Homosexual adoption: science says “no”

SUMMARY
1. Foreword
2. The situation at a glance
3. A list of accomplished studies

 

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1. FOREWORD

We believe that before investigating into sexual orientation a foreword is necessary; and this is much truer when the subject under the spotlight is made more controversial by its relation with the biologically unnatural issue of adoption for same sex couples. The media today are largely inclined to label any opinion expressed or any research published, whose authors were conscientious enough to stop and reflect upon the “here and now”, with the stigma of “homophobe” or “anti-gay bigot” (or aprioristic, dogmatic, reactionary, backward, ecc.). The search for the truth, especially an inconvenient truth, lies at the core of scientific method: it is not moved by hatred and its objective is not discrimination; and we must always keep in mind what lies at stake here: the rights of the child, not the (understandable) parenting intentions and desires of same sex couples. Things like the success in the political arena, the media endorsement or the support from the “internet people”, are not enough to prove that one is on the right side. To be honest, there are many people today so fiercely fighting against the Catholics that the risk is to lose sight of the core issue we mentioned before: the best interest of the child. Quoting G.K. Chesterton we also believe that: “Men who begin to fight the Church for the sake of freedom and humanity end by flinging away freedom and humanity if only they may fight the Church.”

 

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2. THE SITUATION AT A GLANCE

The most relevant scientific societies and associations worldwide have adopted, in the recent years, approving or neutral stances on the idea of having same sex couples adopting children. Nevertheless, the position of the most influential of these associations, the American Psychological Association (APA), has been stigmatized by some former chairmen as based on non empirical data. As the former APA president Nicholas A. Cummings, distinguished professor at the University of Nevada, pointed out, the APA «has permitted political correctness to triumph over science, clinical knowledge and professional integrity. The public can no longer trust organized psychology to speak from evidence rather than from what it regards to be politically correct. At the present time the governance of the APA is vested in an elitist group of 200 psychologists who rotate themselves in a kind of “musical chairs” throughout all the various offices, boards, committees, and the Council of Representatives». It I worth to remind here that Charlotte Patterson, an eminent researcher for the APA and working on pronouncements on homosexuality, is a lesbian, LGBT activist. Notwithstanding these “politically correct” opinions, several studies still demonstrate that the “no differences” theory is in fact based on either tenuous or insubstantial empirical data; on the other hand, stable scientific evidences prove that the perfect condition for children development is the family, based on biological mother and father, better if bound in marriage.

More specifically, it was noted that: a) in several surveys the individuals were not accurately selected, for example with the voluntary samples; b) in many studies the limited number (less than 40) of children who lived with homosexual parents was not representative; c) there are difficulties due to the small percentage of parenting same sex couples and their geographical dispersion; d) most of the so called “neutral” surveys were conducted on lesbian “families”, where the children had previously lived in a normal heterosexual family; e) interview-based surveys were generally inaccurate, with responses to qualitative-subjective questions often affected by a bias of social desirability; f) new analysis performed on some of the earliest surveys are leading today to different results; it is now impossible to understand if these discrepancies are due to statistical mistakes or if they are the result of malicious misinterpretation or alteration.

In conclusion, we believe that Walter R. Schumm’s observations (2010) on the existence of a pro-homosexual bias in many researches are not deprived of foundation.

 

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3. A LIST OF ACCOMPLISHED STUDIES

• In December 2013 researchers from the McGill University Health Centre published a study on the journal “Cerebral Cortex”, revealing how the absence of a father during critical growth periods, leads to impaired social and behavioral abilities in adults. Authors concluded that “these results should incite researchers to look more deeply into the role of fathers during critical stages of growth and suggest that both parents are important in children’s mental health development”.

 

• On May 2013 the journal “Early Children Develop­ment and Care” published seven articles about father’s role in children’s cognitive development. These articles confirm that a father and a mother are equally essential for children’s psychophysical integrity. The essay recalls that children who were raised in families with differentiated mother-father roles “have more developed social skills and are more ready for competition”, if compared to those raised in undifferentiated families. Also, it is maintained that “fathers seem to play a major role in the children’s opening to the external world, a process that is linked to children development of autonomy and capability of facing risks”. On the other hand, “mothers give more values to domestic life; provide emotional support and education on sexuality”.

