Keywords

same-sex parenting, lesbian, gay

Abstract

In 2005, the American Psychological Association (APA) issued an official brief on lesbian and gay parenting. This brief included the assertion: “Not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents” (p. 15). The present article closely examines this assertion and the 59 published studies cited by the APA to support it. Seven central questions address: (1) homogeneous sampling, (2) absence of comparison groups, (3) comparison group characteristics, (4) contradictory data, (5) the limited scope of children’s outcomes studied, (6) paucity of long-term outcome data, and (7) lack of APA-urged statistical power. The conclusion is that strong assertions, including those made by the APA, were not empirically warranted. Recommendations for future research are offered.

Original Publication Citation

Marks, L. (2012). Same-sex parenting and children’s outcomes: A closer examination of the American Psychological Association’s Brief on Lesbian and Gay Parenting. Social Science Research, 41, 735-751.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2012-06-10

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/7679

Publisher

Social Science Research

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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