| Problems With the Research |
| The largest problem when compiling information for this project was the fact that so much of it was contradictory. For example, there is evidence that homosexual parents do not raise children that become homosexual in statistically significant number. However, there is also evidence that homosexual parents do raise chidlren that are more often homosexual. It is clear that more research in this area need to be conducted in order to get the most comprehensive picture of how homosexual parenting affects the lives of children. The research we have now can be discredited for several reasons: *According to Frederick W. Bozett, the author of Homosexuality and the Family, "Most studies of gay fathers are based on nonrandom small sample sizes, with subjects who are Caucasian, middle- to upper-class, well educated with occupations commensurate with their education, who come mostly from urban centers, and who are relatively accepting of their homosexuality. There is severely limited knowledge of gay fathers who from these demographics. Moreover, the validity and reliability of the instruments used in the studies reported are not always addressed" (04). *Psychologist J. Craig Peery addresses other problems with the research as, "unsuitable philosophical approaches, logical inconsistencies, inappropriate theoretical models, limitations on sample size, sample selection, control groups, data collection and analysis, and lack of a longitudinal perspectives" (17). *There also is a probelm with comparing lesbian households to single-mother households. Studies have shown that single parent households are more unstable and suffer more problems when compared to households with two parents. Problems in single parent households include "higher risk for susceptibility to peer pressure, early sexual activity, drug abuse and delinquency" (13). Comparing homosexual families to single parent homes, in this case, would allow for homosexual homes to always appear to be superior to single parent homes. *Other problems with the research, as outlined by Patterson, include (16): -Poorly matched or no control groups -Use of single mothers as the control group -Lack of external validity -Small sample size -Inadequacies in assessments procedures There are many questionable aspects when one examines the research studies held up in this presentation as evidence either for or against homosexual parenting. Often times, research contradicts other research in the same area (seen clearly in work done in the area of correlating homosexuality in children to homosexual parents--there is ample support for both points of view). How to solve the problem of mixed messages is simple--more and better research needs to be conducted in this area. |