 

• A research published on November 2012 on the journal su Demography reexamine Rosenfeld’s (2010) study on the association between child outcomes and same-sex family structure, highlighting that the implications of his study are different when using either alternative comparison groups or alternative sample restrictions; the conclusions are that “compared with traditional married households, children being raised by same-sex couples are 35 % less likely to make normal progress through school”.  It was also noted that national data sets based statistics do rarely include same sex parents as part of the analysis.

 

• On August 2012 a research published on su Child Development made evident that the father plays a fundamental role in adolescent’s development; the more time a teenager will spend with the father, the higher will be the self esteem and superior his/her social skills.

 

• On July 2012 the journal su Social Science Research published an article by Lorena Marks, researcher at the Louisiana State University, where the APA assertion that not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents, was proved as unfounded. Analyzing 59 studies that the APA cited to support its conclusion, Lorena Marks demonstrated that “strong assertions, including those made by the APA, were not empirically warranted”; on the contrary, remarkable differences between children adopted by same sex couples and those born from heterosexual couples emerged.

 

• On the same month of July 2012 the sociologist Mark Regnerus, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas, conducted a research based on the largest nationally-representative sample-based information and published his study on the journal Social Science Research; In his study, Regnerus interviewed young adults, rather than children or adolescents, raised by parents that had a same-sex relationship, observing that psycho-physical problems were significantly higher when compared to children raised in heterosexual families. Regnerus’ research was the object of fierce attacks launched by some sectors (namely gay associations, militants, scientists, etc.) through the international media but, since the study passed the anonymous peer-review process, it might be disproved only by same level scientific publications. On the other hand, the work has been openly supported by a team of 18 scientists and university professors, who published a public announcement on the Baylor University’s internet site. At any extent, the Texas University opened an inquiry into allegations against associate professor Mark Regnerus, officially concluding that “there is insufficient evidence to warrant an investigation into the allegations of scientific misconduct”. The auditing conducted by the University confirmed the validity of Regnerus’ work, the protocol’s validity and the methodology adopted. It should not be hidden that also in Regnerus’ research, as in many other similar works, some minor imperfection can be identified; Regnerus himself had no problem in admitting this.  Even so, his reasoning was dishonestly introduced as an admission of guilt, while the sociologist had  simply affirmed that “I said “lesbian mothers” and “gay fathers,” when in fact, I don’t know about their sexual orientation; I do know about their same-sex relationship behavior. But as far as the findings themselves, I stand behind them”. In Italy, the relevance of this study emerged from the  statements released by Pietro Zocconali, president of the Italian National Association of Sociologists (ANS) and by Antonio Marziale, president of the Italian Juvenile’s Rights Observatory (Osservatorio per i Diritti dei Minori) and advisor to the Parliamentary Commission on Infancy.

 

• Always in July 2012 Daniel Potter, a member of the American Institutes for Research, published on the Journal of Marriage and Family a study focused on children raised by same sex couples compared to those raised in traditional families. He highlighted that his research demonstrate that “children in traditional families (i.e., married, 2 biological parents) tend to do better than their peers in nontraditional families”.

 

• In March 2012 the American College of Pediatricians did take a stand on this issue considering “Are children reared by two individuals of the same gender as well adjusted as children reared in families with a mother and a father? Until recently the unequivocal answer to this question was “no.” Within the last decade, however, professional health organizations, academics, social policymakers and the media have begun asserting that prohibitions on parenting by same-sex couples should be lifted. In making such far-reaching, generation-changing assertions, any responsible advocate would rely upon supporting evidence that is comprehensive and conclusive. Not only is this not the situation, but also there is sound evidence that children exposed to the homosexual lifestyle may be at increased risk for emotional, mental, and even physical harm” and concluding that “the American College of Pediatricians believes it is inappropriate, potentially hazardous to children, and dangerously irresponsible to change the age-old prohibition on same-sex parenting, whether by adoption, foster care, or reproductive manipulation. This position is rooted in the best available science”.

