As the debate over the right to marriage equality by LGBT couples continues in the US, opponents have argued that a child raised by a gay parent will face more social challenges that children of heterosexual couples, and could suffer in terms of mental health, sexual health and overall wellness. However, according to Caitlin Ryan, director of the Family Acceptance Project at the César E. Chávez Institute at San Francisco State University, ‘Research shows that children raised by gay or lesbian parents do as well as other children in terms of wellbeing, adjustment, functioning and peer relationships, and researchers have found no differences in terms of depression, anxiety and self-esteem.’
A study conducted at the University of Melbourne, for example, found that children with LGBT parents had the same amount of self-esteem and spent as much family time with their parents compared to children of heterosexual parents. Published in the journal BMC Public Health, the Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families (ACHESS) investigated 500 Australian children below the age of 18 with same sex parents, finding that children of gay and lesbian couples were actually healthier and had a stronger family unit than children of heterosexual parents.
Dr. Fran Walfish, a child and family psychotherapist and author in Beverly Hills, California, comments, ‘[LGBT] parents provide an equally supportive and healthy environment for their children as heterosexual parents.’ However, while the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) believes that children of LGBT parents are just as well adjusted as children with heterosexual parents, their concern is that these children can face some challenges, such as discrimination from their communities or childish taunting.
The AACAP has outlined ways in which, as a LGBT parent, you can help your children cope with these challenges:
1. Make sure your child is well-prepared to handle questions and comments about your family, giving them appropriate responses to teasing or mean remarks.
2. Be as open and communicative as appropriate to your child’s age and level of maturity.
3. Use books, websites, and movies that show children in LGBT families, and consider having your child meet other children with gay parents.
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