Are kids disadvantaged by same sex parenting? ABC Fact Check finds out

There are many myths bandied about regarding same sex parenting. Opponents of same sex parenting often argue that children with two mothers or two fathers are disadvantaged by not having a mother and father. They often assert that the wellbeing of kids is compromised by having same sex parents and that some sort of damage will be caused. This argument is often cited by those campaigning against the legalization of marriage equality, as seen in the lead up to Ireland’s 2015 referendum to legalize same sex marriage.

But is that really the case? Are kids disadvantaged or child wellbeing compromised by same sex parenting? What are the facts?

In this short video, ABC Fact Check, from Australian broadcaster ABC, asks ‘do kids with a mother and a father do better?’ It examines the existing research into the effects of being raised within a family with same sex parents – there are currently more than 100 studies on same sex parenting. The video tests out whether there are any differences or negative effects on children in same sex families compared to kids with heterosexual parents.

As the video outlines, a 2010 review by Timothy Biblarz and Judith Stacey compared 33 studies in the US and found that:

There was no research that backed up the ‘widely held conviction that the gender of parents matters for child wellbeing’

~ How does the gender of parents matter? Timothy Biblarz and Judith Stacey, 2010, Journal of Marriage and Family

This finding is just one of the encouraging conclusions that this video draws out. Check out the video to find out about how kids raised by same sex parents do on measures of psycological outcomes compared to their peers in heterosexual families. The video also reveals one indicator where kids raised via same sex parenting outperform their peers. Many thanks to ABC Fact Check for examining the evidence on this topic.