Children have Healthier, Happier Life with Same-Sex Couples than Straight Parents

Same-sex couples manage parenthood better than straight couples, a new study says.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne found that growing up with same-sex couples did not place children at any particular drawback, but on the other hand, the life of these children was better - in terms of both health and happiness - compared to their peers coming from normal families.

Dr. Simon Crouch and colleagues looked at 500 children aged between 2 months and 17 years growing up with 315 parents - gay (18 percent), lesbian (80 percent) or bisexual. Researchers collected information about the children's development through questionnaires. At the end of the study, researchers found that children raised by same-sex couples fared better on health and family attachment.

"These children are growing up in a range of contexts and score well on measures of health and wellbeing in the face of discrimination," Crouch said in a news release.

However, the study also threw some light on the difficulties experienced by children of same-sex couples. "International research to date has suggested that these children are doing well in many aspects of their lives, however they are often affected by the discrimination that their families may experience due to parental sexual orientation," Dr. Crouch explained.

The welfare and development of children growing up with same-sex couples has long been a topic of discussion all over the world. Two studies published in Elsevier's Social Science Research in 2012 found that children of same-sex parents were not at any major disadvantage compared to children growing up with parents of the opposite sex.

Similar to the current study, previous studies have also shown that same-sex parents face more severe criticism in life compared to straight parents. A study published in the March issue of the Journal of GLBT Family Studies showed that poor parenting behaviors of gay parents received harsher criticism and more negative judgments compared to straight parents, Health Day reported.