 

• In March 2012 on the journal Hormones and Behavior appeared a study by Ruth Feldman on “Oxytocin and social affiliation in humans” confirming, from psycho-social perspective, the advantages of complementarities in a mother-father family model as an ideal situation for a healthy children’s development. The study highlights mother-father roles’ differences and their importance for human development, also suggesting that human oxytocin system may explain the reason of the difference and complementarities observed in maternal opposed to fatherly functions. (p. 380-391)

 

• In December 2011 a study published on the Archives of Sexual Behavior demonstrated that 17-year-olds girls raised by lesbian mothers are more likely to engage in same-sex behavior and to identify as bisexual, compared to adolescent girls raised by heterosexual parents.

 

• In October 2011 a study conducted by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne, made evident that adolescent boys with a father figure in their lives are significantly less likely to engage in delinquent behavior in their young adulthood compared to those without a father. “The  sense of security generated by the presence of a male role model in a child’s life has protective effects for the child irrespective of the degree of interaction between the child and the father», said Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark, Institute Director and leading author of this study. It is therefore important the mere presence, regardless of its quality. « Fathers provide children with male role models and can influence children’s preferences, values, and attitudes, while giving them a sense of security, boosting their self-esteem», she continued. Above all, the study revealed that the incidence of any form of delinquent behavior is 7.6 percentage points lower among boys living with their biological father s and is 8.5 percentage points lower among boys who live with stepfathers and have no relationship with their biological fathers. « Fathers are associated with a particularly large reduction in the incidence of violent behavior and gang fighting among adolescent boys»

 

• In August 2011 in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science a long-term study examined how fathers who actively engage in raising their children can help make their offspring smarter and better behaved. The situation changes dramatically for children with absentee dads.

 

• On the 29^th August 2011 on The Australian are quoted United States gay-right activist David Blankenhorn’s thoughts, admitting that “marriage is fundamentally about the needs of children … redefining marriage to include gay and lesbian couples would eliminate entirely in law, and weaken still further in culture, the basic idea of a mother and a father for every child”.

 

• In May 2011 Claudio Risé, a sociologist, formerly professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Milano, explained that “Without the presence of an opposite-sex parent, it will be extremely difficult for a child to properly develop the corresponding psychological identity. Male/female psychological patterns are extremely differentiated and the whole identity of an individual is built also on sexual identity. A girl born to a surrogate mother and raised by a two-father couple will experience serious complications along her psychological, cognitive and affective development: she might face difficulties in identifying herself with her own sex. Similar problems will face a boy. (…) Human life is based on two sets: the natural data, i.e. the biological, and the symbolic, which is written in everyone’s conscious and unconscious mind. Both preside over the development, the strengthening of envision skills, the growth of a well balanced emotional life. The father is a male individual who has engraved in his DNA as well as in his anthropological, emotional and symbolic material the history of his own sex. A man is not a woman; he can bear neither the inborn nor the symbolic knowledge of a mother. The two symbolic codes are radically different: the mother is she who provides supports to her children; the father is he who gives impulse and establishes boundaries: he sets the direction and the restrictions”.

 

• In March 2011 the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex (UK) made public the results of a study conducted on 11,825 adults and 1,268 young people (aged 10-15). It was assessed the level of happiness in children living in households with high income compared to those with low income, and verified that a much greater influence on a child’s happiness is whether they live with both parents and the happiness of their parents’ relationship, and in particular their mother.

 

• In 2010 a study published on Marriage & Family Review analyzed literature on lesbian parent relationships and concluded that it “suggests that more is known about the stability of lesbian parent relationships than previously suspected and that, on average, such relationships tend to be less stable than those of married heterosexual parents”.

