Children of same-sex couples do just as well, if not better, than those of heterosexual couples, research has shown.
Although data on so-called “sexual minority families” is limited, the UK Office for National Statistics recorded 212,000 same-sex families in the UK in 2019, an increase of 40% since 2015. The number of same-sex parents has come out of sex. 4,000 in 2010 to 12,000 in 2013.
Same-sex couples have less stressful marriages
What are the couples who do not name their children?
A new study supports previous research and concludes that a child’s development has little to do with their sexual identity or the identity of their parents.
“Contrary to what many feared, our review found that many family outcomes are similar between these two types of families, with sexual minority families having better outcomes in some domains, such as children’s psychological adjustment and parenting,” the researchers wrote.
The results are consistent with other studies, in which three decades of Australian research show that children raised by the same sex have the same emotional, social and educational outcomes as their peers in heterosexual families.
The latest study, published in the journal BMJ Global Health, by researchers from the US and China, is based on an analysis of 34 studies from countries where same-sex relationships are legal, including the US, the UK and parts of Europe. These studies compared the development of children raised by heterosexual parents with gay and lesbian parents, and some studies also included families of bisexual, queer, or transgender parents.
The team analyzed data from 16 studies and found that heterosexual parents had significantly fewer psychological problems among their children’s preschool age than heterosexual parents, although no differences were found between older children.
Although family functioning, relationship satisfaction, parental mental health, and parental stress do not show differences based on parental sexual orientation, in some areas sexual minority families seem to fare better.
“Major sexual minority groups exhibited higher levels of parent-child relationships, such as higher levels of warmth, greater amounts of interaction, and more supportive behaviors, compared with heterosexual parent members,” the researchers wrote.
Dr. Rachel Farr, an expert on LGBTQ+ same-sex families at the University of Kentucky who was not involved in the paper, expressed concern that research studies have been disputed or even disproved, including one study that suggested same-sex couples. Parenting increases the likelihood of negative social, emotional and relational outcomes.
Deni Mazrekaj, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Transylvania, also expressed concern, noting that some of the research in the study was misunderstood, that children from same-sex families performed worse academically, while other less relevant research was included.
However, Farr said the review’s conclusions reflect the results of a broader body of research. “The message of the emperor is the same,” he said. “Parents’ sexual identity and gender identity are much less important to children’s development and outcomes than what happens in families, such as the quality of parent-family relationships.”
