LGBT parenting refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people parenting one or more children. This includes children raised by same-sex couples (same-sex parenting), children raised by single LGBT parents, and children raised by an opposite-sex couple where at least one partner is LGBT.[1]
LGBT people can become parents through various means including current or former relationships, coparenting, adoption, donor insemination, and surrogacy.[2]
Scientific research has been generally consistent in showing that gay and lesbian parents are as fit and capable as heterosexual parents, and their children are as psychologically healthy and well-adjusted as children reared by heterosexual parents.[3][4][5] Major associations of mental health professionals in the U.S., Canada, and Australia have not identified credible empirical research that suggests otherwise.[5][6][7][8][9] Based on the robust nature of the evidence available in the field, Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida was satisfied in 2010 that the issue is so far beyond dispute that it would be irrational to hold otherwise; the best interests of children are not preserved by prohibiting homosexual adoption.[10]
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LGBT people can become parents through various means including current or former relationships, coparenting, adoption, foster care, donor insemination, and surrogacy.[2] A gay man or lesbian may have children within an opposite-sex relationship, such as a mixed-orientation marriage, for various reasons.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
Some children do not know they have an LGBT parent; coming out issues vary and some parents may never reveal to their children that they identify as LGBT.[18][19]
Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are parents. In the 2000 U.S. Census, for example, 33 percent of female same-sex couple households and 22 percent of male same-sex couple households reported at least one child under the age of 18 living in the home.[20] As of 2005, an estimated 270,313 children in the United States live in households headed by same-sex couples.[21]
According to US Census Snapshot published in December 2007, same-sex couples with children have significantly fewer economic resources and significantly lower rates of home ownership than heterosexual married couples.[21]
| Family law |
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| Legal states similar to marriage |
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| Dissolution of marriage |
| Annulment · Divorce · Legal separation (Alimony) |
| Issues affecting children |
| Adoption · Child abduction · Child abuse Child custody · Child marriage Child Protective Services (United States) Child support · Contact (including visitation) Emancipation of minors Foster care · Grandparent visitation Legal guardian · Legitimacy Parental responsibility · Parenting coordinator Parenting plan · Paternity Residence in English family law · Ward |
| Conflict of laws |
| Divorce · Marriage · Nullity International child abduction (Convention) |
| Related areas |
| Adultery · Bigamy Domestic violence · Incest |
The scientific research that has directly compared outcomes for children with gay and lesbian parents with outcomes for children with heterosexual parents has been remarkably consistent in showing that lesbian and gay parents are as fit and capable as heterosexual parents, and their children are as psychologically healthy and well-adjusted as children reared by heterosexual parents,[3][4][5] despite the reality that considerable legal discrimination and inequity remain significant challenges for these families.[4] Major associations of mental health professionals in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, have not identified credible empirical research that suggests otherwise.[5][6][7][8][9] Literature indicates that parents’ financial, psychological and physical well-being is enhanced by marriage and that children benefit from being raised by two parents within a legally-recognized union.[5][6][22][23]
Since the 1970s, it has become increasingly clear that it is family processes (such as the quality of parenting, the psychosocial well-being of parents, the quality of and satisfaction with relationships within the family, and the level of co-operation and harmony between parents) that contribute to determining children’s well-being and ‘outcomes’, rather than family structures, per se, such as the number, gender, sexuality and co-habitation status of parents.[4][22] Since the end of the 1980s, as a result, it has been well established that children and adolescents can adjust just as well in nontraditional settings as in traditional settings.[22]
Judith Stacey, of New York University, stated: “Rarely is there as much consensus in any area of social science as in the case of gay parenting, which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics and all of the major professional organizations with expertise in child welfare have issued reports and resolutions in support of gay and lesbian parental rights”.[24] These organizations include the American Academy of Pediatrics,[6] the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,[1] the American Psychiatric Association,[25] the American Psychological Association,[26] the American Psychoanalytic Association,[27] the National Association of Social Workers,[28] the Child Welfare League of America,[29] the North American Council on Adoptable Children,[30] and Canadian Psychological Association.[31] In 2006, Gregory M. Herek stated in American Psychologist: "If gay, lesbian, or bisexual parents were inherently less capable than otherwise comparable heterosexual parents, their children would evidence problems regardless of the type of sample. This pattern clearly has not been observed. Given the consistent failures in this research literature to disprove the null hypothesis, the burden of empirical proof is on those who argue that the children of sexual minority parents fare worse than the children of heterosexual parents."[7]
