents) that contribute to determining children’s well-being and ‘outcomes’, rather than family structures, per se, such as the number, gender, sexuality and co-habitation status of parents. Since the end of the 1980s, as a result, it has been well established that children and adolescents can adjust just as well in nontraditional settings as in traditional settings.
Judith Stacey
, of New York University
, stated: “Rarely is there as much consensus in any area of social science as in the case of gay parenting, which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics
and all of the major professional organizations with expertise in child welfare have issued reports and resolutions in support of gay and lesbian parental rights”. These organizations include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
, the American Psychiatric Association
, the American Psychological Association
, the American Psychoanalytic Association
, the National Association of Social Workers
, the Child Welfare League of America
, the North American Council on Adoptable Children, and Canadian Psychological Association
. In 2006, Gregory M. Herek
stated in American Psychologist
: "If gay, lesbian, or bisexual parents were inherently less capable than otherwise comparable heterosexual parents, their children would evidence problems regardless of the type of sample. This pattern clearly has not been observed. Given the consistent failures in this research literature to disprove the null hypothesis
, the burden of empirical proof is on those who argue that the children of sexual minority parents fare worse than the children of heterosexual parents."
According to report by American Psychological Association: "In summary, research on diversity among families with lesbian and gay parents and on the potential effects of such diversity on children is still sparse (Martin, 1993, 1998; Patterson, 1995b, 2000, 2001, 2004; Perrin, 2002; Stacey & Biblarz, 2001; Tasker, 1999). Data on children of parents who identify as bisexual are still not available, and information about children of non-White lesbian or gay parents is hard to find (but see Wainright et al., 2004, for a racially diverse sample)... However, the existing data are still limited, and any conclusions must be seen as tentative... It should be acknowledged that research on lesbian and gay parents and their children, though no longer new, is still limited in extent. Although studies of gay fathers and their children have been conducted (Patterson, 2004), less is known about children of gay fathers than about children of lesbian mothers. Although studies of adolescent and young adult offspring of lesbian and gay parents are available (e.g., Gershon et al., 1999; Tasker & Golombok, 1997; Wainright et al., 2004), relatively few studies have focused on the offspring of lesbian or gay parents during adolescence or adulthood."
has hampered scientific inquiry in the area. Their findings indicate that the children with lesbigay parents appear less traditionally gender-typed and are more likely to be open to homoerotic relationships. A 2005 review by Charlotte J. Patterson for the American Psychological Association found that the available data did not suggest higher rates of homosexuality among the children of lesbian or gay parents. Herek's 2006 review describes the available data on the point as limited. Stacey and Biblarz and Herek stress that the sexual orientation of children is of limited relevance to discussions of parental fitness or policies based on the same. In a 2010 review comparing single-father families with other family types, Stacey and Biblarz state, "We know very little yet about how parents influence the development of their children's sexual identities or how these intersect with gender."
and that therefore: "The conclusion that there are no significant differences in children reared by lesbian mothers versus heterosexual mothers is not supported by the published research data base."
In 1999 analysis of the research on gay and lesbian parenting, published in Marriage and Family Review, Bridget Fitzgerald found that the available studies generally concluded that "the sexual orientation of parents is not an effective or important predictor of successful childhood development," but noted that the generalizability of available studies was limited due to methodological difficulties:
of The Catholic University of America
, Lerner and Nagai examined 49 studies of homosexual parenting, stating that the studies prove nothing because they suffer from flaws, such as small and non-random samples (including participants who recruit other participants), missing or inadequate comparison groups and statistical analysis, self-constructed, unreliable and invalid measurements, unclear hypothesis and research design.
According to a 2001 review of 21 studies by Stacey and Biblarz published in American Sociological Review
: "[R]esearchers lack reliable data on the number and location of lesbigay parents with children in the general population, there are no studies of child development based on random, representative samples of such families. Most studies rely on small-scale, snowball and convenience samples drawn primarily from personal and community networks or agencies. Most research to date has been conducted on white lesbian mothers who are comparatively educated, mature, and reside in relatively progressive urban centers, most often in California or the Northeastern states."
A 2006 story in the Los Angeles Times
, notes that "investigators acknowledge the field is too young, the numbers too few, the variables too many and the research too values-laden to qualify as definitive."
In 2006, Gregory M. Herek
, a professor of psychology
at University of California, Davis
, stated in American Psychologist
:
In a 2009 affidavit filed in the case Gill v. Office of Personnel Management
, Michael Lamb, a professor of psychology
and head of Department of Social
and Developmental Psychology
at Cambridge University, stated:
, wrote in a 2010 study published in Demography that "[A] critique of the literature—that the sample sizes of the studies are too small to allow for statistically powerful
tests—continues to be relevant."
