Adopción por homosexuales

Page 1 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
Review Of Research On Homosexual Parenting, Adoption, And Foster Parenting
by George A. Rekers, Ph.D., Professor of Neuropsychiatry & Behavioral Science,
University of South Carolina School of Medicine,
Columbia, South Carolina
Editorial Note:
Most of this research review of empirical evidence applies to public policy regarding child custody
decisions, adoption, and foster parenting of children, even though it was specifically prepared to
defend the Arkansas regulation prohibiting the issuance of foster parent licenses to homes in which
there is any adult involved in homosexual behavior. The attorney assigned to defend the Arkansas
regulation, Kathy Hall, curiously made motions in court to exclude all scientific evidence regarding
the higher frequency of domestic violence, pedophilia, and sexual disease transmission by
homosexual adults to children compared to married couples to children, which undermined her own
case. So Kathy Hall instructed Professor Rekers not to review research in those areas.
Then, after seeing Dr. Rekers' review (included in this paper) of the evidence of higher rates of
psychiatric disorders in practicing homosexuals compared to heterosexuals, attorney Kathy Hall
made last minute motions to exclude that scientific evidence from consideration in the case just
prior to Dr. Rekers' courtroom testimony. Ultimately, Kathy Hall did not allow Professor Rekers to
present even 20% of the evidence in this paper that he provided her prior to his scheduled testimony
in court, and as a result, Kathy Hall lost the case for the State of Arkansas. In contrast, the State of
Florida used this kind of scientific research provided by Dr. Rekers in defending the law prohibiting
homosexuals from adopting children, which defense succeeded all the way to the U.S. Supreme
Court in January, 2005. The Boy Scouts of America similarly relied, in part, on this line of research
provided by Professor Rekers, and won their case through all appeals all the way to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Page 2 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
SUMMARY: A Rational Basis for the Arkansas Regulation
Statement by George A. Rekers, Ph.D., Professor, University of South Carolina
There are at least three reasons that the Arkansas regulation prohibiting homosexuallybehaving
adults from being licensed as foster parents has a rational basis:
I. The inherent nature and structure of households with a homosexually-behaving
adult uniquely endangers foster children by exposing them to a substantial level of harmful
stresses that are over and above usual stress levels in heterosexual foster homes. Because of
the high incidence of psychological disorder in children entering foster care, foster children are
especially vulnerable to psychological harm and increased maladjustment when exposed to
significantly greater stress imposed on them by the presence of a homosexually-behaving adult in
the foster home.
• In a household with a homosexually-behaving adult, the foster child would be exposed to
additional stress with the impact of the significantly higher rates of psychological disorder
(particularly affective disorders such as depression), suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, suicide
completion, conduct disorder, and substance abuse in homosexually-behaving adults. Thus, a foster
placement in a household with a homosexually-behaving adult would risk exposing foster children
to a substantially higher level of harm because research indicates that parental affective disorder
results in higher rates of child depression, child maltreatment and neglect, as mediated by
interpersonal stress processes.
• Further, research indicates that homosexual behavior is widely disapproved by the majority of
the U.S. population. Aware of the social stigma of living with homosexually-behaving adults,
school-aged children generally suffer stress associated with their shame, embarrassment, fears that
others will discover their family member’s homosexuality, fears of peer rejection, actual disruption
of valued friendships, suffering name-calling or ostracism, and/or seeing their family member
disapproved.
The passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 Public Law 105-89 mandates a primary
emphasis on the safety of children in the foster care system. It is in the best interests of foster
children to be placed in foster homes where the adult or adults are exclusively heterosexual because
such homes are safe from the kinds of unique stresses and relatively more harmful level of adult
psychological disorder inherent to households with a homosexual adult.
Page 3 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
II. Homosexual partner relationships are significantly and substantially less stable and
more short-lived on the average compared to a marriage of a man and a woman, thereby
inevitably contributing to a substantially higher rate of household transitions in foster homes
with a homosexually-behaving adult. Homosexually-behaving adults inherently suffer
significantly and substantially higher rates of partner relationship breakups, psychological disorder,
suicidal ideation, suicidal attempt, completed suicide, conduct disorder, and substance abuse;
therefore, as a group, households with a resident homosexually-behaving adult are substantially less
capable of providing the best psychologically stable and secure home environments needed by
foster children. This greater instability would inevitably necessitate more frequent foster child
removal for transition to an alternate foster placement. Further, this relationship instability in
households with a homosexually-behaving male also would contribute to a potentially higher risk of
removal due to the sexual abuse of an adolescent male foster child by that homosexual. Foster
children have already suffered one or more traumatic transitions, and more frequent transitions
result in greater psychological harm and psychosocial maladjustment. The Adoption Assistance and
Child Welfare Act of 1980 Public Law 92-272 shifted the focus of the foster care system to
minimizing child removal rates, and Public Law 105-89 requires practices to enhance safety of the
foster child. It is in the best interests of foster children to be placed in foster homes that include
only married or single heterosexual adults because they are substantially more stable and safe,
eliminating the unique risk of higher rates of child removal inherent to households with a
homosexual adult.
III. The inherent structure of foster-parent households with one or more
homosexually-behaving members deprives foster children of vitally needed positive
contributions to child adjustment that are only present in licensed heterosexual foster homes.
Homosexual foster-parent households lack a daily resident model of either a mother or a father, lack
the unique contributions of either a mother or a father to childrearing, and lack a model of a
husband/wife relationship which is significantly healthier, substantially more stable socially and
psychologically, and is more widely approved compared to homosexual lifestyles. The best child
adjustment results from living with a married man and woman compared to other family structures.
