Since the legalization of same-sex marriages in the United States if America, the number of people getting into this kind of marriage has been on the rise. However, as same-sex marriage becomes common, these couples have been under the need to have children just like those in the heterosexual marriages. This group has been obtaining children through various means including adoption. The issue of controversy has been their ability to raise the children effectively. While other scholars argue that same-sex marriage parenting has got no any negative impact on the development of the child, others claim that this kind of parenting can have psychological and mental effects on a child which will affect the overall development of the child. Ever since the topic of same-sex parenting has created a heated debate among different people thus making this topic controversial.
Parker, J. (2016). The effects of same-sex parenting on child development. IU South Bend Undergraduate Research Journal, 16, 161-166.
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According to Parker (2016), same-sex marriage needs to have families just like the heterosexual marriages do. Since the recognition of same-sex marriages, the need to recognize same-sex families as being a whole family also needs to be recognized. This s because of the rise in the number of children under the same-sex marriage. The rising concerns about same-sex parenting have falsely attributed homosexuality to the early childhood exposure to homosexual models. There is a growing fear among Americans that children raised under the same sex parenting may grow up with a general confusion regarding their sexual orientation. The author disagrees with this view, stating that gender identity and sexual orientation may not be related in any way as others claim. Gender is defined as constructed roles and behaviors that the society assigns to boys and girls, while sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of sexual attraction to either men, women or both (Parker, 2016). The author argues that the two are not related and that same-sex parenting may not cause sexual orientation confusion as claimed by other scholars.
Many studies done have shown no any negative impacts on the development of children raised under the same-sex parenting. According to Parker (2016), the development of the child is mainly influenced by the parenting style that the parents use, and do not depend on whether the parents are in same-sex marriage or not. Good parenting involves a continual relationship with the children which involves caring, teaching, leading, communication and provision of the needs of the child consistently and unconditionally. Having consistent positive parenting has shown an increase in positive child development and elimination of negative behaviors. Studies have shown that same-sex parents are equally able to provide good parenting, care, and affection for their children which can lead to positive behavior development. The author concludes that there is no any significant difference that exists in same-sex parenting and heterosexual couple parenting. The development of the child in both marriages is the same, as long as the parents can provide care for their children. The positive development of children is not as a result of the sexual orientation of the parents, neither does it affect the psychological or emotional well-being of the child. The positive development of the child is as a result of the positive parenting regardless of the structure of the family.
The bias that the author could have made is on the claim of the same care and love for the child in both same-sex marriage and opposite-sex marriage. The author ought to have considered that same sex marriage may involve adopted children, as compared to the opposite sex marriage who raise their biological children. The level of care for the biological child might always be more than level of care for an adopted child.
Schumm, W. R. (2016). A review and critique of research on same-sex parenting and adoption. Psychological Reports, 119(3), 641-760.
The author of this article tries to identify the negative developmental impacts of same-sex parenting on the child. According to Schumm (2016), same-sex parenting has been very controversial because children raised under same-sex marriage tend to have some signs of emotional and psychological distress as compared to children raised under opposite-sex marriages. First, the author argues that the relationship instability exists among the gay and lesbian couples which tend to affect their relationship with their children and subsequently their development. Gay and lesbians tend to disagree more frequently, and this can affect the way they relate to the children. Furthermore, same-sex marriages are affected by the self-presentation bias which tends to affect the kind of care they give to their children.
Given that majority of children raised under same-sex marriages are not biological children, the level of care may not be same as that of biological children while some researchers tend to conclude that no difference exists between the two parenting. Such conclusions seem premature because man studies have shown that child outcome in the two is different (Schumm, 2016). Many studies conducted have compared the developmental outcome in children raised under same-sex marriages and opposite-sex marriages, and the result has shown that a big difference exists. The author concludes that children raised under same-sex marriages tend to have mental and psychological development issues, and they may develop many strange behaviors as they grow compared to their peers in the opposite sex marriages.
My opinion on the issue is that children raised under same-sex marriages tend to have negative development, especially in their behaviors because they never receive the same level of care as they do the children living with their biological parents. Also, such children may get confused about their sexual orientation when they grow up, and they may have several mental and psychological distress about their situations.
References
Parker, J. (2016). The effects of same-sex parenting on child development. IU South Bend Undergraduate Research Journal, 16, 161-166.
Schumm, W. R. (2016). A review and critique of research on same-sex parenting and adoption. Psychological Reports , 119(3), 641-760.