In 2010 American Psychological Association, The California Psychological Association, The American Psychiatric Association, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy stated: "Relatively few studies have directly examined gay fathers, but those that exist
find that gay men are similarly fit and able parents, as compared to heterosexual men. Available empirical data do not provide a basis for assuming gay men are unsuited for parenthood. If gay parents were inherently unfit, even small studies with convenience samples would readily detect it. This has not been the case. Being raised by a single father does not appear to inherently disadvantage children’s psychological wellbeing more than being raised by a single mother. Homosexuality does not constitute a pathology or deficit, and there is no theoretical reason to expect gay fathers to cause harm to their children. Thus, although more research is needed, available data place the burden of empirical proof on those who argue that having a gay father is harmful."
In June 2010, the results of a 25-year ongoing longitudinal study by Nanette Gartrell
of the University of California
and Henny Bos of the University of Amsterdam were released. Gartrell and Bos studied 78 children conceived through donor insemination
and raised by lesbian mothers. Mothers were interviewed and given clinical questionnaires during pregnancy when their children were 2, 5, 10, and 17 years of age. In the abstract of the report, the authors state: "According to their mothers' reports, the 17-year-old daughters and sons of lesbian mothers were rated significantly higher in social, school/academic, and total competence and significantly lower in social problems, rule-breaking, aggressive, and externalizing problem behavior than their age-matched counterparts in Achenbach's normative sample of American youth." Gartrell and Bos point out that the study was limited to mothers who sought donor insemination and who may have been more motivated than mothers in other circumstances. Gartrell and Bos note that the study's limitations included utilizing a non-random sample, and the lesbian group and control group were not matched for race or area of residence. The study was supported by grants from the Gill Foundation
, the Lesbian Health Fund of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
, Horizons Foundation, and the Roy Scrivner Fund of the American Psychological Foundation
.
According to the American Psychological Association, California Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, National Association of Social Workers
and National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter, it is critically important to make appropriate comparisons when comparing the outcomes of different forms of parenting. For example, differences resulting from the number of parents in a household cannot be attributed to the parents’ gender or sexual orientation. Research in households with heterosexual parents generally finds that – all else being equal – children do better with two parenting figures rather than just one. The specific research studies cited do not address parents’ sexual orientation, however, and therefore do not permit any conclusions to be drawn about the consequences of having heterosexual versus nonheterosexual parents, or two parents who are of the same versus different genders. According to the Maine Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics, "It is scientifically untenable to use studies about the effects on children of divorce or being raised in one parent households, to draw conclusions about the children raised in two parents households whether the parents are same or opposite-sex gender."
In January 2008, the European Court of Human Rights
ruled that same-sex couples have the right to adopt a child. Unmarried LGBT adults can petition to adopt a child in all US states. Granting the petition is left to the discretion of a judge.
NARTH and American College of Pediatricians
(a conservative organization; not to be confused with American Academy of Pediatrics
) argue that mainstream health and mental health organizations have, in many cases, taken public positions on parenting by same-sex couples that are based on their own social and political views rather than the available science. The American Psychological Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists expressed concerns that the positions espoused by NARTH are not supported by the science and create an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish. The National Association of Social Workers
described the College as a "small faction", and "out of step with the research-based position of the AAP and other medical and child welfare authorities." Francis S. Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health
was disturbed to that The American College of Pediatricians distorted his scientific observations to make a point against homosexuality pulling language out of context from a book he wrote in 2006 to support an ideology that can cause unnecessary anguish and encourage prejudice. According to Collins, the information they present is misleading and incorrect. Other researchers who found that ACP misrepresented their work include Warren Throckmorton
and Gary Remafedi. The Canadian Psychological Association
has expressed concern that "some are mis-interpreting the findings of psychological research to support their positions, when their positions are more accurately based on other systems of belief or values."
In a 2005 piece entitled "Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting, and America's Children," William Meezan and Jonathan Rauch, two openly gay scholars who favor same-sex marriage,, state that "virtually no empirical evidence on how same-sex parents' marriage might affect their children." Based on their scientific and clinical expertise, American Psychological Association, The California Psychological Association, The American Psychiatric Association, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy believe it is appropriate to extrapolate from the empirical research literature for heterosexual couples—with qualifications as necessary—to anticipate the likely effects marriage would have on the segment of the sexual minority population that would choose marriage if allowed and believe that the potential benefits of marriage for gay men and lesbians in same-sex couples are similar to those that have been documented for heterosexuals.
Some critics of LGBT parenting cite a research brief published by Child Trends
, an organization which describes itself as "the nation’s only independent research and policy center focused exclusively on improving outcomes for children," for the proposition that an "extensive body of research tells us that children do best when they grow up with both biological parents in a low-conflict marriage…it is not simply the presence of two parents...but the presence of two biological parents that seem to support child development." Such critics also cite a policy brief from the Center for Law and Social Policy
, which states: "most researchers now agree that together these studies support the notion that, on average, children do better when raised by two married, biological parents."
