New Generation of Research Confirms Children Raised by Same-Sex Parents are Thriving

June 15, 2022

Contact: KL Conner, 202-281-4159

Washington — Analysis released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research spotlights the rigorous quantitative research on sexual and gender minority parenting since the Supreme Court ruled that states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

In Children Raised by Same-Sex Parents are Thriving, CEPR’s Shawn Fremstad points to definitive studies using US data from large-scale, nationally representative federal government surveys, and studies that use high quality population register data from the Netherlands.

“This new generation of research consistently shows that children raised by same-sex parents do at least as well as children raised by different-sex parents,” Fremstad concludes.

But you do not have to be a data expert to grasp the conclusions of these studies:

“no effect of parental union sex composition on school progress … within any area or among any group studied.”
“children in same-sex-parented families outperform children in different-sex-parented families on multiple indicators…”
“overall effect size of having same-sex parents on the developmental outcomes of the children [in these studies] was positive and significantly different from that of heterosexual parents.”

“Same-sex parents should be extra proud this month,” said Fremstad. “Taken as a whole, this now substantial body of research should put to rest the right wing idea that there is one ideal family arrangement for children.”