It is clearly in the best interests of foster children to be placed with exclusively heterosexual
married-couple foster families because this natural family structure inherently provides unique
needed benefits and produces better child adjustment than is generally the case in households with a
homosexually-behaving adult.
Page 4 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
A Rational Basis for Prohibiting the Issuance of Foster Parent Licenses
to Households that Include a Homosexually-Behaving Member
By Professor George A. Rekers, Ph.D.
There is a rational basis for a regulation to prohibit the issuance of a foster parent license to
individuals engaged in sexual behavior with another individual of the same sex and to individuals
who have a home in which there resides an adult member engaging in sexual behavior with another
individual of the same sex. Substantial empirical research, common sense, and logical reasoning
supports this regulation. The best available and applicable research evidence clearly supports the
state government’s position that it is in the best interests of a child in need of foster placement be
placed in a foster headed by a father and mother (or in a home of a single heterosexual individual
with qualifications that match a particular child’s needs), excluding all homes with an adult member
involved in male with male sexual behavior or female with female sexual behavior.
I.
The Inherent Structure of a Household with a Homosexual Adult Exposes a Foster Child to
Substantial High Risk of Harmful Stressors That Do Not Exist in a Heterosexual Family
A foster placement with a homosexual parent figure subjects the child to an additional and
unique source of profound psychosocial stress related to the placement of the child in an abnormal
family structure with the socially deviant sexual lifestyle of the homosexual foster parent. These
unique stresses of placement in a homosexual’s home compound the foster child’s existing set of
problems she or he already has to cope with. Placement with a homosexual foster parent is a
completely avoidable source of additional moderate-to-severe stress placed on the foster child. The
state’s legitimate interest in avoiding potential harm to the child justifies the state’s decision to
prohibit foster child placement in homes with a homosexual behaving adult.
Compared to a family without a homosexually behaving adult, empirical evidence and my
30 years of clinical experience with children strongly support the common sense conclusion that a
home with a homosexual behaving individual subjects a foster child to a set of disadvantages,
stresses, and other harms that are seriously detrimental to a child’s psychological and social
development. While any individual specific home with a homosexually-behaving adult may not
contain all of the following specific disadvantages, stresses, and harms, every household with a
homosexually-behaving adult would have some subset of the following disadvantages that clearly
would not be in the best interests of the child needing foster placement.
A. Children are More Vulnerable to Harm from Stress than Other Children
Foster children are among the most vulnerable of all citizens. At the time of a foster home
placement, the child inevitably experiences the psychosocial stresses of going through a series of
separations, significant changes, special problems such as adjusting to emotional effects of neglect
or abuse, and/or traumas such as the death of parents; for example, there are stresses associated with
separation from their birth/legal parents, stresses in coping with agency workers, stresses in
adapting to a new family, and stresses of new surroundings, including possibly a new neighborhood,
a new school, and new peers. All these stresses are regrettably unavoidable once a child is found to
need foster placement.
Page 5 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
Because of the abuse, neglect, or tragic loss of parents experienced by children entering
foster care, they have significantly and substantially higher rates of psychological disorders than
other children. In a 2001 review of research on foster family characteristics and the behavioral and
emotional problems of foster children, Orme and Buehler concluded, “Many children in foster care
have significant behavioral and emotional problems… and many of them are at risk for developing
additional problems because of a history of child abuse and neglect, family poverty, or parental
mental health problems….”1
To study the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children in the general population,
investigators have used several methods, about half using the multi-method-multistage approach to
ascertain cases. The review by Brandenburg, Friedman, and Silver published in 1990 stated, “The
majority of overall prevalence estimates of moderate to severe disorder range from 14 to 20%.”2
The review by Halfon and Newacheck published in 1999 concluded, “Findings from these and other
studies suggest that between 17% and 22% of children (0-17 years) suffer from some form of
diagnosable mental illness….”3
By contrast, according to a review by Simms and colleagues in 2000, overall prevalence of
psychological disorders in children entering foster care range from 29% to 96% from study to
study. Similarly, a 2003 review by Lau and her colleagues cited studies indicating that the
“proportion of children meeting clinical criteria for behavioral problems or psychiatric diagnosis
range from 54 to 80%.”4 In an article in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect published in 2000,
Dr. Rae R. Newton and his colleagues wrote, “It is well known that such children, entering the
foster care system, exhibit behavioral and mental health problems, or at risk for those problems.”5
The following are representative of many studies on the prevalence of psychological problems
among foster children.
1. McIntyre and Keesler (1986) conducted a research study of psychological disorders among
foster children and found that 50% of them evidenced behavioral problems.6
2. Hochstadt and colleagues (1987) studied of the psychosocial needs of children entering
foster care and reported that 56.9% of such children in Chicago during a one-month
sampling had significant emotional and/or behavioral problems that required treatment.7
1 Page 3 in John G. Orme, & Cheryl Buehler, “Foster family characteristics and behavioral and emotional problems of
foster children: a narrative review,” Family Relations, 2001, Volume 50, Number 1, pages 3-15.
2 Page 76 in Nancy A. Brandenburg, Robert M. Friedman, & Starr E. Silver, “The epidemiology of childhood
psychiatric disorders: prevalence findings from recent studies,” Journal of the American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry, 1990, Volume 29, Number 1, pages 76-83.
3 Page 600 in Neal Halfon, & Paul W. Newacheck, “Prevalence and impact of parent-repoted disabling mental health
conditions among U.S. children,” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 1999, Volume
38, Number 5, pages 600-609..
