Children raised by same-sex parents do better in school, study finds
Children raised by same-sex parents from birth perform better in school, a new study suggests.
Researchers studied 2,971 children of gay and lesbian couples in the the Netherlands and more than 1 million of those with parents of the opposite sex.
They found children born to same-sex parents were more likely to perform better both in primary and secondary school.
University of Oxford postdoctorate researcher and lead author Deni Mazrekaj said the socioeconomic status of these families plays an important role.
He told Unilad: ‘We found that same-sex parents are often wealthier, older and more educated than the typical different-sex couple.
‘Same-sex couples often have to use expensive fertility treatments and adoption procedures to have a child, meaning they tend to have a high level of wealth.’
But when researchers from Oxford and Maastricht Universities controlled for socioeconomic status, the association of same-sex couple’s children doing well in class was reduced ‘but remained positive’.
Suggesting other factors are at play, Mr Mazrekaj added: ‘For instance these are wanted pregnancies and same-sex parents are also very likely to be highly motivated to become parents given the procedures they have to undergo to have children.’
But he said the only data the team had for the study, published in the American Sociological Review, was on socioeconomic status, meaning further studies are needed.
Mr Mazrekaj said it was important to only study children born to same-sex parents because a child entering a family through a divorce could skew the results.
Out of the same-sex couples, 2,786 were lesbian and 185 were gay. All children were born between between 1998 and 2007, and had their performance in school tracked up to 2019.
The Netherlands was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001.
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