The “no difference” theory is dead: Same sex parenting

This was too important to not post; as no one else has, I will:

Hot off the press:

The "no difference" theory is dead: A US study finds that opposite-sex parents are better than same-sex parents. Wait for the fireworks.

Fresh research has just tossed a grenade into the incendiary issue of same-sex parenting. Writing in the British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, a peer-reviewed journal, American sociologist Paul Sullins concludes that children’s “Emotional problems [are] over twice as prevalent for children with same-sex parents than for children with opposite-sex parents”.

He says confidently: “it is no longer accurate to claim that no study has found children in same-sex families to be disadvantaged relative to those in opposite-sex families.”

This defiant rebuttal of the “no difference” hypothesis is sure to stir up a hornet’s next as the Supreme Court prepares to trawl through arguments for and against same-sex marriage. It will be impossible for critics to ignore it, as it is based on more data than any previous study -- 512 children with same-sex parents drawn from the US National Health Interview Survey. The emotional problems included misbehaviour, worrying, depression, poor relationships with peers and inability to concentrate.

After crunching the numbers, Sullins found opposite-sex parents provided a better environment. “Biological parentage uniquely and powerfully distinguishes child outcomes between children with opposite-sex parents and those with same-sex parents,” he writes.

As he points out, this has immense implications for public policy. The Elton John/David Furnish model of lavishing love and licorice on the offspring of surrogate mothers won’t do.

Throwing down the gauntlet before supporters of same-sex marriage, Sullins contends that “the primary benefit of marriage for children, therefore, may not be that it tends to present them with improved parents (more stable, financially affluent, etc, although it does this), but that it presents them with their own parents.”

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http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/the_no_difference_theory_is_dead#sthash.V6aaYwna.dpuf

One study, tiny sample group, and a guy opposed to gay marriage found what he wanted to see.:yawn:

Well, that is one way (yours) of looking at it, certainly.

As opposed to another "ah-ha!" moment for bigots to feel good about themselves. Yeah, tell me about it; what is the world coming to.

Granite said:

As opposed to another "ah-ha!" moment for bigots to feel good about themselves. Yeah, tell me about it; what is the world coming to.

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That is your own cynical view. Some of us simply want to know the objective truth.

GFR7 said:

That is your own cynical view. Some of us simply want to know the objective truth.

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You want to hear the objective truth? :rotfl:

Another thing to consider is the children themselves. What percentage are adopted? At what age were they adopted. Speaking as an adopted child myself I think we're more prone to emotion as well as other "issues" as children raised by their biological parents.

TracerBullet said:

You want to hear the objective truth? :rotfl:

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Indeed, I do.

Tracer, it appears to almost all legal experts in the US that same sex marriage will become legal nation wide this June; even Justice Thomas affirms this. Congratulations.

Sitamun said:

Another thing to consider is the children themselves. What percentage are adopted? At what age were they adopted. Speaking as an adopted child myself I think we're more prone to emotion as well as other "issues" as children raised by their biological parents.

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Uh, by definition wouldn't most of these kids be adopted?

Granite said:

Uh, by definition wouldn't most of these kids be adopted?

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Well yes, but I don't want to assume any percentages, due to sperm and egg donors, etc. I would assume that the majority of said children would be adopted though. If said study is made up solely of adopted children of gay parents, the only true comparison would be against adopted children of straight parents. I guess that was the point I was trying to make.

Sitamun said:

Well yes, but I don't want to assume any percentages, due to sperm and egg donors, etc. I would assume that the majority of said children would be adopted though. If said study is made up solely of adopted children of gay parents, the only true comparison would be against adopted children of straight parents. I guess that was the point I was trying to make.

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Ah, gotcha. I actually did overlook donors and what have you.:cheers:

We don't know if this study will even hold up under scrutiny, or stand the test of time.........Just grist for the old mill..........

Sitamun said:

Well yes, but I don't want to assume any percentages, due to sperm and egg donors, etc. I would assume that the majority of said children would be adopted though. If said study is made up solely of adopted children of gay parents, the only true comparison would be against adopted children of straight parents. I guess that was the point I was trying to make.