 

• In 2010 the Rosenfeld’s no-differences study based on the 2001 U.S. census examined how many children, out of more than 700.000, failed in school in relation to their the family situations:  6,8% children raised by traditional families, 9,5% and 9,7% living with same sex couples. The study concluded that, on equal socioeconomic status, the probability is statistically irrelevant (7,94% hetero and 9,07% homo). This interpretation has been strongly criticized.  Using the same data set, replicating and generalizing Rosenfeld’s findings it was showed that the implications of his study are different when using either alternative comparison groups or alternative sample restrictions. “Compared with traditional married households, we find that children being raised by same-sex couples are 35 % less likely to make normal progress through school; this difference is statistically significant at the 1 % level.”

 

• In September 2010 on the Archive of Sexual Behavior an article was published showing that adolescents raised by lesbian couples are less exposed to sexual abuses by the other parent (pedophilia is mostly a male disturb) but (females) are more likely to develop homosexual tendencies or to identify themselves as bisexual (approximately +200%); boys were significantly less likely to have been heterosexually active (-35%). Furthermore, girls were less likely to have used forms of contraception and while this is not related to an increased risk of contacting STD, it carries to a higher use of emergency contraception (+560%).

 

• In July 2010 a study published on the Journal o Biosocial Science demonstrated that “hypothesis that gay and lesbian parents would be more likely to have gay, lesbian, bisexual or unsure (of sexual orientation) sons and daughters was confirmed“. Percentages of children of gay and lesbian parents who adopted non-heterosexual identities ranged between 16% and 57%.

 

• In 2009 on the Psychological Reports a review of 9 studies gave evidence that gays’ children were (a) more apt to adopt homosexual interests and activities, (b) more apt to report sexual confusion, (c) more apt to be socially disturbed, (d) more apt to abuse substances, (e) less apt to get married, (f) more apt to have difficulty in attachment and loving relationships, (g) less religious and more unconventionally religious, (h) more apt to have emotional difficulties, (i) more frequently exposed to parental molestation, and (j) prone to more frequent sexual acting out.

 

• In 2009 the psychologist Trayce Hansen explained that the supposition, that it’s just as good for children to be raised by loving parents of the same sex, as it is to be raised by loving parents of the opposite sex “and all that flows from it, is false. Because love isn’t enough! All else being equal, children do best when raised by a married mother and father. It’s within this environment that children are most likely to be exposed to the emotional and psychological experiences they need in order to thrive. Men and women bring diversity to parenting; each makes unique contributions to the rearing of children that can’t be replicated by the other. Mothers and fathers simply are not interchangeable. Two women can both be good mothers, but neither can be a good father. First, mother-love and father-love—though equally important—are qualitatively different and produce distinct parent-child attachments. Specifically, it’s the combination of the unconditional-leaning love of a mother and the conditional-leaning love of a father that’s essential to a child’s development. Either of these forms of love without the other can be problematic. Because what a child needs is the complementary balance the two types of parental love and attachment provide. Secondly, children progress through predictable and necessary developmental stages. Some stages require more from a mother, while others require more from a father. Third, boys and girls need an opposite-sexed parent to help them moderate their own gender-linked inclinations. Fourth, same-sex marriage will increase sexual confusion and sexual experimentation by young people. The implicit and explicit message of same-sex marriage is that all choices are equally acceptable and desirable. And fifth, if society permits same-sex marriage, it also will have to allow other types of marriage. The legal logic is simple: If prohibiting same-sex marriage is discriminatory, then disallowing polygamous marriage, polyamorous marriage, or any other marital grouping will also be deemed discriminatory. The accumulated wisdom of over 5,000 years has concluded that the ideal marital and parental configuration is composed of one man and one woman. Same-sex marriage definitely isn’t in the best interest of children”.

 

• In 2009 a study published on the Psychological Report demonstrated that in several studies made on the same-sex parenthood “certain potential adverse findings may have been obscured by suppressor effects”. Nonetheless, it continues, “differences were also observed, including some evidence in more recent dissertations, suggesting that parental sexual orientation might be associated with children’s later sexual orientation and adult attachment style”. In conclusion “more recent research on gay and lesbian parenting continues to be flawed by many of the same limitations as previous research in this area of study, including overlooked suppressor effects”.

