Adoption In The Homosexual Family University of Texas Rio Grande Valley by Kaleb Foss

This essay contains description and discussion of child abuse and sexual assault against minors. This content is included in order to provide evidence and challenge ideas that it is harmful to have children raised in a same-sex couple home. This content is not of a descriptive nature but that of a research and a statistical basis. It is to provide fact and clarity on the safety of children who are being adopted into same-sex couple homes.

Adoption In The Homosexual Family

by

Kaleb Foss

Introduction and Definitions

In this last decade we have seen a rise of the homosexual family due to the change in adoption laws allowing homosexual people to start adopting. With more same-sex families starting to adopt, so has the backlash against it. Is there really harm to the children who are being adopted into these homosexual families? The religious and conservative may say yes, however it

is the purpose of this paper to provide evidence that there are no harmful effects on adopted children being raised in a homosexual family. It will be beneficial to begin by defining some of the terms that recur throughout this

paper:

1. Adoption: the act or process of adopting someone or something: such as the act or

process of adopting a child. (Adoption definition & meaning, n.d.).

2. Grooming: manipulative behaviors that the abuser uses to gain access to a potential

victim, coerce them to agree to the abuse, and reduce the risk of being caught. While

these tactics are used most often against younger kids, teens and vulnerable adults are

also at risk. (Grooming: Know the warning signs, 2020).

3. For the purpose of this paper harm will be defined as having negative physical and

mental effects on the development of the child. As defined in the Children First Act,

2015, “harm” means, in relation to a child (a) assault, ill-treatment, or neglect of the child

in a manner that seriously affects or is likely to seriously affect the child’s health,

development, or welfare, or

(b) sexual abuse of the child, whether caused by a single act, omission or circumstance

or a series or combination of acts, omissions, or circumstances, or otherwise. (Tusla,

n.d.).

4. Homosexual: of, relating to, or characterized by sexual or romantic attraction to people of

one's same sex. (Homosexual definition & meaning, n.d.).

5. Pedophilia: sexual perversion in which children are the preferred sexual object.

specifically : a psychiatric disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or

engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child. (Pedophilia definition & meaning, n.d.).

To support the claim that there are no harmful effects on children being adopted in the homosexual family basic adoption statics will be provided to make clear what the state of adoption is, and refute of the following claims: that the children are being groomed and/or sexually abused and that there are mental health harms.

Basic adoption statistics

Adoption is a great way for people who can not have their own children to be able to start a family. In the United States alone, there are plenty of children that need good homes. Of the 400,000 children in foster care, approximately 117,000 are waiting to be adopted. (About the children, n.d.). In March of 2016, adoption for homosexual people became legal in the entire

United States. (Adoptions, Lifelong adoptions blog, n.d.). Since this change in nationwide policy we see that more children are being adopted into the homosexual family opposed to the “traditional family”; according to the Williams Institute among parenting households, same-sex couples adopt (21%), foster (4%), and have stepchildren (17%) at significantly higher rates than different-sex couples (3%, 0.4%, 6%). (thisisloyal.com, 2024). Notably among parents, 24% of married same-sex couples have adopted a child versus 3% of married different-sex couples. (thisisloyal.com, 2024). This shows us that children who otherwise would not have homes are going into “non-traditional” homes more than ever before.

Negating the claims of harm

This section will refute two claims made in opposition to adoption of children into homosexual homes. The first claim that must be refuted is that these children are being groomed or sexually abused by the parents, and the second claim I will refute will be that there is mental health harm being caused to these children because they are being raised by a homosexual

family.

Grooming/sexual assault claims

The religious and conservative right have made many claims that kids being adopted in to homosexual homes are being groomed and/or sexually abused, in an article published in Psychological Reports, a psychologist named Dr. Cameron claimed to have reviewed data about sexual abuse by foster parents in Illinois and found that 34% of the perpetrators had abused a foster child of their own sex, that is, female-female or male-male abuse. (Herek, n.d.). Not only did Cameron again make the fallacious claim that all male-male molestations are committed by homosexuals, he also made the same claim about female-female molestations. Once again, he had no data about the actual sexual orientations of the molesters. The empirical research data does not show that gay or bisexual men are any more likely than heterosexual men to molest children. (Herek, n.d.). This not to say a case of sexual assault has never happened in a homosexual home; tragedy can happen anywhere. This is to say that there is no evidence that it is happening at a greater rate than in a heterosexual home; there is evidence to the contrary actually. Seventy-four children were allegedly abused by other children and teenagers less than 18 years old. In 9 cases, an offender could not be identified. In the remaining 269 cases, two offenders were identified as being gay or lesbian. (KL;, Are children at risk for sexual abuse by homosexuals?). In 82% of cases (222/269), the alleged offender was a heterosexual partner of a close relative of the child. (KL;, Are children at risk for sexual abuse by homosexuals?). Using the data from our study, the 95% confidence limits, of the risk children would identify recognizably homosexual adults as the potential abuser, are from 0% to 3.1%. These limits are within current estimates of the prevalence of homosexuality in the general community. (KL;, Are children at risk for sexual abuse by homosexuals?).