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I understand, yes.

I think the study is too vague. Like I stated before adopted children tend to have more emotional "issues" to begin with. Those issues tend to only get worse the longer they spend in the system. I was only a month old when I was adopted and I still had issues. Not overly bad problems, but there were some.

Sitamun said:

I think the study is too vague. Like I stated before adopted children tend to have more emotional "issues" to begin with. Those issues tend to only get worse the longer they spend in the system. I was only a month old when I was adopted and I still had issues. Not overly bad problems, but there were some.

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This may case. I am sorry to hear that your being adopted caused you trouble. I grew up in an intact home with both biological parents; that did not prevent conflict, trauma, and a myriad of trouble - and my siblings and I had plenty of problems.

GFR7 said:

This may case. I am sorry to hear that your being adopted caused you trouble. I grew up in an intact home with both biological parents; that did not prevent conflict, trauma, and a myriad of trouble - and my siblings and I had plenty of problems.

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And so we see the tremendous advantages inherent to the "traditional" family.:yawn:

Additionally, if these were adopted children of gay parents, their lives still may have been much better off than if they had not been adopted by gay parents. It's something to consider.....

A read through of this work shows a couple issues that anyone interested in objective truth would find concerning.

Sullins makes claims about marriage equality but nothing in this study is about that.

His data comes from the 1997 U.S. National Health Interview Survey. Sullins did not take a random sample, he selected just what children would be included in his "research."

Sullins specifically excluded both children of heterosexual parents who were single and children of homosexual parents who were married.

Findings of numerous similar studies comparing children of single minority parents and the children of non-minority two parent households show that the measures Sullins is looking at are always significantly worse among children of single parents. Sullins numbers actually show that the children of unmarried gay parents he looked at were faring better than children of single heterosexuals.
Ref: Taylor, Conger Risk and resilience prosesses in single mother families 2014
Priest, Walton, White, Kowal, Baker Understanding the complexities of ethnic-racial socialization processes for both minority and majority groups 2014
Pearl et al Bidirectional Effects of Parenting Quality and Child Externalizing Behavior in Predominantly Single Parent, Under-Resourced Minority Families

Sullins claims that his findings are "unaffected by stigmatization" but he can't demonstrate that.

Sullins says that many of the "homosexually raised" children had a biological connection to one of the same-sex parents, but he can't tell us if the current emotional problems he is citing are a result of coming from a broken home.

Granite said:

And so we see the tremendous advantages inherent to the "traditional" family.:yawn:

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Right. There are not always advantages. I at least am admitting this; I didn't have to say anything at all.

TracerBullet said:

A read through of this work shows a couple issues that anyone interested in objective truth would find concerning.

Sullins makes claims about marriage equality but nothing in this study is about that.

Sullins did not take a random sample from the 1997 U.S. National Health Interview Survey. That is he selected just what children would be included in his "research."

Sullins specifically excluded both children of heterosexual parents who were single and children of homosexual parents who were married.

Findings of numerous similar studies comparing children of single minority parents and the children of non-minority two parent households show that the measures Sullins is looking at are always significantly worse among children of single parents. Sullins numbers actually show that the children of unmarried gay parents he looked at were faring better than children of single heterosexuals.
Ref: Taylor, Conger Risk and resilience prosesses in single mother families 2014
Priest, Walton, White, Kowal, Baker Understanding the complexities of ethnic-racial socialization processes for both minority and majority groups 2014
Pearl et al Bidirectional Effects of Parenting Quality and Child Externalizing Behavior in Predominantly Single Parent, Under-Resourced Minority Families

Sullins claims that his findings are "unaffected by stigmatization" but he can't demonstrate that.

Sullins says that many of the "homosexually raised" children had a biological connection to one of the same-sex parents, but he can't tell us if the current emotional problems he is citing are a result of coming from a broken home.

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Right-- I am already finding across the web that his study is being debunked.