According to report by American Psychological Association: "In summary, research on diversity among families with lesbian and gay parents and on the potential effects of such diversity on children is still sparse (Martin, 1993, 1998; Patterson, 1995b, 2000, 2001, 2004; Perrin, 2002; Stacey & Biblarz, 2001; Tasker, 1999). Data on children of parents who identify as bisexual are still not available, and information about children of non-White lesbian or gay parents is hard to find (but see Wainright et al., 2004, for a racially diverse sample)... However, the existing data are still limited, and any conclusions must be seen as tentative... It should be acknowledged that research on lesbian and gay parents and their children, though no longer new, is still limited in extent. Although studies of gay fathers and their children have been conducted (Patterson, 2004), less is known about children of gay fathers than about children of lesbian mothers. Although studies of adolescent and young adult offspring of lesbian and gay parents are available (e.g., Gershon et al., 1999; Tasker & Golombok, 1997; Wainright et al., 2004), relatively few studies have focused on the offspring of lesbian or gay parents during adolescence or adulthood."[32]
Until 2010, research on school outcomes for the children of same-sex couples was limited to studies on small samples studies, and meta-analyses thereof. The first large sample study based on US nationally representative data confirmed that "children raised by same-sex couples have no fundamental deficits in making normal progress through school."[33]
A number of studies have examined whether the children of lesbian and gay parents are themselves more likely to identify as lesbian and gay. While reviews of the available studies agree that the vast majority of children of lesbian and gay parents are heterosexual, they differ in regards to whether there is evidence to suggest a comparatively higher rate of homosexuality when compared to the children of heterosexual parents. In a 2001 review of 21 studies, Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz found that researchers frequently downplay findings indicating difference regarding children's gender, sexual preferences and behavior, suggesting that an environment of heterosexism has hampered scientific inquiry in the area. Their findings indicate that the children with lesbigay parents appear less traditionally gender-typed and are more likely to be open to homoerotic relationships.[34] A 2005 review by Charlotte J. Patterson for the American Psychological Association found that the available data did not suggest higher rates of homosexuality among the children of lesbian or gay parents.[32] Herek's 2006 review describes the available data on the point as limited.[7] Stacey and Biblarz and Herek stress that the sexual orientation of children is of limited relevance to discussions of parental fitness or policies based on the same. In a 2010 review comparing single-father families with other family types, Stacey and Biblarz state, "We know very little yet about how parents influence the development of their children's sexual identities or how these intersect with gender."[8]
In the United States, studies on the effect of gay and lesbian parenting on children were first conducted in the 1970s, and expanded through the 1980s in the context of increasing numbers of gay and lesbian parents seeking legal custody of their biological children.[35] The widespread pattern of children being raised from infancy in two-parent gay or lesbian homes is relatively recent. This no doubt contributes to the fact that prior to the early 2000s many of the initial studies in this area suffered from problems with sample size, development over time, and sampling concerns. However, more recent research have been far more rigorous.
A 1993 review published in the Journal of Divorce & Remarriage identified fourteen studies addressing the effects of homosexual parenting on children. The review concluded that all of the studies lacked external validity and that therefore: "The conclusion that there are no significant differences in children reared by lesbian mothers versus heterosexual mothers is not supported by the published research data base."[36]
In 1999 analysis of the research on gay and lesbian parenting, published in Marriage and Family Review, Bridget Fitzgerald found that the available studies generally concluded that "the sexual orientation of parents is not an effective or important predictor of successful childhood development," but noted that the generalizability of available studies was limited due to methodological difficulties:
Many of these studies suffer from similar limitations and weaknesses, with the main obstacle being the difficulty in acquiring representative, random samples on a virtually invisible population. Many lesbian and gay parents are not open about their sexual orientation due to real fears of discrimination, homophobia, and threats of losing custody of their children. Those who do participate in this type of research are usually relatively open about their homosexuality and, therefore, may bias the research towards a particular group of gay and lesbian parents.
