NOM BLOG

Dr. Morse on Children of Lesbian Parents Study

 

Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse just finished reviewing the recent lesbian parenting study published in the journal Pediatrics.

You’ve all seen the headlines by now: “Children of lesbian parents do well.” These headlines are based on a new study published in the journal Pediatrics. I actually read the study, which is my custom before commenting. I also read the letters to the editor on this study.

Here are 8 reasons why this study does not prove anything about the functioning of the children of lesbians.

1. The sample is extremely small: 78 children of lesbian mothers and 93 children in the control group.

2. The sample of lesbian mothers is unlikely to be representative of the general population of lesbians. This is a sample of people who volunteered for the study, not a random sample. The most motivated and high-functioning people are the most likely to volunteer for a politically charged study.

3. The “results” are intrinsically unreliable. The results are nothing but the mothers’ reports of their childrens’ behavior and functioning. There is no cross-checking with objective outcomes, such as actual school achievement or teacher’s reports of behavior problems. . . .

Read the whole thing:

http://www.ruthblog.org/2010/06/11/%e2%80%9cchildren-of-lesbians-do-well-8-reasons-why-the-latest-study-doesnt-prove-anything/

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