4 Page 347 in Anna S. Lau, Alan J. Litrownik, Rae R. Newton, & John Landsverk, “Going Home: The complex effects
of reunification on internalizing problems among children in foster care,” Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 2003,
Volume 31, Number 4, pages 345-359.
5 R. R. Newton, A. J. Litrownik, & J. A. Landsverk, “Children and youth in foster care: Disentangling the relationship
between problem behaviors and number of placements,” Child Abuse & Neglect, 2000, Volume 24, Number 10, page
1364.
6 A. McIntyre & T. Y. Keesler, “Psychological disorders among foster children,” Journal of Clinical Child Psychology,
1986, Volume 15, pages 297-303.
7 N. J. Hochstadt, P. K. Jaudes, D. A. Zimo, & J. Schachter, “The medical and psychosocial needs of children entering
foster care,” Child Abuse & Neglect, 1987, Volume 11, pages 53-62.
Page 6 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
3. In the state of California, the federal Medicaid program is called “Medi-Cal.” Halfon and
colleagues (1992) reported that “children in foster care account for 41% of all users of
mental health services even though they represent less than 4% of Medi-Cal-eligible
children. When partitioned into specific service categories, children in foster care account
for 53% of all psychologist visits, 47% of psychiatry visits, 43% of Short Doyle/Medi-Cal
inpatient hospitalization in public hospitals, and 27% of inpatient psychiatric hospitals.
…When compared to the non-foster care Medi-Cal-eligible child population, children in
foster care have 10 to 20 times the rate of utilization per eligible child for selected services.
For children in foster care, 75% of all diagnoses for billed services were accounted for by
four diagnoses: adjustment disorders (28.6%), conduct disorders (20.5%), anxiety disorders
(13.8%), and emotional disorders (11.9%)….” (p. 1238).
4. Halfon and colleagues (1995) reported on 213 children in foster care, finding that over 80%
had developmental, emotional, or behavioral problems. They concluded that children in
foster care “revealed higher rates of chronic multiple medical and mental health
problems….” And it is significant that stress experienced by a child frequently worsens that
child’s physical health condition and psychological disorder.
5. Chernoff and colleagues (1994) found that 15% of children entering foster care reported
suicidal ideation and 7% reported homicidal ideation. Because of the high percentage of
children entering foster care who have severe psychological adjustment problems, the
demand for appropriate foster care placements is critically important.8
6. Blumberg and colleagues (1996) reported that among 662 children placed, 56% used mental
health services within 5 to 8 months of entering out-of-home care, while only 10% had
received such services prior to placement.9
7. A study conducted by Clausen and colleagues (1998) in San Diego reported that 61% of a
sample of foster children had a mental health problem.10
8. DosReis and colleagues (2001) reported a study of 15,507 youths with Medicaid insurance
in a mid-Atlantic state. They reported, “…the prevalence of mental disorders among youths
enrolled in foster care (57%) was … nearly 15 times that of other youths receiving other
types of aid (4%). …Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], depression, and
developmental disorders were the most prevalent disorders.”
9. Harman and colleagues (2000) reported a study of 39,500 children on Medicaid in
Pennsylvania, and found that “children in foster care were 3 to 10 times more likely to
receive a mental health diagnosis” (depending on the particular diagnosis) and “…had 6.5
times more mental health claims, [and] were 7.5 times more likely to be hospitalized for a
mental health condition….” (p. 1080). Considering only six diagnoses (depression, anxiety
disorder, ADHD, conduct disorder, bipolar disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder),
39.5% of foster children had a diagnosis compared to 8.4% of other AFDC children.
8 Lee, Wendy Ya-Chun. Process and criteria of electing foster parents: A national comparative study of state foster care
systems. Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume 62 (4-A), Oct 2001, page 1601. Ann Arbor, MI: University
Microfilms International.
9 E. Blumberg, J. Landsverk, E. Ellis-MacLeod, W. Ganger, & S. Culver, “Use of the public mental health system by
children in foster care,” Journal of Mental Health Administration, 1996, Volume 23, pages 389-405.
10 J. M. Clausen, J. Landsverk, W. Ganger, D. Chadwick, & A. Litrownik, “Mental health problems of children in foster
care,” Journal of Child and Family Studies, 1998, Volume 7, pages 283-296.
Page 7 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
10. McMillen and colleagues (2004) reported a study of 406 youths in Missouri’s foster care
system who were aged 17 years and found that 94% of them had used a mental health
service in their lifetime. Lifetime rates for inpatient psychiatric care was 42%.
A 1995 review of 13 studies on psychological disorders among foster children by Pilowsky
concluded, “The prevalence of psychopathology among children in family foster care is higher than
would be expected from normative data, even when this population is compared with children who
have backgrounds of similar deprivation.”11 Another study published in 1986 by McIntyre found
that nearly half the foster children manifested evidence of psychological disorder, and depending
upon the particular syndrome, “Relative risks associated with foster status were from almost 2 to
over 32 times greater”12 than for children in the general population.