 

• In November 2009 on the American Psychologist a research by Charlotte J. Patterson was published: the researcher concluded that “findings on lesbian and gay parents and their children provide no warrant for legal discrimination against (same-sex) families” since children would develop not differently from those raised by traditional families. In a second time it has been stressed that Patterson is a lesbian, LGBT activist, living with a female partner, parenting three children and is an eminent researcher for the APA working on pronouncements on homosexuality. In her work she admitted that “research on lesbian and gay parents and their children is still very new and relatively scarce (…) longitudinal studies that follow lesbian and gay families over time are badly needed”. And in fact Patterson’s research is prejudiced by several sampling flaws, including the fact that a study based on 44 children cannot be representative of a large population. In the past, Charlotte Patterson’s studies were questioned and subsequently excluded from a Florida Court, which concluded that: “Dr. Patterson’s impartiality also came into question when prior to trial, she refused to turn over to her own attorneys copies of documentation utilized by her in studies. This court ordered her to do so (both sides having stipulated to the Order), yet she unilaterally refused despite the continued efforts on the part of her attorneys to have her do so. Both sides stipulated that Dr. Patterson’s conduct was a clear violation of this Court’s order. Her attorneys requested that sanctions be limited to the exclusion of her personal studies at trial and this Court agreed to do so. Dr. Patterson testified as to her own lesbian status and the Respondent maintained that her research was possibly tainted by her alleged use of friends as subjects for her research. This potential was given more credence than it should have been by virtue of her unwillingness to provide the Respondent as well as the Petitioner, with the documents ordered to be produced”.

 

• In 2007 on Perspectives on Psychological Science the results of 10 years long studies based on lesbian aged between 16 and 23 was published. In this period, two out of three women changed their self definition (homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual) at least once and each fourth woman changed more often: a clear symptom of disorientation and confusion.

 

• In February 2006 the study “Parent-Child Relationship and Opportunities for Adolescents’ First Sex” by Mark D. Regnerus and Laura B. Luchies was published on the Journal of Family Issues. Based on a sample of 2000 adolescents, the survey made evident that the relation father-daughter is fundamental in the transition phase from adolescence into sexual activities, by far more than mother-daughter relation is.

 

• In May 2006 a research on the Journal of Biosocial Science” has clearly highlighted how parents’ sexual orientation influences significantly their children’s.

 

• In 2006 the researchers Gunar Anderson et alia, with their study on published on Demography (“The Demographics of Same-Sex Marriages In Norway and Sweden“) emphasized that divorce risk levels are largely higher in same-sex unions compared to heterosexual marriages. The adoption of a new law hasn’t influenced this instability. The researchers estimated that in Sweden 30% of female same sex unions collapse within 6 years, compared to the 20% of male unions and 13% of heterosexual (see pages 76-89).

 

• In November 2005 Alfonso Delgado Rubio, President of the Asociación Española de Pediatría (AEP), affirmed that children adoption by same sex couples is “not the ideal situation” for their growth; on the contrary, it is having “a father and a mother the most natural and appropriate condition”. Spanish pediatricians believe neither the “second option”- which is having children adopted by single men or women without a partner – can be considered as an “ideal situation”.

 

• In April 2005 a study published on the Psychological Reports observed that 50% of foster parent abuse in a general population survey and 34% of abuse as determined by the Illinois DCFS was homosexual.

 

• In 2005 on the Journal of Law & Family Studies was highlighted how scientific research maintains that mothers and fathers provide optimal development for children. Gender complementarity affords children the opportunity to thrive in the best possible environment while other family forms are not equally as helpful or healthful for children. Substantial research demonstrates the negative effects of father hunger while one can only surmise the consequences of mother hunger. The emerging data – the article reads – on the placement of children with homosexual couples provides significant warning signs, suggesting that there are differences between children reared by homosexual and heterosexual couples.