Setting aside the issue of moral objections, Stephen Hicks, a reader in health and social care at the University of Salford
questions the value of trying to establish that lesbian or gay parents are defective or suitable. He argues such positions are flawed because they are informed by ideologies that either oppose or support such families. In Hicks' view, "Instead of asking whether gay parenting is bad for kids, I think we should ask how contemporary discourses of sexuality maintain the very idea that lesbian and gay families are essentially different and, indeed, deficient. But, in order to ask this, I think that we need a wider range of research into lesbian and gay parenting... More work of this sort will help us to ask more complex questions about forms of parenting that continue to offer some novel and challenging approaches to family life."
Gregory M. Herek
noted that "empirical research can’t reconcile disputes about core values, but it is very good at addressing questions of fact. Policy debates will be impoverished if this important source of knowledge is simply dismissed as a “he said, she said” squabble."
Medical:
Regional:
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual, and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
(LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) people parent
Parent
A parent is a caretaker of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is of a child . Children can have one or more parents, but they must have two biological parents. Biological parents consist of the male who sired the child and the female who gave birth to the child...
ing one or more children. This includes children raised by same-sex couples (same-sex parenting), children raised by single LGBT parents, and children raised by an opposite-sex couple where at least one partner is LGBT.
LGBT people can become parents through various means including current or former relationships, coparenting
Coparenting
Coparenting or co-parenting describes a parenting situation where the parents are not in a marriage, cohabitation or romantic relationship with one another.-Post-separation coparenting:...
, adoption, donor insemination, and surrogacy.
Scientific research has been generally consistent in showing that gay and lesbian parents are as fit and capable as heterosexual parents, and their children are as psychologically healthy and well-adjusted as children reared by heterosexual parents. Major associations of mental health professionals in the U.S., Canada, and Australia have not identified credible empirical research that suggests otherwise. Based on the robust nature of the evidence available in the field, Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida was satisfied in 2010 that the issue is so far beyond dispute that it would be irrational to hold otherwise; the best interests of children are not preserved by prohibiting homosexual adoption.
Forms of LGBT parenting
Coparenting
Coparenting or co-parenting describes a parenting situation where the parents are not in a marriage, cohabitation or romantic relationship with one another.-Post-separation coparenting:...
, adoption, foster care
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
, donor insemination, and surrogacy. A gay man or lesbian may have children within an opposite-sex relationship, such as a mixed-orientation marriage
Mixed-orientation marriage
A mixed-orientation marriage is a marriage in which one of the partners is heterosexual and the other is bisexual or homosexual.- Motivations:Some cite spiritual reasons for getting married...
, for various reasons.
Some children do not know they have an LGBT parent; coming out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
issues vary and some parents may never reveal to their children that they identify as LGBT.
Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are parents. In the 2000 U.S. Census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, for example, 33 percent of female same-sex couple households and 22 percent of male same-sex couple households reported at least one child under the age of 18 living in the home. As of 2005, an estimated 270,313 children in the United States live in households headed by same-sex couples.
Economic resources and home ownership
According to US Census Snapshot published in December 2007, same-sex couples with children have significantly fewer economic resources and significantly lower rates of home ownership than heterosexual married couples.Consensus
The scientific research that has directly compared outcomes for children with gay and lesbian parents with outcomes for children with heterosexual parents has been remarkably consistent in showing that lesbian and gay parents are as fit and capable as heterosexual parents, and their children are as psychologically healthy and well-adjusted as children reared by heterosexual parents, despite the reality that considerable legal discrimination and inequity remain significant challenges for these families. Major associations of mental health professionals in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, have not identified credible empirical research that suggests otherwise. Literature indicates that parents’ financial, psychological and physical well-being is enhanced by marriage and that children benefit from being raised by two parents within a legally-recognized union.Since the 1970s, it has become increasingly clear that it is family processes (such as the quality of parenting, the psychosocial well-being of parents, the quality of and satisfaction with relationships within the family, and the level of co-operation and harmony between parents) that contribute to determining children’s well-being and ‘outcomes’, rather than family structures, per se, such as the number, gender, sexuality and co-habitation status of parents. Since the end of the 1980s, as a result, it has been well established that children and adolescents can adjust just as well in nontraditional settings as in traditional settings.
Judith Stacey
Judith Stacey
Judith Stacey is an author, and Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis and Sociology at NYU. Her primary focus areas include family studies, gender studies, queer studies, and sexuality...
