Family Diversity and Child Health: Where Do Same‐Sex Couple Families Fit?

Abstract

Increasing family diversity during the past half century has focused national attention on how children are faring in nontraditional family structures. Much of the limited evidence on children in same‐sex couple families suffers from several shortcomings, including a lack of representative data. We use the National Health Interview Survey (2004–2012) and the National Survey of Children's Health (2011–2012) to identify children in different‐sex married and cohabiting families, never and previously married single‐parent families, and same‐sex couple families. Considering important characteristics such as the child's race or ethnicity and adoption status, household socioeconomic standing, family stability, and parent health, we examine the relationship between family type and parent‐rated overall child health. The results suggest that poorer health among children in same‐sex couple as well as different‐sex cohabiting couple and single‐parent families appears to be largely the product of demographic and socioeconomic differences rather than exposure to nontraditional family forms.

The Perceptions of New Zealand Lawyers and Social Workers About Children Being Adopted by Gay Couples and Lesbian Couples

“…However, when one considers the law literature on same-gender parenting, and the strong emphasis on ensuring the best interests of the children, lawyers might be more inclined to argue from the children’s perspectives. This perspective might predispose the lawyers to agree with some of the myths about children being harmed or disadvantaged, especially as there is research evidence that children being raised by same-gender parents do sometimes experience poorer outcomes ( Crouch et al, 2016 ; Cenegy et al, 2018 ), but due to largely demographic and socioeconomic differences rather than exposure to a non-traditional family form ( Misca and Smith, 2014 ). Lastly, it is the lawyers who are the most aware of the legal ramifications and complexities of same-gender adoption, including the risks associated with having a silent, non-legal parent, all of which could influence their beliefs about treating homosexual couples the same as heterosexual couples.…”

Is It Still Possible to Collect Nationally Representative Marriage Data in the United States? A Case Study From the CREATE Project

“…As families have diversified, marriage has become just one of many possible options for American families (Cenegy et al, 2018). Cohabitation, for example, is viewed as a viable alternative to (or perhaps even replacement for) marriage.…”

Growing Up in Rural America

“…This may help explain the higher poverty levels among single mothers in rural areas than urban areas (Brown and Lichter 2004;Snyder and McLaughlin 2004). In addition, although research shows little if any differential impact of parental gender composition on children's wellbeing (Reczek et al 2016;Cheng and Powell 2015;Schumm 2016;Cenegy, Denney, and Kimbro 2018), the scarce literature on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-questioning (LGBTQ) rural families raises concerns that children with LGBTQ parents may face a higher risk of bullying and social isolation (Bell 2000;Poston and Chang 2016;Preston and D'Augelli 2014).…”