There is no difference in children's well being, emotional difficulties, learning and overall health whether or not they have been raised in a same-sex household or a different-sex household, according to a new study.
The study was performed researchers affiliated with the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, the University of Amsterdam and Columbia University.
The study, lead author Dr. Henny Bos, said, compared only parents in the two household types who have been in a continuous relationship.
According to a press release from the Williams Institute, the study compared parenting stress, child outcomes and family relationships in households with female same-sex parents and households with different-sex parents.
A major difference reported in the study was that same-sex parents reported having more parenting stress.
“Future investigations might explore whether the cultural spotlight on child outcomes in same-sex parent families is associated with increased parenting stress,” said psychiatrist and co-author Nanette Gartrell. “Some of our earlier studies have shown that lesbian mothers feel pressured to justify the quality of their parenting because of their sexual orientation.”
The full report said 95 female same-sex parents households were matched with 95 different-sex parent households. Children ranged in age from 6 to 17 years old.
The report concluded that despite more same-sex parents reporting parenting stress than different-sex parents, children in each type of household showed no difference in outcomes.
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