, of New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, stated: “Rarely is there as much consensus in any area of social science as in the case of gay parenting, which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics is the major professional association of pediatricians in the United States. The AAP was founded in 1930 by 35 pediatricians to address pediatric healthcare standards. It currently has 60,000 members in primary care and sub-specialist areas...
and all of the major professional organizations with expertise in child welfare have issued reports and resolutions in support of gay and lesbian parental rights”. These organizations include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is a 501 non-profit professional association in the United States dedicated to facilitating psychiatric care for children and adolescents. Established in 1953, the Academy is headquartered in Washington, D.C...
, the American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
, the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
, the American Psychoanalytic Association
American Psychoanalytic Association
American Psychoanalytic Association is an association of psychoanalysts in the United States. It was founded in 1911, and forms part of the International Psychoanalytical Association.-External links:**...
, the National Association of Social Workers
National Association of Social Workers
The National Association of Social Workers is a professional organization of social workers in the United States. It had over 150,000 members as of January 2008 and provides guidance, research, up to date information, advocacy, and other resources for its members and for social workers in general...
, the Child Welfare League of America
Child Welfare League of America
The Child Welfare League of America or CWLA is the oldest child welfare organization in the United States. The organization's primary objective is to "Make Children a National Priority...
, the North American Council on Adoptable Children, and Canadian Psychological Association
Canadian Psychological Association
The Canadian Psychological Association is the primary organization representing psychologists throughout Canada. It was organized in 1939 and incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act, Part II, in May 1950.Its objectives are:...
. In 2006, Gregory M. Herek
Gregory M. Herek
Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D. is a researcher, author, and professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis . He has conducted extensive research on prejudice against sexual minorities, and coined the term sexual prejudice as a replacement for homophobia to describe this phenomenon...
stated in American Psychologist
American Psychologist
The American Psychologist is the official academic journal of the American Psychological Association. It contains archival documents and articles covering current issues in psychology, the science and practice of psychology, and psychology's contribution to public policy...
: "If gay, lesbian, or bisexual parents were inherently less capable than otherwise comparable heterosexual parents, their children would evidence problems regardless of the type of sample. This pattern clearly has not been observed. Given the consistent failures in this research literature to disprove the null hypothesis
Null hypothesis
The practice of science involves formulating and testing hypotheses, assertions that are capable of being proven false using a test of observed data. The null hypothesis typically corresponds to a general or default position...
, the burden of empirical proof is on those who argue that the children of sexual minority parents fare worse than the children of heterosexual parents."
According to report by American Psychological Association: "In summary, research on diversity among families with lesbian and gay parents and on the potential effects of such diversity on children is still sparse (Martin, 1993, 1998; Patterson, 1995b, 2000, 2001, 2004; Perrin, 2002; Stacey & Biblarz, 2001; Tasker, 1999). Data on children of parents who identify as bisexual are still not available, and information about children of non-White lesbian or gay parents is hard to find (but see Wainright et al., 2004, for a racially diverse sample)... However, the existing data are still limited, and any conclusions must be seen as tentative... It should be acknowledged that research on lesbian and gay parents and their children, though no longer new, is still limited in extent. Although studies of gay fathers and their children have been conducted (Patterson, 2004), less is known about children of gay fathers than about children of lesbian mothers. Although studies of adolescent and young adult offspring of lesbian and gay parents are available (e.g., Gershon et al., 1999; Tasker & Golombok, 1997; Wainright et al., 2004), relatively few studies have focused on the offspring of lesbian or gay parents during adolescence or adulthood."
School outcomes
Until 2010, research on school outcomes for the children of same-sex couples was limited to studies on small samples studies, and meta-analyses thereof. The first large sample study based on US nationally representative data confirmed that "children raised by same-sex couples have no fundamental deficits in making normal progress through school."Sexual orientation of children
A number of studies have examined whether the children of lesbian and gay parents are themselves more likely to identify as lesbian and gay. While reviews of the available studies agree that the vast majority of children of lesbian and gay parents are heterosexual, they differ in regards to whether there is evidence to suggest a comparatively higher rate of homosexuality when compared to the children of heterosexual parents. In a 2001 review of 21 studies, Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz found that researchers frequently downplay findings indicating difference regarding children's gender, sexual preferences and behavior, suggesting that an environment of heterosexismHeterosexism
Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of opposite-sex sexuality and relationships. It can include the presumption that everyone is heterosexual or that opposite-sex attractions and relationships are the only norm and therefore superior...
has hampered scientific inquiry in the area. Their findings indicate that the children with lesbigay parents appear less traditionally gender-typed and are more likely to be open to homoerotic relationships. A 2005 review by Charlotte J. Patterson for the American Psychological Association found that the available data did not suggest higher rates of homosexuality among the children of lesbian or gay parents. Herek's 2006 review describes the available data on the point as limited. Stacey and Biblarz and Herek stress that the sexual orientation of children is of limited relevance to discussions of parental fitness or policies based on the same. In a 2010 review comparing single-father families with other family types, Stacey and Biblarz state, "We know very little yet about how parents influence the development of their children's sexual identities or how these intersect with gender."
