title: Same-Sex and Different-Sex Parent Households and Child Health Outcomes: Findings from the National Survey of Children's Health.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Using the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health data set, we compared spouse/partner relationships and parent-child relationships (family relationships), parenting stress, and children's general health, emotional difficulties, coping behavior, and learning behavior (child outcomes) in households of same-sex (female) versus different-sex continuously coupled parents with biological offspring. We assessed whether associations among family relationships, parenting stress, and child outcomes were different in the 2 household types.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parental and child characteristics were matched for 95 female same-sex parent and 95 different-sex parent households with children 6 to 17 years old. One parent per household was interviewed by telephone. Multivariate analyses of variance and multiple linear regressions were conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No differences were observed between household types on family relationships or any child outcomes. Same-sex parent households scored higher on parenting stress (95% confidence interval = 2.03-2.30) than different-sex parent households (95% confidence interval = 1.76-2.03), p = .006. No significant interactions between household type and family relationships or household type and parenting stress were found for any child outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children with female same-sex parents and different-sex parents demonstrated no differences in outcomes, despite female same-sex parents reporting more parenting stress. Future studies may reveal the sources of this parenting stress.
authors.affiliation: *Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; †Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY; ‡Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Henny M W
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Bos
authors.forename: Justin R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Knox
authors.forename: Loes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van Rijn-van Gelderen
authors.forename: Nanette K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Gartrell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005195:Family Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D020010:Heterosexuality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D018454:Spouses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology