A new study finds that children raised by female same-sex couples fare just as well as children raised within a heterosexual household.
The study comes out of NYU and reviews and synthesizes all available research (about 80 relevant subjects) conducted on the subject of two partnered women raising children together. Their findings encompass both academic achievement and delinquent behavior, finding children raised by lesbians average the same level of achievement and positive behavior patterns as children raised by heterosexual couples.
Teen girls raised by lesbians earned grade point averages of about 2.8, compared with 2.9 from those raised by heterosexual couples. Teen boys raised by lesbians earned a GPA of 2.9, compared with 2.65 of teen boys raised by heterosexual couples. Teens in both types of households averaged a score of 1.8 out of 10 when graded on delinquent behavior.
“Children raised by lesbians average the same level
of achievement and positive behavior patterns.”
Researchers found heterosexual and lesbian couples matched up in other ways as well. Children held greater attachment to their biological mother than to their other mother, new parenthood caused stress between the two women at first, and (conforming to gender stereotypes) both women were less likely to utilize physical discipline and more likely to play with their children than children within heterosexual couples.
There was no evidence present that children raised by lesbian parents were more likely to be homosexual themselves or confused regarding gender. As study researcher Judith Stacey explained:
“There really is no evidence that not having a mother or father produces any sort of gender confusion or insecure gender identity. It’s a big mystery where Gender Dysphoria in children comes from. But almost all transgender or gender nonconforming people have heterosexual parents.”