Diagnosed Adjustment Disorders are among the most commonly suffered psychological
problems suffered by foster children when they encounter too much accumulated stress than they
are can cope with. The essential feature of an Adjustment Disorder is that the person has a
maladaptive reaction to one or more psychosocial stressors that occurs within three months of the
stressor. Individuals who are particularly vulnerable (as many foster children are due to their
history and circumstance) may have a severe form of an Adjustment Disorder even if the stressor is
only mild or moderate in its intensity. The individual’s symptoms of determine the specific type of
Adjustment Disorder, and the disorder can be either acute or chronic:
• Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood
• Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety
• Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed mood
• Adjustment Disorder with Disturbance of Conduct
• Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Disturbance of Emotions and Conduct
In their 2001 review of foster family characteristics, Orme and Buehler concluded, “Given
the pivotal role of foster families, it is important to understand aspects of the foster family that
exacerbate behavioral and emotional problems in foster children, as well as aspects of the foster
family that might prevent or ameliorate future problems.”13 Because of high incidence of
psychological disorder in children entering foster care, foster children are especially
vulnerable to psychological harm and increased maladjustment when exposed to the
significantly greater stress imposed on them by the presence of a homosexually-behaving
adult in the foster home. And those children entering foster care without a psychological disorder
are much more susceptible to developing a psychological disorder than most children by virtue of
their circumstances and massive adjustment required by the stresses of a foster placement.
11 Page 906 in Daniel Pilowsky, “Psychopathology among children placed in family foster care,” Psychiatric Services,
1995, Volume 46, Number 9, pages 906-910.
12 Page 297 in Anne McIntyre, “Psychological disorders among foster children,” Journal of Clinical Child Psychology,
1986, Volume 15, Number 4, pages 297-303.
13 Page 3 in John G. Orme, & Cheryl Buehler, “Foster family characteristics and behavioral and emotional problems of
foster children: a narrative review,” Family Relations, 2001, Volume 50, Number 1, pages 3-15.
Page 8 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
B. Higher Rates of Psychological Disorder and Substance Abuse in Homosexuals Exposes
Child to Harmful Stress
Campbell and colleagues conducted a 1980 study of family foster care, which found that in
16% of the “worst placements,” the foster parents had psychiatric problems, compared to none of
the parents having psychiatric problems in the “best placements.”14 In their 1984 journal article
entitled, “Correlates of effective foster parenting,” Jordan and Redway similarly concluded that the
characteristics of successful foster parents include “willingness to learn, ability to request and
receive help, warmth, acceptance of children and their behavior, a high tolerance of frustration,
excellent communication skills, and good physical and emotional health.”15 Orme and Buehler’s
2001 review of research related to foster family characteristics that affect children’s social and
emotional adjustment pointed to research indicating that the parent’s mental health is among
“family factors that likely contribute to children’s social and emotional adjustment.”16
However, individuals with homosexual behavior have repeatedly been found to have a
significant and substantially higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders and substance abuse in
studies with large probability samples of the adult population. If foster children are placed in homes
with a homosexually-behaving adult, those foster children will be exposed to additional stress with
the impact of the significantly higher rates of psychological disorder (particularly mood disorders),
suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, suicide completion, violence, substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS in
homosexually behaving adults.
In 2004, Mills and his colleagues17 reported a CDC (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention)-funded study of a household-based probability sample of men who have sex with men
(N=2881) in four large USA cities. Among men who have sex with men, the 7-day prevalence of
depression was 17.2%, which is higher than in adult US. men in general (who have a 3.8% 30-day
prevalence rate). The 7-day prevalence of distress in men who have sex with men was 12%. The
authors concluded, “Rates of distress and depression are high in men who have sex with men,” and
were associated with “…lack of a domestic partner; not identifying as gay, queer, or homosexual;
experiencing multiple episodes of anti-gay violence in the previous 5 years; and very high levels of
community alienation” (p. 278).
In 2001, Gilman and his colleagues18 analyzed data from the National Comorbidity Survey,
a nationally representative household survey. 2.1% of men and 1.5% of women reported one or
more same-sex sexual partners in the past five years (homosexual n = 125). Reporting the findings
of 12-month prevalence, 36.8% of men having sex with men had a psychiatric disorder, compared
to 28.2% of men having sex with women. And 55.5% of women having sex with women had a
psychiatric disorder compared with 31.8% of women who have sex with men. The authors
14 S. B. Campbell, R. Simon, L. Weithorn, D. Krikston, & K. Connolly. “Successful foster homes need parent-child
match,” Journal of Social Welfare, 1980, Volume 6, pages 47-60.
15 A. Jordan & M. R. Redway, “Correlates of effective foster parenting,” Social Work Research and Abstracts, 1984,
Volume 20, pages 27-31.
16 Pages 3 to 4 in John G. Orme, & Cheryl Buehler, “Foster family characteristics and behavioral and emotional
problems of foster children: a narrative review,” Family Relations, 2001, Volume 50, Number 1, pages 3-15.
17 Thomas C. Mills, Jay Paul, Ron Stall, Lance Pollack, Jesse Canchola, Y. Jason Chang, Judith T. Moskowitz, &
Joseph A. Catania, “Distress and depression in men who have sex with men: the Urban Men’s Health Study,” American
Journal of Psychiatry, 2004, Volume 161, pages 278-285.
18 Stephen E. Gilman, Susan D. Cochran, Vickie M. Mays, Michael Hughes, David Ostrow, & Ronald C. Kessler, “Risk
of psychiatric disorders among individuals reporting same-sex sexual partners in the National Comorbidity Survey,”
American Journal of Public Health, June 2001, Volume 91, Number 6, pages 933-939.
Page 9 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
concluded, “…having same sex sexual partners is associated with a general elevation of risk for
anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders and for suicidal thoughts and plans” (p. 933).
