Anti-gay parenting ‘study’ included a giant and a baby convict
A much-cited study that claims gay parenting is bad for children has been called into question over some surreal data – including fake responses from a giant and an arrested baby.
A 2012 ‘New Family Structures study’ published by Mark Regnerus of the University of Texas claimed to look at the lives of children of gay parents, and alleged that same-sex parents have a negative impact on their children’s outcomes.
However, the study has repeatedly come under fire for a series of statistical and academic flaws, with an auditor decrying the findings as “bullsh**t”.
Now, researchers looking through the study data and attempting to remove flaws have found it actually indicates that gay parenting is not at all harmful, when some clearly fake data is removed.
According to Right Wing Watch, researchers Brian Powell of Indiana University and Simon Cheng of the University of Connecticut found that one participant claimed to have been arrested at age 1.
Another supposed 25-year-old participant claimed to be 7’8″ tall (2.33m), weigh 88 pounds (39kg), and have eight children by eight marriages.
Someone of that height and weight would be diagnosed as having giantism – and would also have a BMI of 7, which is fatal.
When the fake data was removed, even with other flaws still present the study showed that gay parenting has no negative effect whatsoever.
They found: “[When] equally plausible and, in our view, preferred methodological decisions are used, a different conclusion emerges: adult children who lived with same-sex parents show comparable outcome profiles to those from other family types, including intact biological families.
Regnerus has previously used the study to claim in court cases that same-sex marriage should be banned – but Powell says his findings are no longer valid.
He said: “There are major analytic errors in the study.”
