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This study is the latest to enter into the politics of GLBT parenthood. it's a relatively small study in breadth (78 kids of lesbian parents) but much larger than most in terms depth (length of study).

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Study: Zero percent of lesbian mothers abuse their children

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Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play lesbian moms in "The Kids Are All Right."

Researchers working on the longest-running study of American lesbian families asked children of lesbian mothers if they had ever been physically or sexually abused by a parent and the answer was never in all cases.

In contrast, 26 of American teens as a whole report physical abuse by a parent or caregiver, and 8.3 percent sexual abuse.

The study authors said: "The absence of child abuse in lesbian mother families is particularly noteworthy, because victimization of children is pervasive and its consequences can be devastating. To the extent that our findings are replicated by other researchers, these reports from adolescents with lesbian mothers have implications for healthcare professionals, policymakers, social service agencies, and child protection experts who seek family models in which violence does not occur."

Of course you have to keep in mind that the sample size was small. Researchers interviewed only 78 children, and participants volunteered to be in the study. Researchers asked the 17-year-old sons and daughters of lesbian mothers about their sexual abuse, sexual orientation, and sexual behavior.

In terms of sexual orientation, 2.8 percent of the kids considered themselves predominantly to exclusively homosexual.
Jezebel reports:

The study did find that daughters of lesbian parents were more likely to report same-sex contact, and more likely to identify as bisexual, than the general population. This could just mean that daughters of lesbian moms were more open about their sexuality and less likely to keep their behavior or identification under wraps. But surely homophobes will point to the data as evidence that lesbian moms turn girls gay. Those girls might then grow up to become lesbian moms themselves, thus perpetuating a vicious cycle in which children are repeatedly not abused. Clearly it's time to panic.

The U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) is in its 24th year at the the Williams Institute, a research center on sexual orientation law and public policy at UCLA School of Law.
Read more: Children of lesbian couples better off

Posted By: Amy Graff (Email, Twitter, Facebook) | November 12 2010 at 07:33 AM

Listed Under: LGBT parents

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Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=76922#ixzz15B8meoCL