Same-Sex Parenting Research: A Critical Assessment

It is frequently presented as a settled fact that children raised by same-sex parents are just as healthy and well-adjusted as those raised by their biological mother and father. Any challenges to the claimed ‘consensus’ are considered an expression of hatred and bigotry.

Conscious of the extent to which scholarship on LGBT parenting has been heavily politicised, this thorough overview of the research evidence in Same-Sex Parenting Research – A Critical Assessment has been written to enable readers to determine the facts for themselves and to weigh how honestly the data has been handled by academics and others.

“In drawing his conclusions, Professor Schumm honestly acknowledges where the research is sparse or inconclusive and is careful not to make assertions beyond what is warranted by the data. Nevertheless, his comprehensive overview of research findings demonstrates that there are both significant and substantial differences in a variety of areas with respect to both same -sex parenting in general and with respect to the outcomes for children”
Family Education Trust – February 2019 Bulletin  

“Love it or hate it, this book struck me as a social science parallel to Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses being nailed to the Wittenberg Chapel door. Truth is expensive and perhaps none of us has offered the requisite cost to fully understand this volatile issue. Even so, in terms of personal price paid, Schumm seems to have surpassed us all. The volume is a staggering work in terms of scope, depth and implications.”
Loren Marks PhD, author of Same-Sex Parenting and Children’s Outcomes: A Closer Examination of the American Psychological Association’s Brief on Lesbian and Gay Parenting

Walter R Schumm PhD is Professor of Applied Family Science in the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University and editor-in-chief of the academic journal Marriage and Family Review. His books include Transition to Parenthood (2014), Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methods (1993, 2009) and The Family Support Group (FSG) Leaders’ handbook (2000). He is a retired colonel (U.S. Army) and a recipient of the Legion of Merit.