Maturity of research
In the United States, studies on the effect of gay and lesbian parenting on children were first conducted in the 1970s, and expanded through the 1980s in the context of increasing numbers of gay and lesbian parents seeking legal custody of their biological children. The widespread pattern of children being raised from infancy in two-parent gay or lesbian homes is relatively recent. This no doubt contributes to the fact that prior to the early 2000s many of the initial studies in this area suffered from problems with sample size, development over time, and sampling concerns. However, more recent research have been far more rigorous.1990-1999
A 1993 review published in the Journal of Divorce & Remarriage identified fourteen studies addressing the effects of homosexual parenting on children. The review concluded that all of the studies lacked external validityExternal validity
External validity is the validity of generalized inferences in scientific studies, usually based on experiments as experimental validity....
and that therefore: "The conclusion that there are no significant differences in children reared by lesbian mothers versus heterosexual mothers is not supported by the published research data base."
In 1999 analysis of the research on gay and lesbian parenting, published in Marriage and Family Review, Bridget Fitzgerald found that the available studies generally concluded that "the sexual orientation of parents is not an effective or important predictor of successful childhood development," but noted that the generalizability of available studies was limited due to methodological difficulties:
Many of these studies suffer from similar limitations and weaknesses, with the main obstacle being the difficulty in acquiring representative, random samples on a virtually invisible population. Many lesbian and gay parents are not open about their sexual orientation due to real fears of discrimination, homophobia, and threats of losing custody of their children. Those who do participate in this type of research are usually relatively open about their homosexuality and, therefore, may bias the research towards a particular group of gay and lesbian parents.
Because of the inevitable use of convenience samples, sample sizes are usually very small and the majorityof the research participants end up looking quite homogeneous—e.g. white, middle-class, urban, and well-educated. Another pattern is the wide discrepancy between the number of studies conducted with children of gay fathers and those with lesbian mothers...
Another potential factor of importance is the possibility of social desirability bias when research subjects respond in ways that present themselves and their families in the most desirable light possible. Such a phenomenon does seem possible due to the desire of this population to offset and reverse negative images and discrimination. Consequently, the findings of these studies may be patterned by self-presentation bias.
2000-2009
In a 2001 review published by the Marriage Law ProjectMarriage Law Project
The Marriage Law Project is a public interest legal aid organization founded in 1996. It aims "to reaffirm marriage as the union of one man and one woman." Its offices are located in the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C...
of The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
, Lerner and Nagai examined 49 studies of homosexual parenting, stating that the studies prove nothing because they suffer from flaws, such as small and non-random samples (including participants who recruit other participants), missing or inadequate comparison groups and statistical analysis, self-constructed, unreliable and invalid measurements, unclear hypothesis and research design.
According to a 2001 review of 21 studies by Stacey and Biblarz published in American Sociological Review
American Sociological Review
The American Sociological Review is a bimonthly, peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of sociology, including new theoretical developments, results of research that advance the understanding of fundamental social processes, and methodological innovations. It is published by SAGE...
: "[R]esearchers lack reliable data on the number and location of lesbigay parents with children in the general population, there are no studies of child development based on random, representative samples of such families. Most studies rely on small-scale, snowball and convenience samples drawn primarily from personal and community networks or agencies. Most research to date has been conducted on white lesbian mothers who are comparatively educated, mature, and reside in relatively progressive urban centers, most often in California or the Northeastern states."
A 2006 story in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, notes that "investigators acknowledge the field is too young, the numbers too few, the variables too many and the research too values-laden to qualify as definitive."
In 2006, Gregory M. Herek
Gregory M. Herek
Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D. is a researcher, author, and professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis . He has conducted extensive research on prejudice against sexual minorities, and coined the term sexual prejudice as a replacement for homophobia to describe this phenomenon...
, a professor of psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
at University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
, stated in American Psychologist
American Psychologist
The American Psychologist is the official academic journal of the American Psychological Association. It contains archival documents and articles covering current issues in psychology, the science and practice of psychology, and psychology's contribution to public policy...
:
The overall methodological sophistication and quality of studies in this domain have increased over the years, as would be expected for any new area of empirical inquiry. More recent research has reported data from probability and community-based convenience samples, has used more rigorous assessment techniques, and has been published in highly respected and widely cited developmental psychology journals, including Child Development and Developmental Psychology. Data are increasingly available from prospective studies. In addition, whereas early study samples consisted mainly of children originally born into heterosexual relationships that subsequently dissolved when one parent came out as gay or lesbian, recent samples are more likely to include children conceived within a same-sex relationship or adopted in infancy by a same-sex couple. Thus, they are less likely to confound the effects of having a sexual minority parent with the consequences of divorce.
