Same-sex parenting has “no impact” on kids, study says

A new study has confirmed what most rational people have long known to be true: that children raised by same-sex parents are no worse off than those raised by opposite-sex parents.

The US research too looked at 19,000 studies from 1977 to 2013, and concluded that there was no difference in the child’s behaviour, the BBC Newsbeat reports.

“Consensus is overwhelming in terms of there being no difference in children who are raised by same-sex or different-sex parents,” said Professor Ryan Light.

“I hope we’ll see acceptance of gay marriage.”

Light, a sociology professor from the University of Oregon, added that while the study’s findings may have come too late to affect the US Supreme Court’s expected ruling on the issue of same-sex marriage in the next few days, he hopes it will have an impact on future cases.

The studies assessed showed that while there was some disagreement among scientists about same-sex parenting outcomes in the 1980s, the reports began to change in the 1990s.

He says that by 2000, a wide-ranging consensus had been reached that there’s no difference between same-sex and different-sex parenting in the psychological, behavioural or educational outcomes of children.

The findings come after BBC presenter and historian David Starkey called the idea of two men raising children “ludicrous” earlier this month – click here to find out more.

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