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Gabe Nichols
Ms. Vandersilk
English 100-15
2 December 2014
How Different are Children Who have Same-Sex Relationship Parents
There is no hotter topic then this one right now. It has been discussed in
social media, churches, and even some classrooms. Many people have many onions
based solely on opinion. No facts or statistics are used when people argue over this
topic. Recently in Texas well-known sociologist Mark Regnerus did a study to find
out if there really was a difference of children of same-sex parents. His recent
finding has created a storm of hate and emotion. However, Mark has used real
research and statistics to back up his position and has finally shed some light onto
this current issue.
This article, written by Mark Regnerus (2012) shows a study done to assess
if and in what way(s) the children of same-sex parents end up having different
issues than do the children of heterosexual parents. There have been many studies
done on this subject but none that have gotten nearly as much publicity or have
been as thoroughly undertaken. Regnerus takes a comprehensive in depth look at
the general well being of children of gay parents by sampling many children ranging
from eighteen years old to thirty-nine.
Regnerus opens up his research talking about gay parenting and how it has
become a focus as of recently in our culture. He also focuses on family structure and
the impact it has on the childs life. Specifically he states how he takes a closer look

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at the respondents of same-sex parents. Even though this is a sensitive issue,
Regnerus draws them in gently by stating that he knows this and by stating how he
has no opinion on this issue. He makes it even more interesting by introducing a
few different research articles stating how there are many similarities between
children of same-sex parents then that of opposite-sex. He also talks about the
concern about this issue and how as of right now there is very little research that
has been done to try and shed some light on this topic. Regnerus also goes on to say
that up until this point people have always assumed that there is, as Regnerus states
no difference between children of same-sex couples and those of hetero-sexual
couples.
Concern has arisen, however, about the methodological quality of many
studies focusing on same-sex parents. In particular, most are biased on non-random,
non-representative data often employing small samples that do not allow for
generalization to the larger population of gay and lesbian families. (Regnerus 2012)
Regnerus coordinated his research with the New Family Structures Study
other wise known as the NFSS. Together they screened a total of 15,058 people to
see if they qualified for the official survey. They asked them if either parent had had
a same sex relationship while they were under eighteen and living with them. A
total of two thousand nine hundred and eighty-eight surveys were completed. Their
survey uncovered that 1.7% of Americans between the ages of eighteen to thirtynine said that either their father or mother had a same sex relationship while they
were growing up. More than twice the people surveyed said that their mother had
been the one who experienced with a same-sex relationship.

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As Ragnerus continued discussing his research he mentioned the bias in
many other different studies done on this topic. He identified things like skewed
data by having extremely low and coordinated sample sizes. An example that
Regnerus uses is a past study that had been done taking a look at the difference
between divorced heterosexual moms and divorced same-sex moms. He goes on to
say on this is a poor sample due to the fact that these children would have under
gone similar circumstances so in the end there would be similar data between the
two. To top it off he adds that there was only a sample size of eighteen people.
Concern has arisen, however, about the methodological quality of many
studies focusing on same-sex parents. In particular, most are biased on non-random,
non-representative data often employing small samples that do not allow for
generalization to the larger population of gay and lesbian families. (Regnerus 2012)
He then addresses the topic of gay parents getting children. He discusses the
different options they have when it comes to getting children. He tells us the more
popular ways of them getting their kids. Regnerus states how adoption is of course
the most common method of same-sex couples getting children. Beyond that there is
also artificial insemination. However, many gay and lesbian parents receive kids
from their partners past relationships.
When it came to displaying the results from the survey, he used a data table.
He works very hard to cover any combination of family. Regnerus tells us the eight
different categories he uses. He has different types of families ranging from gay
parent, single parent, adoptive family, traditional family and more finally finishing
with the option of other. There were forty different outcomes that the people were

