The Kids of Same-Sex Parents Do Better Than Kids in Conventional Families

Or at least they do in Austraiia, according to
their parents in a new
study published in the journal BMC Public Health. The
study asked parents how their children are doing with respect to
various psychosocial measurements. From the abstract: 

A cross-sectional survey, the Australian Study of Child Health
in Same-Sex Families, was distributed in 2012 to a convenience
sample of 390 parents from Australia who self-identified as
same-sex attracted and had children aged 0-17 years.
Parent-reported, multidimensional measures of child health and
wellbeing and the relationship to perceived stigma were
measured.

315 parents completed the survey (completion rate = 81%)
representing 500 children. 80% of children had a female index
parent while 18% had a male index parent. Children in same-sex
parent families had higher scores on measures of general behavior,
general health and family cohesion compared to population normative
data…There were no significant differences between the two groups
for all other scale scores…

Australian children with same-sex attracted parents score higher
than population samples on a number of parent-reported measures of
child health. Perceived stigma is negatively associated with mental
health. Through improved awareness of stigma these findings play an
important role in health policy, improving child health
outcomes.

Regarding the problem of stigma associated with same-sex
parents, the Washington Post
notes:

According to the study, about two-thirds of children with
same-sex parents experienced some form of stigma because
of their parents’ sexual orientation. Despite these kids’
higher marks in physical health and social well-being, the
stigma associated with their family structure was linked to
lower scores on a number of scales. Crouch said stigmas ranged from
subtle issues such as sending letters home from school
addressed to a “Mr.” and “Mrs.” to more harmful
problems such as bullying at school. The greater the stigma a
same-sex family faces, the greater the impact on a child’s
social and emotional well-being, [lead researcher Simon] Crouch
said.

However, according to a report published
by the American Academy of
Pediatrics last year that analyzed three decades of
data, children raised by gay and lesbian parents
showed resilience “with regard to social, psychological and
sexual health despite economic and legal disparities and social
stigma.”

“Many studies have demonstrated that children’s well-being is
affected much more by their relationships with their parents, their
parents’ sense of competence and security, and the presence of
social and economic support for the family than by the gender or
the sexual orientation of their parents,” said
Siegel, co-author of the American Academy of
Pediatrics report.

This new study basically bolsters the findings that I reported
in my Wall Street Journal op-ed, “The
Science of Same-Sex Marriage,” last year.