Study: Children raised by same-sex parents are ‘healthier and happier’
Children raised by same-sex parents are both healthier and happier than others, a study has found.
According to research from the University of Melbourne, children from gay and lesbian families rated far higher for both general health and family cohesion.
The researchers surveyed the same-sex parents of 500 children, and found that they scored an average of 6 percent higher than the general population.
Lead researcher Doctor Simon Crouch said: “It seems that same-sex-parent families and the children in them are getting along well, and this has positive impacts on child health.
He continued: “Previous research has suggested that parenting roles and work roles, and home roles within same-sex parenting families are more equitably distributed when compared to heterosexual families.
“People take on roles that are suited to their skill sets rather than falling into those gender stereotypes, which is mum staying home and looking after the kids and dad going out to earn money.
“What this leads to is a more harmonious family unit and therefore feeding on to better health and wellbeing.
“My personal view is that I think it teaches the child that everyone contributes in an equal way and you all have to contribute to the family.
“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 therefore marriage should be restricted to male and female couples.
“I think what 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.”