Because of the inevitable use of convenience samples, sample sizes are usually very small and the majorityof the research participants end up looking quite homogeneous—e.g. white, middle-class, urban, and well-educated. Another pattern is the wide discrepancy between the number of studies conducted with children of gay fathers and those with lesbian mothers...
Another potential factor of importance is the possibility of social desirability bias when research subjects respond in ways that present themselves and their families in the most desirable light possible. Such a phenomenon does seem possible due to the desire of this population to offset and reverse negative images and discrimination. Consequently, the findings of these studies may be patterned by self-presentation bias.[35]
In a 2001 review published by the Marriage Law Project of The Catholic University of America, Lerner and Nagai examined 49 studies of homosexual parenting, stating that the studies prove nothing because they suffer from flaws, such as small and non-random samples (including participants who recruit other participants), missing or inadequate comparison groups and statistical analysis, self-constructed, unreliable and invalid measurements, unclear hypothesis and research design.[37]
According to a 2001 review of 21 studies by Stacey and Biblarz published in American Sociological Review: "[R]esearchers lack reliable data on the number and location of lesbigay parents with children in the general population, there are no studies of child development based on random, representative samples of such families. Most studies rely on small-scale, snowball and convenience samples drawn primarily from personal and community networks or agencies. Most research to date has been conducted on white lesbian mothers who are comparatively educated, mature, and reside in relatively progressive urban centers, most often in California or the Northeastern states."[34]
A 2006 story in the Los Angeles Times,[38] notes that "investigators acknowledge the field is too young, the numbers too few, the variables too many and the research too values-laden to qualify as definitive."
In 2006, Gregory M. Herek, a professor of psychology at University of California, Davis, stated in American Psychologist:
The overall methodological sophistication and quality of studies in this domain have increased over the years, as would be expected for any new area of empirical inquiry. More recent research has reported data from probability and community-based convenience samples, has used more rigorous assessment techniques, and has been published in highly respected and widely cited developmental psychology journals, including Child Development and Developmental Psychology. Data are increasingly available from prospective studies. In addition, whereas early study samples consisted mainly of children originally born into heterosexual relationships that subsequently dissolved when one parent came out as gay or lesbian, recent samples are more likely to include children conceived within a same-sex relationship or adopted in infancy by a same-sex couple. Thus, they are less likely to confound the effects of having a sexual minority parent with the consequences of divorce.
Despite considerable variation in the quality of their samples, research design, measurement methods, and data analysis techniques, the findings to date have been remarkably consistent. Empirical studies comparing children raised by sexual minority parents with those raised by otherwise comparable heterosexual parents have not found reliable disparities in mental health or social adjustment. Differences have not been found in parenting ability between lesbian mothers and heterosexual mothers. Studies examining gay fathers are fewer in number but do not show that gay men are any less fit or able as parents than heterosexual men.[7]
In a 2009 affidavit filed in the case Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, Michael Lamb, a professor of psychology and head of Department of Social and Developmental Psychology at Cambridge University, stated:
The methodologies used in the major studies of same-sex parenting meet the standards for research in the field of developmental psychology and psychology generally. The studies specific to same-sex parenting were published in leading journals in the field of child and adolescent development, such as Child Development, published by the Society for Research in Child Development, Developmental Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association, and The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, the flagship peer-review journals in the field of child development. Most of the studies appeared in these (or similar) rigorously peer-reviewed and highly selective journals, whose standards represent expert consensus on generally accepted social scientific standards for research on child and adolescent development. Prior to publication in these journals, these studies were required to go through a rigorous peer-review process, and as a result, they constitute the type of research that members of the respective professions consider reliable. The body of research on same-sex families is consistent with standards in the relevant fields and produces reliable conclusions."[22]
Michael J. Rosenfeld, associate professor of sociology at Stanford University, wrote in a 2010 study published in Demography that "[A] critique of the literature—that the sample sizes of the studies are too small to allow for statistically powerful tests—continues to be relevant." Rosenfeld's study, "the first to use large-sample nationally representative data, shows that children raised by same-sex couples have no fundamental deficits in making normal progress through school. The core finding here offers a measure of validation for the prior, and much-debated, small-sample studies."[33]