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surveyed for. They ranged from current relationship statuses, to sexual experiences,
different drug use and more.
In his results Regnerus found that there were very large increase of children
from same sex parents when it came to drug use. The children of same-sex parents
are much more common to be found smoking and drinking then those of a heterosexual family. Children of same-sex parents also show large increase in watching
television. They also show a large increase in sex partners among. Regnerus results
also showed that children of homosexual households have shown a much higher
percentage of being arrested as well. They also show increases in different
physiological disorders such as anxiety, depression and just an overall lack of
security in the home. There is overall a lack of connection between children of
same-sex parents and society. He portrayed this evidence through the use of
multiple different data tables and graphs.
Regneruss explains that even though his results show that same-sex parents
for the most part do have negative effects on their children, there are, of course,
exceptions with every child. Some children who are in same-sex homes will go on to
have very nice lives without many problems, but for the most part that is not the
case. He also said that even though his results show how it is bad for children samesex couples will continue to get children. Regnerus also acknowledges that there is
still much research that could be done on this topic.
Another study I looked at gave a report by the Australian Study of Child
Heath in Same-Sex Families (ACHESS) reveals a very similar study. Simon Crouch

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(2012) headed the research. His results however, were completely different then
those of the previous stated study done by Regneruss.
During the Months of May through December of 2012 they conducted
a confidential cross-sectional survey to get their data. ACHESS said they used
strategies to get ahold of same-sex parents who identified themselves openly as
being homosexual. They did not go on to explain the strategies they employed. This
survey was also allowed to be completed online. A total of three hundred and ninety
eligible parents contacted the researchers to take the survey.
Out of the three hundred and ninety people that made contact with the
researchers only three hundred and fifteen finished the whole survey. Collectively,
they represented five hundred children. Once again the large majority of children
had a female parent who was gay; approximately eighty percent.
The conclusion that ACHESS came to was that children of same-sex parents
are doing well when it came to measuring in health, overall wellbeing and their
sense of family cohesion. When presenting this research they made a claim but
offered no statistics to back it up.
Another researcher named Daniel Potter (2012) did another study to figure
out if same-sex had any different effect then that of any other type of family. Potter
says, In general, research on same-sex parent families has found little to suggest
that children are negatively effected by living in such a family structure. After
saying this he conducted research to figure out if that was true or not.
Potter used a dynamic model of family to figure out how important the family
structure really is important to a childs academic development. He also used a

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growth curve model which went from kindergarten through eighth grade. Potter
specifically looked at math assessment scores.
Early Child Longitudinal Study helped collect Potters data of the children.
More than five thousand students were used to collect their data. They started
following the students in kindergarten the fall of 1998 and followed them up into
2006 where they were in eighth grade. Each student was put into a category that
represented the relationship status of their parents or parent at home. Of the
amount of students tested only seventy-two came from a same-sex parent home.
Potters results showed that, in fact, children who had parents involved in a
same-sex relationship had lower test scores then that of other children. They had
similarities with children in divorced families.
The final piece of research I looked at was written by Lynn D. Wardle (1997)
called The Potential Impact of Homosexual Parenting on Children. Wardle takes a
close look at the possible effects of same-sex parenting. Weather they may actually
be helpful or negative on children and what needs to be done about this issue.
Wardle gets into talking about the potential harm for children under samesex parenting. Wardle discusses how many other different studies have shown that
there are children with same-sex parents do have concerns that need to be noted
even if a small sample sized was used in the research. She goes on to talk about how
being a child of a same-sex parent leads to higher rates in many things such as
STDs, prostitution, drug use.
Wardle concludes by looking at how being a homosexual parent and raising a
child in that situation is just as important as actually nurturing the child. She says

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how if a homosexual is raising a kid to be a homosexual then that leads to a higher
chance of them engaging in sexual activity and possibly contracting STDs.
After my investigation I have found that although there has been a decent
amount of research done on this issue, there is still much more to do. These
different sources all agree on some issues and disagree on many others. Honest
research is going to have to learn to put aside bias and personal views and consider
the data with proper scientific objectivity. No doubt this will be made a challenge,
due to the sensitivity of this topic.

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Works Cited
Regnerus, Mark, How different are the Children of parents who have same sex
relationships? Department of Society, University of Texas. March 2012. Web.
http://www.markregnerus.com/uploads/4/0/6/5/4065759/regnerus_july_
2012_ssr.pdf
Potter Daniel, Journal of Marriage and family. Same-Sex Parent Families and
Academic Achievement. June 2012. Web.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1324449883/54C527519BD24516PQ
/4?accountid=35590
Simone Crouch. Journal of Marriage and Family. The Australian Study of Child
Health in Same-Sex marriage. June 2012. Web.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/646
Wardle Lynn. The Potential Impact of Homosexual Parenting on Children
The University of Illinois University of Illinois Law Review. 1997 Online
Journal.