Foster kids adopted into same-sex families fare no worse than kids adopted by heterosexual people, according to a new study that University of California-Los Angeles researchers issued.
Psychologists said that of the 82 “high-risk” children studied, those whom gay and lesbian parents adopted made similar progress as those their heterosexual peers adopted, even though they had higher risk factors.
The study, which looked at children adopted in Los Angeles County, proves that there is no scientific reason to discriminate, said researcher Letitia Anne Peplau, in a statement.
“The children adopted by gay and lesbian parents had more challenges before they were adopted and yet they end up in the same place, which is impressive,” said Peplau.
The study looked at 60 kids placed with heterosexual parents and 22 with same-sex parents. Overall, kids in both sets showed cognitive improvement over time.
Kids placed with heterosexual people saw their IQs jump from about 90 to 97 points. Kids placed with lesbian and gay people reported an increase from approximately 86 to 94 points.
The study also found that same-sex parents were more likely to adopt children with risk factors and kids whose ethnicity was different from their own.
The research was not without limitations, however. Researchers noted that their sample size was relatively small and that participating families were eligible for support services not necessarily accessed by all adoptive parents.