LGBT activists tout flawed research study about children of homosexuals
by Doug Mainwaring, LifeSite:
Note: The abstract of the study, “Same-Sex and Different-Sex Parent Families in Italy: Is Parents’ Sexual Orientation Associated with Child Health Outcomes and Parental Dimensions?” follows this article.
A new study purports to have found that children of gay fathers and lesbian mothers show fewer psychological problems than children of opposite-sex parents. Don’t believe it.
Conducted in Italy, the study is deeply flawed, based on a non-random sample of 190 gay and lesbians parents, as well as an equal number of opposite sex couples.
The researcher’s conclusions about the psychological health of the children of gay parents is based not on interactions with the children, but solely on the parents’ response to “self-report questionnaires … administered through an online survey,” in which, unsurprisingly, gay dads gave themselves high grades:
Gay fathers generally reported themselves as more competent and satisfied in their couple relationship and living in the most cohesive and flexible family environment.
In other words, the researchers had no access to these children, only the opinions of their parents. The authors of the study admit:
because this study did not collect first-hand data from children, it cannot be known how they perceived and coped with their non- traditional family forms or what they thought and felt about having been born through a surrogate or a gamete donor.
One wonders how these researchers can be comfortable publishing sweeping conclusions about children whom they have never met, never observed, never interviewed.
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