In 1999, Fergusson and his colleagues19 reported on a 21-year longitudinal study of a birth
cohort of 1265 children born in New Zealand. 2.8% were classified as homosexual based on their
reported sexual orientation or sexual partnerships. Data were gathered on a range of psychiatric
disorders from age 14 to 21 years. Homosexuals had significantly higher rates of major depression,
generalized anxiety disorder, conduct disorder, nicotine dependence, other substance abuse and/or
dependence, multiple disorders, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. 78.6% of homosexuals
compared to 38.2% of heterosexuals had two or more mental disorders, a statistically significant
difference. 71.4% of homosexuals experienced major depression compared to 38.2% of
heterosexuals. 67% of homosexuals reported suicidal ideation compared to 28.0% of heterosexuals.
And 32.1% of homosexuals reported a suicide attempt compared to 7.1% of heterosexuals.
In 2001, from a country long recognized for its more tolerant acceptance of homosexuality,
Sandfort and colleagues published a study20 of a representative sample of the Dutch population
(N=7076; aged 18-64 years), in which 5998 subjects could be classified as heterosexual or
homosexual based on reported sexual behavior in the preceding year. 2.8% of men and 1.4% of
women had same-sex partners. Reporting 12-month prevalence rates, 21.1% of heterosexual men
and 35.4% of homosexual men had one or more DSM diagnoses, and 22.4% of heterosexual women
and 34.9% of homosexual women had one or more DSM diagnoses. Homosexual men had a higher
12-month prevalence of mood disorders and anxiety disorders than heterosexual men. Homosexual
women had a higher 12-moth prevalence of substance use disorders. Reporting life-time prevalence
rates, 41.4% of heterosexual men and 56.1% of homosexual men had one or more DSM diagnoses,
and 39.1% of heterosexual women and 67.4% of homosexual women had one or more DSM
diagnoses. Homosexual women had a higher life-time prevalence rate of mood disorders than
heterosexual women.
In 2003, Sandfort and colleagues21 published subsequent study of the quality of life of this
same large representative sample of homosexual and heterosexual men and women. These
researchers found that men who reported sexual behavior with other men in the preceding year had
a lower reported quality of life, lower sense of self-esteem, and lower sense of mastery. “Compared
to heterosexual men, homosexual men evaluated their general level of health and their mental health
as less positive, reported that emotional problems more often interfered with work or other daily
activities, that physical health or emotional problems interfered with normal social activities, and
felt less energetic” (page 18).
In 2003, King and colleagues22 published a cross-sectional study of 505 heterosexual men,
656 homosexual men, 85 bisexual men, 588 heterosexual women, 430 homosexual women, and 113
bisexual women in England and Wales. This, the largest study of its kind in the United Kingdom,
found that two-thirds of homosexual and bisexual adults are likely to have mental health problems,
19 D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, & A. L. Beautrais, “Is sexual orientation related to mental health problems and
suicidality in young people?” Archives of General Psychiatry, 1999, Volume 56, pages 876-880.
20 Theo G. M. Sandfort, Ron de Graaf, Rob V. Bijl, & Paul Schnabel, “Same-sex sexual behavior and psychiatric
disorders,” Archives of General Psychiatry, January 2001, Volume 58, pages 85-91.
21 Theodorus G. M. Sandfort, Ron de Graaf, & Rob V. Bijl, “Same-sex sexuality and quality of life : Findings from the
Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study, ” Archives of Sexual Behavior, February 2003, Volume 32,
Number 1, pages 15-22.
22 Michael King, Eamonn McKeown, James Warner, Angus Ramsay, Katherine Johnson, Clive Cort, Oliver Davidson,
& Lucienne Wright. Mental health and social wellbeing of gay men, lesbians and bisexuals in England and Wales.
London: Mind—National Association for Mental Health, 2003. Sophie Goodchild, “Gays face high risk of mental
problems,” Independent News, September 8, 2003. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=441027
Page 10 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
compared to just one-third of heterosexuals. They concluded, “The main findings for these
comparisons were similar to those reported in U.S. studies. …gay men and lesbians reported more
psychological distress than heterosexuals, despite similar levels of social support and quality of
physical health as heterosexual men and women. Levels of substance use disorders were higher
among gay men and lesbians, who reported that they were more likely than their heterosexual
counterparts to have used recreational drugs. Lesbians were more likely than heterosexual women
to drink alcohol excessively. Results showed that bisexual men were more likely than gay men to
have recently used recreational drugs. …In reports on self harm, gay men were more likely than
bisexual men, and lesbians more likely than bisexual women to cite their sexuality as a reason for
harming themselves.”23
In 1999, Harrell and his colleagues24 reported on lifetime symptoms of suicidality in the
population-based Vietnam Era Twin Registry. 103 middle-aged male-male twin pairs were
identified in which one member of the pair reported male sexual partners after age 18 years while
the other twin did not. After adjusting for substance abuse and depressive symptoms other than
suicidality, having same-sex sexual partners was found to be significantly associated with thoughts
about death, suicidal ideation, and attempted suicide. 55.3% of men with male sex partners reported
suicidal ideation compared to 25.2% of their heterosexual twins. 14.7% of men with male sex
partners reported suicide attempt compared to 3.9% of their heterosexual twins.
A study of adults aged 18 to 30 years old published in 2002 by Garcia and colleagues
reported, “lesbian/bisexual females were significantly more likely to report past suicidal ideation
than were heterosexual females. Gay/bisexual males were more likely to report unwanted sexual
touching than were heterosexual males….”25
In a study reported in 2004 of 191 homosexual and bisexual men, Landolt and her
colleagues found that “gender nonconformity was significantly associated with paternal, maternal,
and peer rejection in childhood. In addition, paternal and peer rejection, but not maternal rejection,
independently predicted attachment anxiety. Peer rejection and, to a lesser extent, paternal rejection
mediated the association between gender nonconformity and attachment anxiety. Finally, peer
rejection mediated the association between paternal rejection and attachment avoidance.”26 A 1994
study by Siever27 found that compared to heterosexual men, homosexual men have a much higher
concern for physical attractiveness making them more vulnerable to eating disorders.
