How Same-Sex Marriage Affects the Kids

At the Department of Sociology and Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin, a social science data collection project decided to learn more about young adults who were brought up in non-traditional families. One of the areas they decided to explore was the world of children who have grown up in same-sex marriage households. The New Family Structures study collected data from nearly 3,000 adults during their study so that they could see the differences in the personalities of people who grew up with lesbian or gay parents.

The study showed the happiest children are those who are under the headship of two heterosexual, biological parents who have a good marriage. These marriages are somewhat rare nowadays. Marriages don't often last and about one-third of all children are born outside of wedlock. Yet the study also gave credit to same-sex parents, saying that many of their children are very content and happy with their parent's relationship. The study attributes credit to lesbian parents, who can give their children special amounts of affection and care that a traditional father-mother household cannot.

This research project is different from many done on the subject in the past, because the researchers actually followed the children in these upbringings into adulthood. When all aspects of this new way of marriage were considered, the scientists came to one simple conclusion. Bad relationships hurt children, no matter what the parents are like. Happy homes where the parents are satisfied with each other are always going to raise happier children. So whatever your sexual orientation, you can have happy children if you simply work hard to show them that you love each other. If you have more questions about a California divorce or paternity action affecting your child custody time, or any other family law questions, then contact a Los Angeles family law attorney today!

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