In 2010 American Psychological Association, The California Psychological Association, The American Psychiatric Association, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy stated: "Relatively few studies have directly examined gay fathers, but those that exist find that gay men are similarly fit and able parents, as compared to heterosexual men. Available empirical data do not provide a basis for assuming gay men are unsuited for parenthood. If gay parents were inherently unfit, even small studies with convenience samples would readily detect it. This has not been the case. Being raised by a single father does not appear to inherently disadvantage children’s psychological wellbeing more than being raised by a single mother. Homosexuality does not constitute a pathology or deficit, and there is no theoretical reason to expect gay fathers to cause harm to their children. Thus, although more research is needed, available data place the burden of empirical proof on those who argue that having a gay father is harmful."[5]
In June 2010, the results of a 25-year ongoing longitudinal study by Nanette Gartrell of the University of California and Henny Bos of the University of Amsterdam were released. Gartrell and Bos studied 78 children conceived through donor insemination and raised by lesbian mothers. Mothers were interviewed and given clinical questionnaires during pregnancy when their children were 2, 5, 10, and 17 years of age. In the abstract of the report, the authors state: "According to their mothers' reports, the 17-year-old daughters and sons of lesbian mothers were rated significantly higher in social, school/academic, and total competence and significantly lower in social problems, rule-breaking, aggressive, and externalizing problem behavior than their age-matched counterparts in Achenbach's normative sample of American youth."[39] Gartrell and Bos point out that the study was limited to mothers who sought donor insemination and who may have been more motivated than mothers in other circumstances.[40] Gartrell and Bos note that the study's limitations included utilizing a non-random sample, and the lesbian group and control group were not matched for race or area of residence. The study was supported by grants from the Gill Foundation, the Lesbian Health Fund of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, Horizons Foundation, and the Roy Scrivner Fund of the American Psychological Foundation.[39]
In a 2006 statement the Canadian Psychological Association released an updated statement on their 2003 and 2005 conclusions, saying, "The CPA recognizes and appreciates that persons and institutions are entitled to their opinions and positions on this issue. However, CPA is concerned that some persons and institutions are mis-interpreting the findings of psychological research to support their positions, when their positions are more accurately based on other systems of belief or values." The association drew attention to Herek’s extensive 2006 review of relevant literature, which concluded that the research on which opponents to marriage of same-sex couples rely, look at the functioning of children in intact families with heterosexual parents compared to those children raised by a single parent following divorce or death of a spouse. They do not include studies that compare the functioning of children raised by heterosexual couples with the functioning of children raised by same-sex couples. In this group of studies, any differences observed are more accurately attributable to the effects of death or divorce, and/or to the effects of living with a single parent, rather than to parents’ sexual orientation. These studies do not tell us that the children of same-sex parents in an intact relationship fare worse than the children of opposite-sex parents in an intact relationship.[3]
According to the American Psychological Association, California Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, National Association of Social Workers and National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter, it is critically important to make appropriate comparisons when comparing the outcomes of different forms of parenting. For example, differences resulting from the number of parents in a household cannot be attributed to the parents’ gender or sexual orientation. Research in households with heterosexual parents generally finds that – all else being equal – children do better with two parenting figures rather than just one. The specific research studies cited do not address parents’ sexual orientation, however, and therefore do not permit any conclusions to be drawn about the consequences of having heterosexual versus nonheterosexual parents, or two parents who are of the same versus different genders.[41] According to the Maine Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics, "It is scientifically untenable to use studies about the effects on children of divorce or being raised in one parent households, to draw conclusions about the children raised in two parents households whether the parents are same or opposite-sex gender."[42]
Several countries allow same-sex couples to adopt children, while most jurisdictions prohibit them from doing so. Some jurisdictions limit adoption by same-sex couples to stepparent adoption, where one partner in a same-sex couple can legally adopt the children of the partner. Adoption by individual LGBT persons is also legal in some jurisdictions.