Despite considerable variation in the quality of their samples, research design, measurement methods, and data analysis techniques, the findings to date have been remarkably consistent. Empirical studies comparing children raised by sexual minority parents with those raised by otherwise comparable heterosexual parents have not found reliable disparities in mental health or social adjustment. Differences have not been found in parenting ability between lesbian mothers and heterosexual mothers. Studies examining gay fathers are fewer in number but do not show that gay men are any less fit or able as parents than heterosexual men.
In a 2009 affidavit filed in the case Gill v. Office of Personnel Management
Gill v. Office of Personnel Management
Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management 699 F.Supp.2d 374 is a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts...
, Michael Lamb, a professor of psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and head of Department of Social
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
and Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychology
Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to...
at Cambridge University, stated:
The methodologies used in the major studies of same-sex parenting meet the standards for research in the field of developmental psychology and psychology generally. The studies specific to same-sex parenting were published in leading journals in the field of child and adolescent development, such as Child Development, published by the Society for Research in Child Development, Developmental PsychologyDevelopmental Psychology (journal)Developmental Psychology is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Psychological Association since 1969, covering developmental psychology. The first editor-in-chief was Boyd R. McCandless ....
, published by the American Psychological Association, and The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, the flagship peer-review journals in the field of child development. Most of the studies appeared in these (or similar) rigorously peer-reviewed and highly selective journals, whose standards represent expert consensus on generally accepted social scientific standards for research on child and adolescent development. Prior to publication in these journals, these studies were required to go through a rigorous peer-review process, and as a result, they constitute the type of research that members of the respective professions consider reliable. The body of research on same-sex families is consistent with standards in the relevant fields and produces reliable conclusions."
2010-present
Michael J. Rosenfeld, associate professor of sociology at Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, wrote in a 2010 study published in Demography that "[A] critique of the literature—that the sample sizes of the studies are too small to allow for statistically powerful
Statistical power
The power of a statistical test is the probability that the test will reject the null hypothesis when the null hypothesis is actually false . The power is in general a function of the possible distributions, often determined by a parameter, under the alternative hypothesis...
tests—continues to be relevant."
In 2010 American Psychological Association, The California Psychological Association, The American Psychiatric Association, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy stated: "Relatively few studies have directly examined gay fathers, but those that exist
find that gay men are similarly fit and able parents, as compared to heterosexual men. Available empirical data do not provide a basis for assuming gay men are unsuited for parenthood. If gay parents were inherently unfit, even small studies with convenience samples would readily detect it. This has not been the case. Being raised by a single father does not appear to inherently disadvantage children’s psychological wellbeing more than being raised by a single mother. Homosexuality does not constitute a pathology or deficit, and there is no theoretical reason to expect gay fathers to cause harm to their children. Thus, although more research is needed, available data place the burden of empirical proof on those who argue that having a gay father is harmful."
In June 2010, the results of a 25-year ongoing longitudinal study by Nanette Gartrell
Nanette Gartrell
Nanette Gartrell, MD, is an American psychiatrist, researcher, and writer. Gartrell is the author of over 50 research reports on topics ranging from medical student depression to lesbian mothers and their children to sexual exploitation of patients by healthcare professionals...
of the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
and Henny Bos of the University of Amsterdam were released. Gartrell and Bos studied 78 children conceived through donor insemination
Insemination
Insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into the uterus of a mammal or the oviduct of an oviparous animal for the objective of impregnating a female for reproduction...
and raised by lesbian mothers. Mothers were interviewed and given clinical questionnaires during pregnancy when their children were 2, 5, 10, and 17 years of age. In the abstract of the report, the authors state: "According to their mothers' reports, the 17-year-old daughters and sons of lesbian mothers were rated significantly higher in social, school/academic, and total competence and significantly lower in social problems, rule-breaking, aggressive, and externalizing problem behavior than their age-matched counterparts in Achenbach's normative sample of American youth." Gartrell and Bos point out that the study was limited to mothers who sought donor insemination and who may have been more motivated than mothers in other circumstances. Gartrell and Bos note that the study's limitations included utilizing a non-random sample, and the lesbian group and control group were not matched for race or area of residence. The study was supported by grants from the Gill Foundation
Gill Foundation
The Gill Foundation is one of the largest private funders of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equal rights work in the United States...
, the Lesbian Health Fund of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association works to ensure equality in health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and health care professionals...
, Horizons Foundation, and the Roy Scrivner Fund of the American Psychological Foundation
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
.