In 1998 and 1999, Faulkner and Cranston,28 Fergusson and colleagues,29 Garofalo and
colleagues,30 Remafedi and colleagues,31 and Safren and Heimberg32 reported several studies of
23 Michael King, Eamonn McKeown, James Warner, Angus Ramsay, Katherine Johnson, Clive Cort, Oliver Davidson,
& Lucienne Wright. Mental health and social wellbeing of gay men, lesbians and bisexuals in England and Wales.
London: Mind—National Association for Mental Health, 2003.
24 Richard Herrell, Jack Goldberg, William R. True, Visvanathan Ramakrishnan, Michael Lyons, Seth Eisen, & Ming T
Tsuang, “Sexual orientation and suicidality: a co-twin control study in adult men,” Archives of General Psychiatry,
October 1999, Volume 56, pages, 867-874.
25 Jacob Garcia, Joyce Adams, Lawrence Friedman, & Patricia East, “Links between past abuse, suicide ideation, and
sexual orientation among San Diego college students,” Journal of American College Health, July 2002, Volume 51,
Number 1, pages 9-14.
26 Page 117 in Monica A. Landolt, Kim Barholomew, Colleen Saffrey, Doug Oram, & Daniel Perlman, “Gender
nonconformity, childhood rejection, and adult attachment: a study of gay men,” Archives of Sexual Behavior, April
2004, Volume 33, Number 2, pages 117-128.
27 Michael D. Siever, “Sexual orientation and gender as factors in socioculturally acquired vulnerability to body
dissatisfaction and eating disorders,” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1994, Volume 62, Number 2,
pages 252-260.
28 A. H. Faulkner & K. Cranston, “Correlates of same-sex sexual behavior in a random sample of Massachusetts high
school students, ” American Journal of Public Health, 1998, Volume 88, pages 262-266.
Page 11 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
probability samples, all of which reported that homosexual and bisexual adolescents are at a greater
risk of attempting suicide than are heterosexual adolescents.
In 2001, Noell and Ochs33 reported on a study of 532 homeless adolescents in which they
found that, compared to heterosexuals, “gay, lesbian, bisexual, and ‘unsure’ youths (GLBU)” were
more likely to report recent depression and suicidal ideation.
In a 2001 review of research findings on the relationship between sexual orientation and risk
for suicide, McDaniel and his colleagues concluded, “Studies suggest an elevated risk of suicide
attempts among some cohorts of GLB (gay, lesbian, and bisexual) people, particularly GLB youth.
Evidence is also strong that GLB youth are at high risk for associated maladaptive risk behaviors.
Mental health problems and substance abuse disorders are critical predisposing factors for GLB
suicide….”34
In a nationally representative study of United States adolescents published in 2001 that
involved more than 12,000 research participants, Russell and Joyner reported findings comparing
453 adolescent males with same-sex sexual orientation to 5233 males with no homosexual
orientation, and 414 adolescent females with same-sex sexual orientation to 5233 females with no
homosexual orientation. These investigators found, “There is a strong link between adolescent
sexual orientation and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The strong effect of sexual orientation on
suicidal thoughts is mediated by critical youth suicide risk factors, including depression,
hopelessness, alcohol abuse, recent suicide attempts by a peer or a family member, and experiences
of victimization.”35 15.4% of adolescent males with homosexual orientation reported suicidal
thoughts in the past 12 months compared to 9.7% of heterosexual males, and 28.3% of adolescent
females with homosexual orientation reported suicidal thoughts in the past 12 months compared to
15.2% of heterosexual females. 5.0% of adolescent males with homosexual orientation reported a
suicide attempt in the past 12 months compared to 2.0% of heterosexual males, and 12.2% of
adolescent females with homosexual orientation reported a suicide attempt in the past 12 months
compared to 5.0% of heterosexual females.
In a study of 2924 Norwegian adolescents published in 2003, Wichstrom and Hegna36 found
same-sex sexual behavior (but not homosexual attraction or homosexual identity) predictive of
suicide attempt.
29 D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, & A. L. Beautrais, “Is sexual orientation related to mental health problems and
suicidality in young people?” Archives of General Psychiatry, 1999, Volume 56, pages 876-880.
30 R. Garofalo, R. C. Wolf, L. S. Wissow, E. R. Woods, & E. Goodman, “Sexual orientation and risk of suicide attempts
among a representative sample of youth,” Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 1999, Volume 153, pages
487-493.
31 G. Remafedi, S. French, M. Story, M. D. Resnick, & R. Blum, “The relationship between suicide risk and sexual
orientation: Results of a population-based study.” American Journal of Public Health, 1998, Volume 88, pages 57-60.
32 Steven A. Safren & Richard G. Heimberg, “Depression, hopelessness, suicidality and related factors in sexual
minority and heterosexual adolescents,” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1999, Volume 67, pages 859-
866.
33 Page 31 in John W. Noell & Linda Ochs, “Relationship of sexual orientation to substance use, suicidal ideation,
suicide attempts, and other factors in a population of homeless adolescents,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 2001,
Volume 29, pages 31-36.
