by Melissa Rodgers

People who oppose the right for same-sex couples to be parents readily claim that having same-sex parents can negatively impact on children in many ways, from their psychological health to their sexual identity. However, numerous studies have been conducted into the impact that being raised by gay parents can have on children, and very little evidence has been found to support the opposing prejudiced views. In fact, studies have generally found the opposite – children thrive growing up with same-sex parents.

Children are healthy and happy

One such study was recently carried out by the University of Melbourne in Australia. Researchers there found that rather than being held back in some way, children with same-sex parents actually scored better on average than children from the traditional family models in terms of overall health and family cohesion. This was despite continuing to be subject to discrimination in certain areas.

The study was the biggest of its kind to look into the overall well-being of children with same-sex parents, including their mental, physical and social well-being. It also investigated whether being the victim of discrimination has any impact on the children’s health and well-being. This is an important area because the impact of discrimination can potentially be serious and long-lasting, particularly for children and adolescents. It can create a great deal of hurt and emotional upset, as well as feelings of isolation and issues with low self-esteem and self-confidence. This in turn can lead to poor mental health, with victims of discrimination having a high risk of developing serious conditions such as depression and stress. It can also be linked to problem behaviors in later life, such as substance or alcohol abuse. In addition, discrimination can be detrimental to physical health, with conditions such as high blood pressure commonly associated with this type of victimization.

The Melbourne study looked at data relating to 500 children between the ages of two months and 17 years belonging to 315 parents from across Australia. The parents in the study described their sexual orientation in a variety of different ways, including homosexual, gay, lesbian and bisexual. The study found that:

• Children in the five to seven age groups scored significantly higher on general health and family cohesion than children from all family backgrounds in Australia. There were no statistical differences in any other of the health measures.
• Female parents made up the majority of respondents (80%), with 18% male and 2% being of other gender.
• Around 93% of responding parents said they were currently in a relationship.
• Sadly, children with same-sex parents and their families both said they continue to encounter discrimination in a range of contexts.

“There are an increasing number of children with same-sex attracted parents in Australia. International research to date has suggested that these children are doing well in many aspects of their lives, however they are often affected by the discrimination that their families may experience due to parental sexual orientation,” explained lead researcher Dr Simon Crouch.

Discrimination continues to be a problem

A separate study, this time conducted by researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Pretoria in South Africa, found that same-sex parents and their children managed to maintain a strong family identity despite this stigma and discrimination.

According to the researchers, the families do this by suppressing any negative messages they may receive and using positive language when referring to their family dynamics.

There are apparently four main ways that these families manage to marginalize any negative messages. The most common method was to view opposing views as ignorant, but in addition families would:

• highlight flaws that exist in religious views,
• point out that critics have no authority to judge, and
• stress the precedence of love.

Study author Diana Breshears explained that children in the study did not feel upset that their parents are gay. In actual fact, most of them positively embraced it. Any negativity that they did experience was not usually the result of having gay parents, but instead was caused by cultural stigma.

“Any concerns they had were the result of how they would be treated in the public sphere,” commented Breshears. “Research constantly shows that children with gay parents are normal, healthy, well-adjusted people. It’s the social scrutiny and stigmatization that children have to negotiate and contend with.”

Fortunately, the study also found that same-sex parent families believe there is an ongoing cultural shift towards greater acceptance of their family dynamic, although they feel there is still a long way to go for full acceptance.  According to Breshears, the recent overturning of the Defense of Marriage Act by the Supreme Court may help speed up this gradual change in attitude.