 

• In February 2005 on the Psychological Report the data o the Illinois Child Services collected from 1997 until 2002 were the object of an analysis that showed how homosexual practitioners were proportionately more apt to abuse foster or adoptive children sexually, compared to heterosexual parents.

 

• In December 2003 a study published on the Psychological Reports demonstrated that out of 33 child molestation storied involving foster parents at least 15 (60%) of foster-parent perpetrators engaged in homosexuality; the conclusion was that these findings should “put in question the current policy of utilizing homosexuals as foster and adoptive parents”

 

• In 2002 on the Regent Law Review University, George Rekers and Mark Kilgus reviewed 35 of the best studies conducted on same-sex parenting and published on academic journals; their conclusion was that “with very few exceptions, the existing, studies on homosexual parenting are methodologically flawed and they should be considered no more than exploratory pilot work which suggest directions for future rigorous research studies” adding that “at worst, these methodologically flawed articles are misleading, biased, politically motivated forms of propaganda, which irresponsibly assert conclusions which are not scientifically warranted”.

 

• In June 2002 sociologists Kristin Anderson Moore, Susan M. Jekielek e Carol Emig demonstrated that a large amount of researches shows how children better develop when raised by both biological parents within a wedding lock. More exactly they reported that “it is not the mere presence of two parents, it is rather the presence of two biological parents that seems to sustain children’s development”.

 

• In February 2002 a study published on the Psychological Reports observed that out of 57 children raised by homosexual parents, 48 presented one or more problems to be ascribed to the homosexual parent Furthermore, respectively 27% and 20% of daughters and sons described themselves as homosexual or bisexual.

 

• In January 2001 on the Marriage Law Project some researchers assessed a series of 49 empirical studies on same-sex parenting, identifying at least one flaw in each of them. The result of their work is that no reliable generalization can be based on such researches and that the assumption based on the no-differences theory between same-sex and heterosexual parenting is deprived of any scientific foundation.

 

• In 2001 sociologists Judith Stacey and Timothy J. Biblarz from the University of Southern California published on the American Sociological Review the result of a survey conducted on 21 previous studies focusing on children raised by homosexual parents; their findings are that while no systematic differences were found between children raised by same-sex and heterosexual parents, a tendency towards femininity in boys and towards masculinity in girls raised by lesbian mothers was observed. What they report is that: “the adolescent and young adult girls raised by lesbian mothers appear to have been more sexually adventurous and less chaste (…) In other words, once again, children (especially girls) raised by lesbians appear to depart from traditional gender-based norms while children raised by heterosexual mothers appear to conform to them”. In addition, the two researchers reported higher homosexuality rates among children raised by homosexual couples. “We recognize the political dangers of pointing out how recent studies indicate that a higher proportion of children with lesbigay parents are themselves apt to engage in homosexual activity” (Stacy, J. & Biblarz, TJ (2001). Does sexual orientation of parents matter? American Sociological Review, 66 (2), pp. 159-183); they also observed how in many cases the results were distorted according to the personal view of the researchers, concluding that “ideological pressures constrain intellectual development in this field”. All this has happened “not to draw the ire of homosexual activists or encourage anti-gay rhetoric”.

 

• In 2000 researchers Blanchard R, Barbaree HE, Bogaert AF, Dicky R, Klassen P, Kuban ME, Zucker KJ published on the Archives of Sexual Behavior their study “Fraternal birth order and sexual orientation in pedophiles”; among other results it was highlighted that while only 2-4% among men attracted by adult partners is inclined to homosexuality, on the contrary approximately 25-40% among men attracted by children prefer boys. This shows, they say, that “homosexual attraction rate is 6-20 times higher among pedophiles” (p. 464).

 

• In 2000 a study by R.N. Williams evidenced that children with lesbian mothers were more exposed to homosexual relations. Williams discovered that other works in this field were flawed by several omissions (Williams, R. N. (2000), A critique of the research on same-sex parenting, in D.C. Dollahite, ed., Strengthening Our Families, Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, p.352-355.)