34 J. Stephen McDaniel, David Purcell, & Anthony R. D’Augelli, “The relationship between sexual orientation and risk
for suicide: research findings and future directions for research and prevention,” Suicide and Life-Threatening
Behavior, Spring 2001, Volume 31 (Supplement), pages 84-105.
35 Stephen T. Russell & Kara Joyner, “Adolescent sexual orientation and suicide risk: evidence from a national study,”
American Journal of Public Health, August 2001, Volume 91, Number 8, pages 1276-1281.
36 Lars Wichstrom and Kristinn Hegna, “Sexual orientation and suicide attempt: a longitudinal study of the general
Norwegian adolescent population,” Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 2003, Volume 112, Number 1, pages 144-151.
Page 12 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
Russell & Joyner (2001) analyzed data from 6254 adolescent girls and 5686 adolescent boys
in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, and found a strong link between
adolescent same-sex sexual orientation and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. 8.4% of the boys and
6.6% of the girls reported having had a same-sex romantic attraction or relationship. “…youths
with same-sex orientation are more than 2 times more likely than their same-sex peers to attempt
suicide” (p. 1278).
Further, “ego-dystonic homosexuality” is itself a diagnosed mental disorder in the
International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition, published by the American Medical
Association, and widely used by physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists in the United States
and around the world.
Children in homes with a homosexually behaving adult are more likely to experience the
stress and associated harm of living with a parent or adult with a problem of alcoholism or the
abuse of an illegal substance.
• In a journal article published in 2000 reporting findings from the National Household Survey
on Drug Abuse, Cochran and her colleagues at UCLA reported that “homosexually active
women reported using alcohol more frequently and in greater amounts and experienced
greater alcohol-related morbidity than exclusively heterosexually active women,”37 being
more likely to meet criteria for alcohol dependency syndrome.
• In 2001, Gruskin and colleagues reported that “lesbians and bisexual women younger than 50
years were more likely than heterosexual women to smoke cigarettes and drink heavily.”38
• In a 2001 research review coauthored by Ryan and colleagues, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention reported up to twice the smoking rate for homosexuals and bisexuals
compared to heterosexuals.39
• Reviewing substance abuse research in a 2001 article, Copeland and Sorensen cited studies
indicating that methamphetamine use is particularly prevalent among gay and bisexual
men.”40
• A 2001 review by Ross and Williams funded by the Centers for Disease Control and the
National Institute on Drug Abuse, concluded, “Most data available are on opioid
(predominantly heroin) users and crack cocaine users. The recent phenomenon of the circuit
party has led to investigation of the context in which drug use and sex have become the focus
of large gay-oriented parties over long weekends.”41 They concluded, “It is clear that the
sexual behavior of drug users has become an important consideration in the spread of not only
HIV but also of other sexually transmissible pathogens.”42
37 Page 1062 in Susan D. Cochran, Colleen Keenan, Christine Schober, & Vicki M. Mays, “Estimates of alcohol use and
clinical treatment needs among homosexually active men and women in the U.S. population,” Journal of Consultig and
Clinical Psychology, 2000, Volume 68, Number 6, pages 1062-1071.
38 Page 976 in Elisabeth P. Gruskin, Stacey Hart, Nancy Gordon, & Lynn Ackerson, “Patterns of cigarette smoking and
alcohol use among lesbians and bisexual women enrolled in a large health maintenance organization,” American
Journal of Public Health, June 2001, Volume 91, Number 6, pages 976-979.
39 Heather Ryan, Pascale M. Wortley, Alyssa Easton, Linda Pederson, & Greg Greenwood, “Smoking among lesbians,
gays, and bisexuals,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2001, Volume 21, Number 2, pages 142-149.
40 Page 91 in Amy L. Copeland & James L. Sorensen, “Differences between methamphetamine users and cocaine users
in treatment,” Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2001, Volume 62, pages 91-95.
41 Page 290 in Michael W. Ross & Mark L. Williams, “Sexual behavior and illicit drug use,” Annual Review of Sex
Research, 2001, Volume 12, pages 290-310.
42 Page 307 in Michael W. Ross & Mark L. Williams, “Sexual behavior and illicit drug use,” Annual Review of Sex
Research, 2001, Volume 12, pages 290-310.
Page 13 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
• In a 2002 research report in the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, Halkitis and
Parsons reported that in a survey of 202 gay or bisexual men in New York City, “The majority
of participants reported substance use, and more than half reported the use of drugs other than
alcohol.”43 These investigators also summarized other research that has reported, “Substance
use, in fact, may be associated with sexuality through social learning in bars or other settings
where sexuality is reported. The gay bar has been the primary institutional frame for
establishing and supporting gay identity and for sanctioning drug and alcohol use.”44
• The 2002 review by Hughes and Eliason found that “both heavy drinking and use of drugs
other than alcohol appear to be prevalent among young lesbians and gay men.”45
• A 2003 study by Sandfort and colleagues reported that “homosexual women more often had
had a pure substance use disorder in the preceding year than had heterosexual women.”46
• In a 2003 research study, Boyd and her colleagues reported these findings in their study of the
use of a the synthetic compound, 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, known as “ecstasy”
in 3606 randomly selected university students: “gay, lesbian, and bisexual students were more
than two times as likely to have used ecstasy in the past year. Significant relationships existed
between ecstasy use and other substance use such as binge drinking, marijuana use, and
cigarette smoking.”47 In another 2003 research study, these same investigators found that selfidentified
lesbian and bisexual women were significantly more likely to experience certain
alcohol and other drug-related consequences (such as driving under the influence, unplanned
sex, memory loss, trouble with police, or damaged property), use marijuana and other drugs.48
• In 2001, Noell and Ochs49 reported on a study of 532 homeless adolescents in which they
found that, compared to heterosexuals, “gay, lesbian, bisexual, and ‘unsure’ youths (GLBU)”
were “more likely to have recently used amphetamines and to have injected drugs….”
