A new study shows that children who grow up in same-sex families are not at a disadvantage compared with those raised by heterosexual couples. As such, contrary to popular belief, gender identity does not have a negative effect on child development.
As published in the journal “BMJ Global Health”, the study was conducted by researchers from Guangxi Medical University in China and Duke University School of Medicine in the United States. They set out to examine this as, in many cultures, the number of children raised by families composed of homosexual, bisexual, transgender or queer parents has increased in recent years.
In France, for instance, nearly 305,000 people comprising same-sex couples were cohabiting in 2020, compared with 170,000 in 2011 – an 80% increase. Among them, 27% of female couples and 6% of male couples live with at least one child under age 18.
The authors examined 34 studies published between 1988 and 2022 and conducted in countries where homosexuality is legal. These studies compared the development of children raised by heterosexual parents with those raised by lesbian and gay parents.
Some also included families with bisexual, queer or transgender parents.
The studies were classed according to 11 main themes:
- children’s psychological adjustment;
- physical health;
- gender role behaviour;
- gender identity/sexual orientation;
- educational attainment;
- parents’ mental health;
- parenting stress;
- parent-child relationships;
- couple relationship satisfaction;
- family functioning; and
- social support.
In analysing data from 16 of the 34 studies reviewed, the researchers found similar results between sexual-minority families and heterosexual families. They found that parents’ sexual orientation did not influence a child’s development.
In some areas, outcomes were even better in sexual-minority families, such as children’s psychological adjustment (especially among preschoolers) and parent-child relationships.
In terms of family functioning, couple relationship satisfaction, parental mental health, and parental stress, the research showed no differences based on parental sexual orientation.
“Growing up with sexual-minority parents may confer some advantages to children,” the researchers explained. “They have been described as more tolerant of diversity and more nurturing towards younger children than children of heterosexual parents.”
Nevertheless, “there are significant risk factors often associated with the sexual-minority experience and family functioning, such as stigma, poor social support, and parenting styles”, they added.
The researchers acknowledge various limitations to their findings, including the fact that the studies included were limited to regions (primarily in Europe and North America) where same-sex relationships were legal, and where the social climate for these families is generally favourable.
In addition, four of the 16 studies included were judged to be at moderate risk of bias, while one used definitions labelled as “controversial” by the researchers.