@article{ref1,
title="Same-sex parenting and children's outcomes: A closer examination of the American psychological association's brief on lesbian and gay parenting",
journal="Social science research",
year="2012",
author="Marks, Loren",
volume="41",
number="4",
pages="735-751",
abstract="In 2005, the American Psychological Association (APA) issued an official brief on lesbian and gay parenting. This brief included the assertion: &quot;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&quot; (p. 15). The present article closely examines this assertion and the 59 published studies cited by the APA to support it. Seven central questions address: (1) homogeneous sampling, (2) absence of comparison groups, (3) comparison group characteristics, (4) contradictory data, (5) the limited scope of children's outcomes studied, (6) paucity of long-term outcome data, and (7) lack of APA-urged statistical power. The conclusion is that strong assertions, including those made by the APA, were not empirically warranted. Recommendations for future research are offered.<p />",
language="en",
issn="0049-089X",
doi="10.1016/j.ssresearch.2012.03.006",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2012.03.006"
}