Misrepresentation of research
In a 2006 statement the Canadian Psychological Association released an updated statement on their 2003 and 2005 conclusions, saying, "The CPA recognizes and appreciates that persons and institutions are entitled to their opinions and positions on this issue. However, CPA is concerned that some persons and institutions are mis-interpreting the findings of psychological research to support their positions, when their positions are more accurately based on other systems of belief or values." The association drew attention to Herek’s extensive 2006 review of relevant literature, which concluded that the research on which opponents to marriage of same-sex couples rely, look at the functioning of children in intact families with heterosexual parents compared to those children raised by a single parent following divorce or death of a spouse. They do not include studies that compare the functioning of children raised by heterosexual couples with the functioning of children raised by same-sex couples. In this group of studies, any differences observed are more accurately attributable to the effects of death or divorce, and/or to the effects of living with a single parent, rather than to parents’ sexual orientation. These studies do not tell us that the children of same-sex parents in an intact relationship fare worse than the children of opposite-sex parents in an intact relationship.According to the American Psychological Association, California Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, National Association of Social Workers
National Association of Social Workers
The National Association of Social Workers is a professional organization of social workers in the United States. It had over 150,000 members as of January 2008 and provides guidance, research, up to date information, advocacy, and other resources for its members and for social workers in general...
and National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter, it is critically important to make appropriate comparisons when comparing the outcomes of different forms of parenting. For example, differences resulting from the number of parents in a household cannot be attributed to the parents’ gender or sexual orientation. Research in households with heterosexual parents generally finds that – all else being equal – children do better with two parenting figures rather than just one. The specific research studies cited do not address parents’ sexual orientation, however, and therefore do not permit any conclusions to be drawn about the consequences of having heterosexual versus nonheterosexual parents, or two parents who are of the same versus different genders. According to the Maine Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics, "It is scientifically untenable to use studies about the effects on children of divorce or being raised in one parent households, to draw conclusions about the children raised in two parents households whether the parents are same or opposite-sex gender."
Legal issues
Adoption
Several countries allow same-sex couples to adopt children, while most jurisdictions prohibit them from doing so. Some jurisdictions limit adoption by same-sex couples to stepparent adoption, where one partner in a same-sex couple can legally adopt the children of the partner. Adoption by individual LGBT persons is also legal in some jurisdictions.In January 2008, the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
ruled that same-sex couples have the right to adopt a child. Unmarried LGBT adults can petition to adopt a child in all US states. Granting the petition is left to the discretion of a judge.
Marriage
Same-sex parenting is often raised as an issue in debates about the legalization of same-sex marriage. Proponents of same-sex marriage argue that same-sex couples and their children should receive equal benefit from marriage laws. Opponents of both same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption argue that the former will lead to increased incidence of the latter.Controversy
NARTH and American College of Pediatricians
American College of Pediatricians
The American College of Pediatricians is a socially conservative association of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals specializing in the care of infants, children and adolescents in the United States...
(a conservative organization; not to be confused with American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics is the major professional association of pediatricians in the United States. The AAP was founded in 1930 by 35 pediatricians to address pediatric healthcare standards. It currently has 60,000 members in primary care and sub-specialist areas...
) argue that mainstream health and mental health organizations have, in many cases, taken public positions on parenting by same-sex couples that are based on their own social and political views rather than the available science. The American Psychological Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists expressed concerns that the positions espoused by NARTH are not supported by the science and create an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish. The National Association of Social Workers
National Association of Social Workers
The National Association of Social Workers is a professional organization of social workers in the United States. It had over 150,000 members as of January 2008 and provides guidance, research, up to date information, advocacy, and other resources for its members and for social workers in general...
described the College as a "small faction", and "out of step with the research-based position of the AAP and other medical and child welfare authorities." Francis S. Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
was disturbed to that The American College of Pediatricians distorted his scientific observations to make a point against homosexuality pulling language out of context from a book he wrote in 2006 to support an ideology that can cause unnecessary anguish and encourage prejudice. According to Collins, the information they present is misleading and incorrect. Other researchers who found that ACP misrepresented their work include Warren Throckmorton
Warren Throckmorton
E. Warren Throckmorton is an associate professor of Psychology at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania. He is a former advocate of sexual orientation change efforts and the creator of the documentary I Do Exist, about people who say they have changed their sexual orientation.Throckmorton...
and Gary Remafedi. The Canadian Psychological Association
Canadian Psychological Association
The Canadian Psychological Association is the primary organization representing psychologists throughout Canada. It was organized in 1939 and incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act, Part II, in May 1950.Its objectives are:...
has expressed concern that "some are mis-interpreting the findings of psychological research to support their positions, when their positions are more accurately based on other systems of belief or values."
In a 2005 piece entitled "Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting, and America's Children," William Meezan and Jonathan Rauch, two openly gay scholars who favor same-sex marriage,, state that "virtually no empirical evidence on how same-sex parents' marriage might affect their children." Based on their scientific and clinical expertise, American Psychological Association, The California Psychological Association, The American Psychiatric Association, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy believe it is appropriate to extrapolate from the empirical research literature for heterosexual couples—with qualifications as necessary—to anticipate the likely effects marriage would have on the segment of the sexual minority population that would choose marriage if allowed and believe that the potential benefits of marriage for gay men and lesbians in same-sex couples are similar to those that have been documented for heterosexuals.
