Do Any Studies Show that Gay and Lesbian Parenting Harms a Child?
Q: Dear Charlotte,
I'm looking for valid scientific studies that attribute any detriment to being raised by gay or lesbian parents. I've been unable to find anything specifically comparing two gay or lesbian parents to two heterosexual parents. Do you know of any even arguably valid studies that I can read?
Sincerely,
Tami
A: Dear Tami,
There is now a considerable social science research literature comparing children of lesbian and gay parents with those who have heterosexual parents. A recent example is my own 1998 study, "Psychosocial adjustment among children conceived via donor insemination by lesbian and heterosexual mothers," by R. W. Chan, B. Raboy and C. J. Patterson, in Volume 69 of Child Development.
If you want to see a recent overview of this area of research, you also could look at my 2000 study, "Sexual orientation and family life: A
decade review," in Volume 62 of the Journal of Marriage and the Family.
One important result from social science research is that parental sexual orientation does not appear to be a very important factor in children's psychosocial development. Researchers have found that children of lesbian mothers are as likely to develop normally as are children of heterosexual parents. Based on the research findings that are available to us today, the qualities of relationships and parent-child interactions within the family appear to be much more important influences on children's development than parental sexual orientation.
With best wishes,
Charlotte Patterson
Patterson is a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and a leading expert on the development of children of lesbian mothers.
Feb. 23, 2001