Proud Parenting

LGBTQ Parents - Lesbian Moms & Gay Dads

Report: Gay parents give kids better ‘general health’ than straight parents

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A new study from researchers with the University of Melbourne in Australia concludes that gay parents provide children with a better family atmosphere than straight male-female parents in two key areas: “general health and family cohesion.” One of the biggest reasons for the higher happiness finding in households run by gay parents is because housework is more equitably distributed.

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Previous research has suggested that parenting roles and work roles, and home roles within same-sex parentally families are more equitably distributed when compared to heterosexual families. What this means is that people take on roles that are suited to their skill sets rather than falling into those gender stereotypes, which is mom staying home and looking after the kids and dad going out to earn money.

The study breaks down barriers to gay parents raising children.

“Quite often, people talk about marriage equality in the context of family and that marriage is necessary to raise children in the right environment, and that you need a mother and a father to be able to do that, and that marriage should be restricted to male and female couples,” researchers said. The study suggests in that context is that actually children can be brought up in many different family contexts, and it shouldn’t be a barrier to marriage equality.

via The Washington Times

Raising adopted children, how parents cooperate matters more than sexual orientation

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A new study by psychology researchers suggests that working well together as a couple and supporting each other in parenting is linked to fewer behavior problems among their adopted children – and is more important than their sexual orientation.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and University of Virginia report their findings from this first empirical examination of differences and similarities in co-parenting among gay and straight adoptive couples and associations with child behavior in the July/August issue of Child Development.

The study suggests that lesbian and gay couples may be creating new ways to raise children outside of traditional gender roles, and results are important to adoption professionals and others who work with adoptive families. Further, the research is informative for those debating legal, political and policy questions about family dynamics and outcomes for children raised by same-sex couples.

The researchers discovered that lesbian and gay couples were more likely to equally share childcare tasks, while heterosexual couples were likely to specialize, with mothers doing more work than fathers in these families. In addition, from the videotaped observations of family interactions, it was clear that other aspects of co-parenting, such as how supportive parents were of each other, or how much they competed, were connected with children’s behavioral problems.

This study was supported by the Williams Institute at UCLA and the Lesbian Health Fund.

Article adapted by Proud Parenting from original press release

Social scientists take offense at “deeply flawed” anti-gay parenting research

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Recent studies, funded by two conservative-leaning foundations, suggest disadvantages associated with same-sex parents. But enlightened scientists say the research is deeply flawed, and does not measure the effect of same-sex parenting at all. The results don’t have an actual category of gay parents in the project that you can isolate and prove the most important thing in this kid’s childhood is that they were raised by gay parents. The study defined same-sex parenting by asking participants if their parents had ever had same-sex relationships, and whether they had lived with the parent at that time. That led to a “hodgepodge” group of people compared with kids in stable, married homes.

“If growing up with gay or lesbian parents were catastrophic for children, even studies based on small convenience samples would have shown this by now,” said Pennsylvania State University sociologist Paul Amato.

[via HuffPo]

$2M Canadian study on making life better for GLBTQ youth

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The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is funding a five-year study on how effective school and community programs are in reducing homophobic – and straight – bullying. “Homophobia can affect anyone,” explains Saewyc. “In any high school, there are far more heterosexual teens than GLBTQ teens, and because of this, we have found half or more of those targeted for anti-gay harassment actually identify as straight.” The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada’s health research investment agency. CIHR’s mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system.

[via UBC Public Affairs]

Incoming college students show unified support for marriage equality

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First-year college students’ political and social views continue to shift in a progressive direction. An unprecedented 71.3 percent of incoming college students indicated that same-sex couples should have the right to legal marital status, compared with 64.9 percent in 2009, according to the 2011 CIRP Freshman Survey, which is based on the responses of more than 200,000 first-time full-time students entering four-year colleges across the country. “Among students entering college, we’re seeing a more unified support for same-sex marriage that reaches across political party lines,” said John H. Pryor, lead author of the report and director of CIRP. “Given the influence of young voters in the last presidential election, candidates may want to pay careful attention to the student perspective on these and other civil rights issues.”

[via Higher Education Research Institute]

Why gay parents may be the best parents

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Research on families headed by gay and lesbian parents shows that we may bring talents to the job that straight parents don’t. Gay parents “tend to be more motivated, more committed than heterosexual parents on average, because they chose to be parents,” said Abbie Goldberg, a psychologist at Clark University in Massachusetts who researches gay and lesbian parenting. Gays and lesbians rarely become parents by accident, compared with an almost 50 percent accidental pregnancy rate among heterosexuals, Goldberg said. “That translates to greater commitment on average and more involvement.” In addition, our kids kids may have the advantage of open-mindedness, tolerance and role models for equitable relationships, according to some research.

[via LiveScience.com]

Same-sex parents more egalitarian than straight parents

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An Australian study found that gay parents place a big priority on spending time with their children, perhaps because of the effort gay people must go to, to have kids. As a result, both partners usually take responsibility for generating income and household tasks. It was also found that compared with straight parents, both gay parents are much more likely to be working part-time. The study – Work, Love and Play – compared the experience of 317 same-sex parents and 958 straight parents.

Only 6 percent of Australian couples with children under the age of 15 have neither parent working full time, compared with 23 percent of lesbian couples. The findings have been published in The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy.

Latest Study: US views of family shift dramatically

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The AP reports new research being released Wednesday shows steadily increasing recognition of unmarried couples – gay and straight – as families. Between 2003 and 2010, three surveys showed a significant shift toward counting same-sex couples with children as family – from 54 percent of respondents in 2003 to 68 percent in 2010.

In all, more than 2,300 people were surveyed. The new research on the topic is contained in a book-length study, Counted Out: Same-Sex Relations and Americans’ Definition of Family.

But there’s a solid core resisting this trend who are more willing to include pets in their definition than same-sex partners.

The Gay Dads Study: SFSU asks for gay dads to help study the challenge of parenting

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A new study at SFSU explores how gay men respond to the challenge of parenting (please note that the study is open to residents of the greater SF Bay Area only). Objectives include examining the impact of parenting on the health and wellbeing of gay couples with children across multiple health domains, including at the individual, couple, and environmental levels. Participation involves completing one 90-120 minute face-to-face interview. Interviews will cover the following topics: stress, lifestyle and health habits, relationship dynamics, social networks, and exposure to antigay discrimination. Participants will be paid for their time and are eligible for an additional funds to help cover the cost of childcare while participating. CALL NOW TO PARTICIPATE! 1-888-688-1777.

Thanks for your consideration guys.

Image: AFI News

Research project aims to increase and improve adoption of children by gay parents

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The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute is conducting a research-based project that aims to increase and improve the adoption of children by lesbian and gay individuals and couples.

As part of the project, the Institute is collecting information through a survey of GLBT parents on their experiences in adopting children, as well as their perceptions of their current needs.

Contact David Brodzinsky to receive a questionnaire. Respondents will have the option of filling out the survey anonymously. This research, which is headed by David Brodzinsky, Ph.D and Scott Ryan, Ph.D., has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Florida State University.