Kids Raised By Same-Sex Parents Fare Same As—Or Better Than—Kids Of Straight Couples, Research Finds

Topline

Children with gay, lesbian, transgender or other sexual minority parents fare as well as, or better than, children with parents of the opposite sex, according to research published Monday in BMJ Global Health, further undermining a common but unsupported argument against equal marriage and adoption as a growing number of states enact laws curtailing LGBT+ rights.

Key Facts

Parents’ sexual orientation is not an important factor of children’s development, researchers said, based on an analysis of 34 studies published between 1989 and April 2022 carried out in countries that legally recognize same-sex relationships.

The analysis showed children in families with sexual or gender minority parents—an umbrella term for those whose sexual or gender identities are considered outside social and cultural norms—fared as well as children from “traditional” opposite-sex parent families on a variety of metrics, including physical health and education outcomes.

On some metrics, children of sexual minority parents actually outperformed their peers from traditional families, particularly when it came to psychological adjustment and child-parent relationships.

The researchers suggested growing up with sexual minority parents “may confer some advantages to children,” possibly because they are more “tolerant of diversity and more nurturing towards younger children” than heterosexual parents, adding that exploring gender and sexual identity “may actually enhance children’s ability to succeed and thrive in a range of contexts.”

However, the researchers warned there are significant risks associated with being part of a sexual minority family such as social stigma, discrimination and poor social support, and called on policymakers and legislators to give families better legal protections, social support and access to community services like schools.

The researchers said the findings may not be universally applicable as the study drew from research conducted in areas where same-sex relationships were legalized and attitudes towards such families were more likely to be favorable.

Tangent

The researchers also analyzed aspects of family life beyond childrens’ outcomes, including couples’ relationship satisfaction, mental health, parenting stress or family functioning. As with parenting, sexual minority couples fared no worse than heterosexual couples, but unlike their children, they did not fare better in some categories either.

Key Background

The number of children in families with gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer or transgender parents has been rising in recent years. Partly, this is due to the increasing legal protections and social acceptance afforded to members of these communities, such as the right to same-sex marriage in the U.S. The subject of parenting was a prominent and divisive point when considering rights like marriage, and remains so today. Many same-sex, transgender and other minority couples still face barriers to becoming parents their straight peers do not, and in many countries it is still illegal for same-sex couples to adopt. Legal rights are also subject to withdrawal, as demonstrated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v Wade last year, which has activists worried the constitutional right to same-sex marriage could be overturned next using similar legal logic. Republican legislators have filed hundreds of laws over the past year targeting members of the LGBT+ community, particularly the trans community, which could restrict access to gender affirming medical care and remove trans kids from parents’ custody.

Big Number

1.2 million. That’s how many same-sex couple households there were in the U.S. in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Previous census research suggests around 15% of same-sex couples have children in their household, a much lower proportion than heterosexual couples (around 40%), and are four times more likely than opposite-sex couples to have adopted children or stepchildren. Same-sex couples are also more likely to have smaller families.

Further Reading

Using ‘Pseudoscience’ to Undermine Same-Sex Parents (Atlantic)

A lesbian lost her son to his sperm donor. Should other gay parents be concerned ? (NBC News)