Could someone please pm me the link to the study that compares hetero couples to homosexual couples? It occurs to me that I have seen this claim repeatedly that the research is there, but am not familiar with any specific study that has done this comparison yet. The one I posted that is in PDF form claims to have on some level, but does not. Are there any specific studies that pit the gay family and the nuclear family against one another across a broad spectrum of measurable points?
I mean, you can post it here if you like, but the thread seems to go for several pages at a time between visits, so it would be easier for me if it were pm'd.
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;109/2/341
The small and nonrepresentative samples studied and the relatively young age of most of the children suggest some reserve. However, the weight of evidence gathered during several decades using diverse samples and methodologies is persuasive in demonstrating that there is no systematic difference between gay and nongay parents in emotional health, parenting skills, and attitudes toward parenting. No data have pointed to any risk to children as a result of growing up in a family with 1 or more gay parents. Some among the vast variety of family forms, histories, and relationships may prove more conducive to healthy psychosexual and emotional development than others.
Research exploring the diversity of parental relationships among gay and lesbian parents is just beginning. Children whose parents divorce (regardless of sexual orientation) are better adjusted when their parents have high self-esteem, maintain a responsible and amicable relationship, and are currently living with a partner.22,31 Children living with divorced lesbian mothers have better outcomes when they learn about their mothers homosexuality at a younger age, when their fathers and other important adults accept their mothers lesbian identity, and perhaps when they have contact with other children of lesbians and gay men.22,24 Parents and children have better outcomes when the daunting tasks of parenting are shared, and children seem to benefit from arrangements in which lesbian parents divide child care and other household tasks in an egalitarian manner28 as well as when conflict between partners is low. Although gay and lesbian parents may not, despite their best efforts, be able to protect their children fully from the effects of stigmatization and discrimination, parents sexual orientation is not a variable that, in itself, predicts their ability to provide a home environment that supports childrens development.
Coparent or Second-Parent Adoption by Same-Sex Parents
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS
Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health
Technical Report: Coparent or Second-Parent Adoption by Same-Sex Parents
ABSTRACT. Children who are born to or adopted by 1 member of a same-sex couple deserve the
security of 2 legally recognized parents. Therefore, the American Academy of Pediatrics supports
legislative and legal efforts to provide the possibility of adoption of the child by the second parent
or coparent in these families.
On the basis of the acknowledged desirability that children have and maintain a continuing relationship
with 2 loving and supportive parents, the Academy recommends that pediatricians do the following:
Be familiar with professional literature regarding gay and lesbian parents and their children.
Support the right of every child and family to the financial, psychologic, and legal security that
results from having legally recognized parents who are committed to each other and to the welfare
of their children.
Advocate for initiatives that establish permanency through coparent or second-parent adoption for
children of same-sex partners through the judicial system, legislation, and community education.
COMMITTEE ON PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF CHILD AND FAMILY HEALTH, 2000-
2001
Joseph F. Hagan, Jr, MD, Chairperson
William L. Coleman, MD
Jane M. Foy, MD
Edward Goldson, MD
Barbara J. Howard, MD
Ana Navarro, MD
J. Lane Tanner, MD
Hyman C. Tolmas, MD
http://www.cga.ct.gov/jud/old/SameSexMarriage/AmAcPed-Report.pdf
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Oct.12, 2005 (Washington) -- Children growing up in same-sex parental households do not necessarily have differences in self-esteem, gender identity, or emotional problems from children growing up in heterosexual parent homes.
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]"There are a lot of children with at least one gay or lesbian parent," says Ellen C. Perrin, MD, professor of pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. She revealed the findings at the American Academy of Pediatrics Conference and Exhibition.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Between 1 million and 6 million children in the U.S. are being reared by committed lesbian or gay couples, she says. Children being raised by same-sex parents were either born to a heterosexual couple, adopted, or conceived through artificial insemination.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]"The vast consensus of all the studies shows that children of same-sex parents do as well as children whose parents are heterosexual in every way," she tells WebMD. "In some ways children of same-sex parents actually may have advantages over other family structures."[/FONT]
Study Results
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Researchers looked at information gleaned from 15 studies on more than 500 children, evaluating possible stigma, teasing and social isolation, adjustment and self-esteem, opposite gender role models, sexual orientation, and strengths.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Studies from 1981 to 1994, including 260 children reared by either heterosexual mothers or same-sex mothers after divorce, found no differences in intelligence, type or prevalence of psychiatric disorders, self-esteem, well-being, peer relationships, couple relationships, or parental stress.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]"Some studies showed that single heterosexual parents' children have more difficulties than children who have parents of the same sex," Perrin says. "They did better in discipline, self-esteem, and had less psychosocial difficulties at home and at school."[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Another study of 37 children of 27 divorced lesbian mothers and a similar number of children of heterosexual mothers found no differences in behavior, adjustment, gender identity, and peer relationships.[/FONT]
Equitable Division of Chores
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Two other large studies involving more than 100 couples found that same-sex parents also had contact with extended family, had social support, and had a more equitable division of labor in the home.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]"Lesbian couples share household responsibilities and chores more equitably," Perrin says. "And, the children of lesbian couples are less aggressive, more nurturing to peers, more tolerant of diversity, and more inclined to play with both boy's and girl's toys.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Children seem to adjust better when there is a more equal division of labor in the home and the parental relationship with the children had a higher rating, she says.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]The combined data presented by Perrin showed that children whose parents are lesbian have no more problems than the rest of the children and actually may be more tolerant of differences, she says. There was suggestive evidence that there were more stresses due to the gender of same-sex parents, but the children also reported greater well-being, more nurturing, and a greater tolerance for differences.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]What is striking is that there are very consistent findings in these studies," Perrin says.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Ryan Malone, who works in public relations in Washington, D.C., says after his parents were divorced he was reared by two "lesbian moms," while still staying in contact with his father.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]"We lived in a small town," he says. "While I was open about my family, I didn't broadcast it."[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]At times he felt isolated because he didn't know any other families at the time headed by a same-sex couple, Malone says. "My parents overparented because they felt like the whole world was watching."[/FONT]
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[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]While further study should be done, this is important for pediatricians to know so they can learn more about variations in families and give appropriate advice in optimizing the child's development, Perrin says.
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Carol Berkowitz, MD, former president of AAP, says this analysis is important in that it combines evidence-based studies.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]"This subject evokes a lot of emotions," she says. "Some of the studies on this subject in the past have been weighted and biased, based on nothing more than the researcher's views."[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Evidence-based studies are important in helping pediatricians in their practices and creating policy for the future, she says.[/FONT]
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