Children from queer families have better general health, family cohesion

Last month, Xtra Ottawa reported on Carleton University graduate Sophie Clarke’s research study examining the needs and challenges faced by children of gay and trans families, or queerspawn, at Family Services Ottawa.

Clarke’s findings suggest that queerspawn can feel invisible, among other challenges, and there is a need for more queerspawn-welcoming services in Ottawa.

While the challenges are indeed real and more work needs to be done in our city for children from gay and trans families to feel included in the queer community, a recent study out of Australia finds that queerspawn are generally happier than children raised by hetero parents.

The University of Melbourne study, titled Child Health in Same-Sex Families, examined data on the physical, mental and social well being of 500 queerspawn between the ages of 5 and 17 from 315 gay, lesbian and bisexual parents, PinkNews reports.

Women made up 80 percent of respondents.

While the study concluded queerspawn are more likely to face discrimination, the interim results found that queerspawn are no different from children from opposite-sex couples.

Additionally, queerspawn scored significantly higher when it comes to general health and family cohesion.

Dr Simon Crouch, who is gay and a father of four-year-old twin boys, led the study.

Touted as the world’s largest study to focus on queer parenting, Crouch says he was inspired to conduct the study when politicians on both sides of the marriage equality debate maintained children from straight parents are better off.