Bos, H.

Gartrell, N.

English

International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion online publications

UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl)UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository)The children of same-sex parentsAre they well-adjusted?Gartrell, N.; Bos, H.Publication date2018Document VersionFinal published versionLink to publicationCitation for published version (APA):Gartrell, N. (Author), & Bos, H. (Author). (2018). The children of same-sex parents: Are theywell-adjusted?. Web publication or website, Pediatrics for parents.https://pedsforparents.com/2017/10/27/the-children-of-same-sex-parents-are-they-well-adjusted/General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s)and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an opencontent license (like Creative Commons).Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, pleaselet the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the materialinaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letterto: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Youwill be contacted as soon as possible.Download date:10 Mar 2023The Children of Same-Sex Parents - Are They Well-adjusted? - Pediatrics for Parentshttps://pedsforparents.com/2018/02/26/the-children-of-same-sex-parents-are-they-well-adjusted/[26-4-2018 15:38:59]Pediatrics for Parents LogoThe Children of Same-Sex Parents – Are They Well-adjusted?February 26, 2018by: Nanette Gartrell, MDHenry Bos, PhDArticle Tags: same sex parents   For the past four decades, researchers have been studying children raised by lesbian and gayparents. These studies began at a time when stigmatization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, andtransgender (LGBT) people was routine, and it was assumed that children would do well inemotional and cognitive development only if they were raised in households containing a motherand father.Since the late 1970s, scientists in many countries have compared children in same-sex parenthouseholds with children in different-sex parent households to determine whether the well-being ofthe children is infuenced by their parents’ sexual orientation. The frst such studies involved childrenwho were born in the context of heterosexual relationships and later raised in lesbian families aftertheir mothers came out.In the mid-1980s, researchers began to study planned lesbian families in which the mothersidentifed as lesbian before children entered the family unit. As gay men became parents inincreasing numbers at the end of the 20th century, their families were studied as well. This researchhas consistently shown that the psychological development of children raised by lesbian or gayparents is similar to that of those with heterosexual parents, and that the quality of parenting has agreater impact on children’s well-being than does the sexual orientation of the parents.The Children of Same-Sex Parents - Are They Well-adjusted? - Pediatrics for Parentshttps://pedsforparents.com/2018/02/26/the-children-of-same-sex-parents-are-they-well-adjusted/[26-4-2018 15:38:59]We are the lead investigators of two ongoing longitudinal studies of lesbian-parent families: the U.S.National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) and the Dutch Longitudinal Lesbian FamilyStudy (DLLFS). The NLLFS has been following lesbian mothers and the children they conceivedthrough donor insemination since the time that the mothers were pregnant (in 1986). The DLLFSbegan when the children were on average 5.8 years old.In most assessments of well-being, the NLLFS and DLLFS children were similar to children raised inheterosexual-parent families. However, on a standardized test of psychological adjustment, whenthe 17-year-old NLLFS adolescents were compared with same-age peers, those with lesbianparents scored higher in academic achievement, social activities, and overall competence, andlower in social problems, rule-breaking behavior, and aggressive behavior. The DLLFS adolescentshad higher self-esteem than their peers who were raised in mother-father families.Why did the adolescents with lesbian mothers fare so well? In following these families over manydecades, we know that the children were highly desired, and their lesbian mothers were veryinvolved in parenting. These mothers took parenting classes, formed parenting support groups, andparticipated in preschool and elementary school curriculum development (especially in educatingabout LGBT families and developing anti-bullying programs). This kind of involvement clearly paidoff, since 93% of the 17-year-old NLLFS adolescents described their mothers as good role models.In 2016, we undertook a different kind of investigation-a population-based study. Unlike the NLLFSand DLLFS, in which we have met the participants and visited their homes, the 2016 study useddata gathered by the U.S. government in the very large National Survey of Children’s Health(NSCH). The NSCH contained questions that allowed us to compare same-sex and different-sexparent households. It had the added beneft of being described to participants as simply a survey onchildren’s health, unlike the NLLFS and the DLLFS, in which all participants knew that the focus waslesbian-parent families.In our NSCH study*, we matched (paired up) female same-sex parent families with different-sexparent families on eight characteristics (the parent’s age, education, U.S. birth status, urban/ruralresidence, and the child’s age, gender, race/ethnicity, and U.S. birth status). We then compared thetwo types of families on family relationships, parenting stress, and children’s general health,emotional diffculties, coping behavior, and learning behavior. We found no differences between thesame-sex parent families and the different-sex parent families on spouse/partner relationships,parent-child relationships, or any child outcomes. Same-sex parents reported more parenting stress,even though their children were doing just as well as children with different-sex parents.We know from the NLLFS and DLLFS that lesbian mothers have concerns about raising theirchildren in a homophobic society and feel more pressured to justify the quality of their parentingthan do heterosexual parents. We also know that lesbian mothers use support groups andThe Children of Same-Sex Parents - Are They Well-adjusted? - Pediatrics for Parentshttps://pedsforparents.com/2018/02/26/the-children-of-same-sex-parents-are-they-well-adjusted/[26-4-2018 15:38:59]counseling services to foster healthy child development. It is possible that utilizing such supportsmade it possible for the same-sex mothers in the NSCH study to cope with parenting stress withoutcompromising their children’s well-being.The answer to the question, “Are the children of same-sex parents well-adjusted?” is a resounding“Yes.” Four decades of research on psychological adjustment, including our own longitudinal andpopulation-based studies, demonstrate that the children of same-sex parents fare as well as, orsometimes even better than, their peers raised by heterosexual parents.*See: Bos et al. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 2016.Nanette Gartrell, MDNanette Gartrell, MD, is a visiting distinguished scholar, Williams Institute, UCLA School ofLaw and has a guest appointment at the University of Amsterdam.Henry Bos, PhDHenny Bos, PhD, is Associate Professor, College of Child Development and Education,University of Amsterdam.Related PostsPopular Tagsabdominal pain AdenotonsillectomyADHD advertising allergiesantibiotics asthma autism bathingbreast feeding bullying concussion e-cigarettes ear infection eczema energy

The children of same-sex parents:Are they well-adjusted?

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The children of same-sex parents:Are they well-adjusted?

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International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion online publications