Parenting Studies

What do the studies say about same-sex parenting?

Two recent reviews of the available social science literature with respect to children raised by two parents of the same sex find significant flaws in research methodology, highlighting the need for additional research regarding the impact of same-sex parenting on child development.

Prof. Steven Nock
Professor Nock is a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia. In his affidavit filed with the Ontario Superior Court in Halpern v. Attorney General, Professor Nock explains the principles of social science research methodology, and then critiques a series of studies which have dealt with the question of same-sex parenting. Based on his review of the studies, Professor Nock concludes "1) all of the articles I reviewed contained at least one fatal flaw of design or execution; and 2) not a single one of those studies was conducted according to general accepted standards of scientific research."

Read Professor Nock's affidavit. (177kb)

 

No Basis: What the Studies Don't Tell Us About Same-Sex Parenting,

— Robert Lerner, Ph.D., and Althea K. Nagai, Ph.D.

In their 2001 monograph entitled No Basis, Drs. Lerner and Nagai provide a detailed quantitative analysis of 49 empirical studies on same-sex parenting. Finding numerous flaws, Lerner and Nagai also conclude that the studies provide no basis for good science or good public policy.

Read Lerner & Nagai's No Basis.