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Children of same-sex couples are healthier than others, says study

A new study has found that children in same-sex parent families are healthier then those with mal...
Newstalk
Newstalk

15.12 9 Jul 2014


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Children of same-sex couples a...

Children of same-sex couples are healthier than others, says study

Newstalk
Newstalk

15.12 9 Jul 2014


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A new study has found that children in same-sex parent families are healthier then those with male and female parents.

The survey was given to a sample of 390 parents from Australia in 2012, who self-identified as same-sex attracted and had children up to 17 years.

It is estimated that in 2011 there were 6,120 children under-25 living with two same-sex parents in Australia, with the number of same-sex couple households increasing from around 19,000 to more than 33,000 over 10 years.

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It found that children in same-sex parent families had higher scores on measures of general behaviour, general health and family cohesion, compared to normative data.

However it also found that there were "no significant differences" between the two groups for all other scale scores.

The 'Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families' - undertaken by University of Melbourne researchers - also asked parents to indicate how often in the past year their family had experienced stigma related to the their same-sex attraction.

It said that physical activity, mental health, and family cohesion were all negatively associated with increased stigma, but that the presence of emotional symptoms were seen as a positive association.

It concluded that perceived stigma is negatively associated with mental health, but that "improved awareness of stigma" can help these findings play an important role in health policy, improving child health outcomes.

This was the first study of child health in same-sex parented families in Australia, and the largest study of its kind internationally to date.

Simon Crouch is the lead researcher on the study, and outlined the findings to Newstalk Lunchtime.


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