Some critics of LGBT parenting cite a research brief published by Child Trends
Child Trends
Child Trends is a Washington, D.C. based nonprofit, nonpartisan research center that studies children at all stages of development. Its mission is to improve outcomes for children by providing research, data, and analysis to the people and institutions whose decisions and actions affect children,...
, an organization which describes itself as "the nation’s only independent research and policy center focused exclusively on improving outcomes for children," for the proposition that an "extensive body of research tells us that children do best when they grow up with both biological parents in a low-conflict marriage…it is not simply the presence of two parents...but the presence of two biological parents that seem to support child development." Such critics also cite a policy brief from the Center for Law and Social Policy
Center for Law and Social Policy
The Center for Law and Social Policy is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates for policies aimed at improving the lives of low-income people.- History and work :...
, which states: "most researchers now agree that together these studies support the notion that, on average, children do better when raised by two married, biological parents."
Setting aside the issue of moral objections, Stephen Hicks, a reader in health and social care at the University of Salford
University of Salford
The University of Salford is a campus university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, on the A6, opposite the former home of the physicist, James Prescott Joule and the Working Class...
questions the value of trying to establish that lesbian or gay parents are defective or suitable. He argues such positions are flawed because they are informed by ideologies that either oppose or support such families. In Hicks' view, "Instead of asking whether gay parenting is bad for kids, I think we should ask how contemporary discourses of sexuality maintain the very idea that lesbian and gay families are essentially different and, indeed, deficient. But, in order to ask this, I think that we need a wider range of research into lesbian and gay parenting... More work of this sort will help us to ask more complex questions about forms of parenting that continue to offer some novel and challenging approaches to family life."
Gregory M. Herek
Gregory M. Herek
Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D. is a researcher, author, and professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis . He has conducted extensive research on prejudice against sexual minorities, and coined the term sexual prejudice as a replacement for homophobia to describe this phenomenon...
noted that "empirical research can’t reconcile disputes about core values, but it is very good at addressing questions of fact. Policy debates will be impoverished if this important source of knowledge is simply dismissed as a “he said, she said” squabble."
See also
Social- CoparentingCoparentingCoparenting or co-parenting describes a parenting situation where the parents are not in a marriage, cohabitation or romantic relationship with one another.-Post-separation coparenting:...
- LGBT adoption
- Same-sex marriage and the familySame-sex marriage and the familyConcerns regarding same-sex marriage and the family are at the forefront of the controversies over legalization of same-sex marriage. In the United States, an estimated 1 million to 9 million children have at least one lesbian or gay parent...
- SurrogacySurrogacySurrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person. This woman may be the child's genetic mother , or she may carry the pregnancy to delivery after having an embryo, to which she has no genetic relationship whatsoever, transferred to her uterus...
- Third party reproductionThird party reproductionThird party reproduction refers to a process where another person provides sperm or eggs or where another woman provides her uterus so that a woman can have a child. Thus the reproductive process goes beyond the traditional father-mother model. However, the third party's involvement is limited to...
Medical:
- Artificial inseminationArtificial inseminationArtificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
- Assisted reproductive technologyAssisted reproductive technologyAssisted reproductive technology is a general term referring to methods used to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means. It is reproductive technology used primarily in infertility treatments. Some forms of ART are also used in fertile couples for genetic reasons...
- In vitro fertilisationIn vitro fertilisationIn vitro fertilisation is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed...
- Sperm donationSperm donationSperm donation is the provision by a man, , of his sperm, with the intention that it be used to impregnate a woman who is not usually the man's sexual partner, in order to produce a child....
Regional:
- Same-sex adoption in BrazilSame-sex adoption in BrazilSame-sex adoption in Brazil is legal according to the Superior Court of Justice of Brazil, as stated in a court decision on April 27, 2010. The change was a milestone in the country's LGBT history....
External links
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Parented Families – A Literature Review prepared for The Australian Psychological Society (2007)
- Equal Family Blog
- Too High a Price – The Case Against Restricting Gay Parenting (updated second edition) (2006), a publication by the ACLU, includes a detailed review of studies and research.
- American Psychological Association (APA) Public Interest Directorate: Research Summary on Lesbian and Gay Parenting (2005)
- Brief presented to the Legislative House of Commons Committee on Bill C38 By the Canadian Psychological Association (2005)
- Lesbian and Gay Parents and Their Children: Research on the Family Life Cycle
- Resources for Gay Dads
- Family Equality Council, the only organization that focuses specifically on supporting LGBT-headed families