These points do a great job at showing how these claims are made out of fear and false information. The homosexual home is no more dangerous than the “traditional” home. Child molesters cannot be characterized as having an adult sexual orientation at all; they are fixated on children. (Herek, n.d.). Homosexuality is an “adult sexuality” meaning that if an adult man is a

homosexual, he is typically going to be attracted to other adult men. Pedophilia as defined above is when a person is sexually attracted to children while not discriminating on the bases of whether they are boy or girl. The research shows there is little to no evidence to suggest that the kids being adopted into homosexual homes are in danger of being abused sexually.

Mental health harms

Many claims have been made that there is a mental and developmental harm to being raised in a homosexual home, stating things such as a child needs a mother and a father to be well adjusted. In regard to children being raised by lesbian parents, concerns have been raised that offspring who grow up without male role models will be unable to develop gender-appropriate behavior, resulting in psychological maladjustment. (Children of same-sex parents face challenges, but will be ok, n.d.). Bos (PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Education, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands) compared adolescents in lesbian families who indicated that they had male role models with those who said they did not. They found no differences between adolescents with and without male role models in gender-appropriate behavior or psychological adjustment.

(Children of same-sex parents face challenges, but will be ok, n.d.). People may also point to the fact that these children raised in the homosexual home may feel different or isolated from their peers and community, however the evidence points in the opposite direction. Findings can be inferred to same-sex and different-sex parent households with parents between the ages of 30 and 65, and with children between the ages of 6 and 16 years (62 children with same-sex, and 72 children with different-sex parents). (Mazrekaj et al., 2022). The findings obtained by coarsened exact matching suggest no significant disadvantages for children with same-sex parents compared to different-sex parents. (Mazrekaj et al., 2022). Finally across the psychological research field there is minimal evidence to support any claims that children in a homosexual family are in any danger of mental harm. Eleven out of seventeen studies show that there are no statistically significant differences in mental health between children with gender and sexual minority parents and children with different-sex parents. (Mazrekaj & Jin, 2023).

Conclusion

There are so many children that are in need of good homes. The statistics provide a glance at just how many kids are waiting to find a solid foundation, and that solid foundation may come in the form a homosexual family. Same-sex couples often have to use expensive fertility treatments to have a child, meaning they tend to have a high level of wealth and are also very motivated to become parents. Their children perform very well in school.’ (New study indicates children raised by same-sex parents perform better at school, 2020). As it has been shown there are no harmful effects for a child being adopted into a homosexual family, by giving an overlay of basic adoption statistics and by refuting two major claims against the homosexual

family dynamic. There is lacking evidence that children being adopted into ‘nontraditional' types of homes/families will have any harmful repercussions while living at home or after.

References

About the children. AdoptUSKids. (n.d.). https://www.adoptuskids.org/meet-the-children/children-in-foster-care/about-the-children#:~:text=Of%20the%20400%2C000%20children%20in,are%20waiting%20to%20be%20

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American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Children of same-sex parents face challenges, but will be ok. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2015/07/same-sex-parents

Grooming: Know the warning signs. RAINN. (2020, July 10). https://rainn.org/news/grooming-know-warning-signs

Herek, G. M. (n.d.). Facts about homosexuality and child molestation. https://lgbpsychology.org/html/facts_molestation.html#:~:text=In%20yet%20another%20article%20published,report%20discussed%20in%20detail%20above.&text=The%20empirical%20research%20does%20not,they%20are%20fixated%20on%20children.&text=1.&text=2.

KL;, J. C. T. (n.d.). Are children at risk for sexual abuse by homosexuals?. Pediatrics.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8008535/

Mazrekaj, D., & Jin, Y. (2023, August 16). Mental health of children with gender and sexual minority parents: A review and Future Directions. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-023-02019-9

Mazrekaj, D., Fischer, M. M., & Bos, H. M. W. (2022, May 13). Behavioral outcomes of children with same-sex parents in the Netherlands. International journal of environmental research and public health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9141065/

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.-a). Adoption definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adoption

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.-b). Homosexual definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homosexual

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.-c). Pedophilia definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pedophilia#:~:text=noun,acts%20with%20a%20prepubescent%20child

New study indicates children raised by same-sex parents perform better at school. Department of Sociology. (2020, October 14). https://www.sociology.ox.ac.uk/article/new-study-indicates-children-raised-same-sex-parents-perform-better-school

thisisloyal.com, L. |. (2024, September 10). LGBTQ parenting in the US. Williams Institute. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbt-parenting-us/

Tusla. (n.d.). Definition of harm to children. Children First. https://www.tusla.ie/children-first/child-safeguarding-statement-compliance-unit-csscu/definition-of-harm-to-children/