 

• In 1999 on Violence and Victims a study compared lifetime experiences with violent victimization among men and women with a history of same-sex cohabitation and their counterparts with a history of marriage and/or opposite-sex cohabitation only. The study found that respondents who had lived with a same-sex intimate partner were significantly more likely than respondents who had married or lived with an opposite-sex partner only to have been: (a) raped as minors and adults; (b) physically assaulted as children by adult caretakers; and (c) physically assaulted as adults by all types of perpetrators, including intimate partners. The study concluded that “intimate partner violence is more prevalent among gay male couples than heterosexual couples”.

 

• In 1999 on the Journal of Marriage and Family, with their study “Paternal Involvement and Children’s behavioral Problem” Paul R. Amato & Fernando Rivera verified that fathers make a unique contribution to their children’s behavior. Structural equation models revealed that positive paternal and maternal involvement were independently and significantly associated with children’s behavior problems. Especially the father’s influence plays an important role in keeping a low rate of criminality and delinquency, lowering also the possibility that adolescent daughter may experience a pregnancy. These results were confirmed also after having included an analysis on the quality of mother-child.

 

• In March 1999 David Popenoe, Professor Hemeritus in Sciology at the Rutgers University, published his book Life without Father (Harvard University Press 1999) showing how mothers and fathers paly such different roles in their children’ life: “At play and in other realms fathers tend to stress competition, challenge, initiative, risk-taking and independence. Mothers, in contrast, stress emotional security and personal safety while mothers provide an important flexibility and sympathy in their discipline, fathers provide ultimate predictability and consistency”. He says that “both dimensions are critical for an efficient, balanced, and humane childrearing regime (…) yet in three decades of work as a social scientist, I know of few other bodies of data in which the weight of evidence is so decisively on one side of the issue: on the whole, for children, two-parent families are preferable to single-parent and step-families“.

 

• In 1997 on the Journal of Sex Research the profiling of 2,583 homosexually active men was published; it assessed that the modal analysis field of sexual partners ranged from 101 to 500. More extensively, 10,2-15,7% had between 501 and 1000 partners, another 10,2-15,7% reported to have had more than 1000 partners in their sexual life.

 

• In 1997 on Violence and Victims a sample of 283 gays and lesbians reported on their experiences both as victims and perpetrators of gay/lesbian relationship violence. General results indicate that 47.5% of lesbians and 29.7% of gays have been victimized by a same-sex partner.

 

• In 1997 on University of Illinois Law Review Lynn D. Wardle examined how social science studies comparing homosexual and heterosexual parenting are improperly used; he stated that: “collectively, the social science studies purporting to show that children raised by parents who engage in homosexual behavior are not subject to any significantly enhanced risks are flawed methodologically and analytically, and fall short of the standards of reliability needed to sustain such conclusions” (page 852). The author suggests that these studies have ignored significant potential effects of gay childrearing on children, including increased development of homosexual orientation in children, emotional and cognitive disadvantages caused by the absence of opposite-sex parents, and economic security (p.833-920).

 

• In October 1997 on the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry the results of a study that compared thirty lesbian mother families and 42 families headed by a single heterosexual mother were compared with 41 two-parent heterosexual families. The results showed that children raised in fatherless families from infancy experienced greater warmth and interaction with their mother, and were more securely attached to her, although they perceived themselves to be less cognitively and physically competent than their peers from father-present families.

 

• In 1996 on the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services a qualitative study on 288 gay male and lesbian was analyzed, revealing a high incidence of personal histories of abuse experiences among gay/lesbian adult perpetrators.

 

• In 1996 in a study published on the Children Australia by S.Sarantokas, “Children in Three Contexts: Family, Education, and Social Development”, it is concluded that “in summary, tradition and science agree that biological ties and dual gender parenting are protective for children. The family environment in which children are reared plays a critical role in forming a secure gender identity, positive emotional well-being, and optimal academic achievement”.