In January 2008, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that same-sex couples have the right to adopt a child.[43][44] Unmarried LGBT adults can petition to adopt a child in all US states. Granting the petition is left to the discretion of a judge.[45]
Same-sex parenting is often raised as an issue in debates about the legalization of same-sex marriage. Proponents of same-sex marriage argue that same-sex couples and their children should receive equal benefit from marriage laws. Opponents of both same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption argue that the former will lead to increased incidence of the latter.
NARTH and American College of Pediatricians (a conservative organization; not to be confused with American Academy of Pediatrics) argue that mainstream health and mental health organizations have, in many cases, taken public positions on parenting by same-sex couples that are based on their own social and political views rather than the available science.[46][47][48] The American Psychological Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists expressed concerns that the positions espoused by NARTH are not supported by the science and create an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish.[49][50] The National Association of Social Workers described the College as a "small faction", and "out of step with the research-based position of the AAP and other medical and child welfare authorities."[51] Francis S. Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health was disturbed to that The American College of Pediatricians distorted his scientific observations to make a point against homosexuality pulling language out of context from a book he wrote in 2006 to support an ideology that can cause unnecessary anguish and encourage prejudice. According to Collins, the information they present is misleading and incorrect.[52] Other researchers who found that ACP misrepresented their work include Warren Throckmorton and Gary Remafedi.[53] The Canadian Psychological Association has expressed concern that "some are mis-interpreting the findings of psychological research to support their positions, when their positions are more accurately based on other systems of belief or values."[3]
In a 2005 piece entitled "Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting, and America's Children," William Meezan and Jonathan Rauch, two openly gay scholars who favor same-sex marriage,[54] state that "virtually no empirical evidence on how same-sex parents' marriage might affect their children."[55] Based on their scientific and clinical expertise, American Psychological Association, The California Psychological Association, The American Psychiatric Association, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy believe it is appropriate to extrapolate from the empirical research literature for heterosexual couples—with qualifications as necessary—to anticipate the likely effects marriage would have on the segment of the sexual minority population that would choose marriage if allowed and believe that the potential benefits of marriage for gay men and lesbians in same-sex couples are similar to those that have been documented for heterosexuals.[5]
Some critics of LGBT parenting[56][57][58] cite a research brief published by Child Trends, an organization which describes itself as "the nation’s only independent research and policy center focused exclusively on improving outcomes for children,"[59] for the proposition that an "extensive body of research tells us that children do best when they grow up with both biological parents in a low-conflict marriage…it is not simply the presence of two parents...but the presence of two biological parents that seem to support child development."[60] Such critics[57][58] also cite a policy brief from the Center for Law and Social Policy, which states: "most researchers now agree that together these studies support the notion that, on average, children do better when raised by two married, biological parents."[61]
Setting aside the issue of moral objections, Stephen Hicks, a reader in health and social care at the University of Salford[62] questions the value of trying to establish that lesbian or gay parents are defective or suitable. He argues such positions are flawed because they are informed by ideologies that either oppose or support such families.[63] In Hicks' view, "Instead of asking whether gay parenting is bad for kids, I think we should ask how contemporary discourses of sexuality maintain the very idea that lesbian and gay families are essentially different and, indeed, deficient. But, in order to ask this, I think that we need a wider range of research into lesbian and gay parenting... More work of this sort will help us to ask more complex questions about forms of parenting that continue to offer some novel and challenging approaches to family life."[63]
Gregory M. Herek noted that "empirical research can’t reconcile disputes about core values, but it is very good at addressing questions of fact. Policy debates will be impoverished if this important source of knowledge is simply dismissed as a “he said, she said” squabble."[64]
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