The longest-running study of same-sex couples concludes the children of lesbian parents outscore their peers socially and academically.
Results of the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study leave no doubt as to the success of lesbian couples as parents, according to a University of California, San Francisco, researcher who has worked on the project since 1986.
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New Scientist has the scoop.
The findings are based on 78 children who were all born to lesbian couples
who used donor insemination to become pregnant and were interviewed and
tested at age 17.
They were compared with a group of control adolescents born to heterosexual
parents with similar educational and financial backgrounds.
The children
of lesbian couples scored better on academic and social tests and lower
on measures of rule-breaking and aggression. Previous research has found these children are just as healthy as those whose parents are heterosexuals.
Researchers say the results should change attitudes to adoption of children by gay and
lesbian couples, which is prohibited in some parts of the U.S.
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