 

• In January 1996 in a study published on Developmental Psychology, researchers Tasker and Golombok while trying to reach the opposite conclusion, revealed a link between the fact of having being raised by a lesbian family and the tendency of develop homosexual tendencies; none among the children raised by heterosexual families had had an homosexual relation while, on the other hand, five (29%) out of seventeen daughters and one (13%) son raised by homosexual families reported at least one same sex relation. The said study presented other small interpretative manipulations.

 

• In 1995 on Developmental Psychology it was observed that 9,3% in a of a group of 75 sons of 55 gay or bisexual fathers were also gay. This is considerably higher than would be expected if the prevalence was the same as the general population.

 

• In 1994 an article on Archives of Sexual Behaviour focused on incidents of nonconsensual sexual activity among 930 homosexually active men living in England and Wales. Of these men, 27.6% said they had been sexually assaulted or had sex against their will at some point in their lives; one third had been forced into sexual activity by men with whom they had previously had, or were currently having, consensual sexual activity.

 

• In 1994 a research on the Journal of Divorce & Remarriage analyzed data based research on children reared by homosexual parents and its effects on children. The researchers wrote: “Each study was evaluated according to accepted standards of scientific enquiry. The most impressive finding was that all of the studies lacked external validity, and not a single study represented any sub-population of homosexual parents. Three studies met minimal or higher standard of internal validity, while the remaining eleven presented moderate to fatal threats to internal validity.. The conclusion that there are no significant differences in children raised by lesbian mothers versus heterosexual mothers is not supported by the published research data base”. They added that: “another mutual limitation of these studies was one identified by Rees (1979), namely, lesbians’ political and legal desire to present a happy, well-adjusted family to the world.” (p. 116)

 

• In 1994 the Harvard University Press published a large study conducted by Sara McLanahan and Garry Sandefur on children raised by a single biological parent. Their conclusion was that “children who grow up in a household with only one biological parent are worse off, on average, than children who grow up in a household with both of their biological parents…regardless of whether the resident parent remarries”.

 

• In December 1994 on the Journal of Interpersonal Violence were examined lesbian relationships, concluding that lesbian violence was not rare. Nearly all interviewed persons (approximately 300 subjects) had been victim in the previous year of one or more act of verbal aggression; 31% reported one or more physical abuse and 12% reported to have been victim of severe abuses.

 

• In 1993 on Families and Society the work of Erik Erikson, one of the most appreciated developmental psychologist in the world, were summarized; it was noted that a father’s love and a mother’s love are qualitatively different and are not interchangeable at all. Adolescents enjoying more affectionate relations with their fathers present better social skills, higher self esteem and are more aware of their competencies.

 

• In 1993 on the New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development the study “Distinctive role of the father in adolescent separation-individuation”, by Shmuel Shulman e Moshe M. Klein, analyzed the relation between the father and the adolescent, concluding that “fathers, more than mothers, conveyed the feeling that they can rely on their adolescents, thus fathers might provide a ‘facilitating environment’ for adolescents attainment of differentiation from the family and consolidation of independence” (pp. 41-53).

 

• In 1992 on the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, researchers Freund K., and Watson R.J. published their study “The proportions of heterosexual and homosexual pedophiles among sex offenders against children: an exploratory study”; they analyzed profiles of pedophilia sex offenders, observing that the percentage of real pedophile among homosexual subjects was higher compared to heterosexual. Previous investigations indicated that the ratio of sex offenders against female children vs. offenders against male children is approximately 2:1, while the ratio of gynephiles to androphiles among the general population is approximately 20:1. The two researchers concluded that “this suggests that the resulting proportion of true pedophiles among persons with a homosexual erotic development is greater than that in persons who develop heterosexually. This, of course, would not indicate that androphilic males have a greater propensity to offend against children”.

 

• In 1991 on the Journal of Social Service Research a study examined the incidence of domestic violence and help-seeking in lesbian relationships; the result was that abuse was as prevalent among lesbian relationships studied here (55%) as it was in heterosexual relationships (37 to 55%).