In 2003, Stall and his colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the
University of California, San Francisco, published a study of a cross-sectional household
probability sample of 2881 adult men who have sex with men or who defined themselves as gay or
bisexual, in four U.S. cities in the East, Midwest, and West coast. These investigators defined
“polydrug use” as “use of 3 or more recreational drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine,
heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, amphetamines, metamphetamine, MDMA [“ecstasy”], barbiturates
or tranquilizers, painkillers) in the past 6 months.”50 Controlling for important demographic and
43 Page 19 in Perry N. Halkitis & Jeffrey T. Parsons, “Recreational drug use and HIV-risk sexual behavior among men
frequenting gay social venues,” Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 2002, Volume 14, Number 4, pages 19-38.
44 Page 21 in Perry N. Halkitis & Jeffrey T. Parsons, “Recreational drug use and HIV-risk sexual behavior among men
frequenting gay social venues,” Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 2002, Volume 14, Number 4, pages 19-38.
45 Page 263 in Tonda L. Hughes & Michele Eliason, “Substance use and abuse in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
populations,” Journal of Primary Prevention, 2002, Volume 22, Number 3, pages 263-298.
46 Pages 18-19 in Theodorus G. M. Sandfort, Ron de Graaf, & Rob V. Bijl, “Same-sex sexuality and quality of life :
Findings from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study, ” Archives of Sexual Behavior, February
2003, Volume 32, Number 1, pages 15-22.
47 Page 209 in Carol J. Boyd, Sean Esteban McCabe, & Hannah d’Arcy, “Ecstasy use among college undergraduates:
gender, race and sexual identity,” Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2003, Volume 24, pages 209-215.
48 Sean Esteban McCabe, Carol J. Boyd, Tonda L. Hughes, & Hannah d’Arcy, “Sexual identity and substance use
among undergraduate students,” Substance Abuse, June 2003, Volume 24, Number 2, pages 77-91.
49 Page 31 in John W. Noell & Linda Ochs, “Relationship of sexual orientation to substance use, suicidal ideation,
suicide attempts, and other factors in a population of homeless adolescents,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 2001,
Volume 29, pages 31-36.
50 Page 939 in Ron Stall, Thomas C. Mills, John Williamson, Trevor Hart, Greg Greenwood, Jay Paul, Lance Pollack,
Diane Binson, Dennis Osmond, & Joseph A. Catania, “Association of co-occuring psychosocial health problems and
Page 14 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
behavioral variables, Stall and his colleagues used multivariate logistic regression models that
identify the independent associations of polydrug use, depression, childhood sexual abuse, and
partner violence among urban men who have sex with men (MSM). This study51 found that
• “depression is independently associated with childhood sexual abuse, poly-drug use,
and partner violence,” (page 940)
• “polydrug use is independently associated with depression and partner violence,”
(page 940)
• “both polydrug use (odds ratio [OR]=2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.7,2.8) and
partner violence (OR=1.5; 95% CI=1.2, 1.9) were significantly associated with HIV
seropositivity,” (pages 940-941)
• “polydrug use (OR=2.0; 95% CI=1.5, 2.7), partner violence (OR=1.7;95% CI=1.3,
2.3), and childhood sexual abuse (OR=1.4; 95% CI=1.1, 1.9) were significantly
associated with high-risk sexual behavior…” (page 941).
These CDC researchers concluded, “This analysis of these data supports the view that additive
psychosocial health problems—otherwise known collectively as a syndemic—exist among urban
MSM and that the interconnection of these problems functions to magnify the effects of the
HIV/AIDS epidemic in this population” (page 941). “Put another way, men who are mired in the
combined effects of depression, substance abuse, and violence may not have the capacity to reduce
their sexual risk” (page 942).
Compared to children placed in foster families with exclusive heterosexuals, children in
homes with a homosexually behaving adult are more likely to experience the stress and associated
harm of a dysfunctional placement attributed to the problems created by living with a parent or
adult with a mental disorder or substance abuse. Compared to heterosexual adults, these doctors
and research scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and associated universities
have determined that a higher proportion of homosexually behaving adults are “mired in the
combined effects of depression, substance abuse, and violence” which forces them to have to battle
multiple additive health problems—a syndemic—which makes it difficult for them to have the
capacity to implement needed adaptive behaviors, such as HIV prevention.52 The debilitating
effects of these interrelated health problems combine with social marginalization, stigma, and a
lesser degree of social and community support to make homosexual adults generally less capable of
providing all the resources that psychologically-disturbed foster children vitally need. As noted
above, in studying a large representative sample of heterosexual and homosexual men, Sandfort and
colleagues reported, “Compared to heterosexual men, homosexual men evaluated their general level
of health and their mental health as less positive, reported that emotional problems more often
interfered with work or other daily activities, that physical health or emotional problems interfered
with normal social activities, and felt less energetic” (page 18). The logical conclusion from these
findings would be that heterosexual adults generally have significantly and substantially better
health, more energy, and better emotional stamina to devote to foster children, without the level of
increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS among urban men who have sex with men,” American Journal of Public Health,
June 2003, Volume 93, Number 6, pages 939-942.
51 Pages 940-941 in Ron Stall, Thomas C. Mills, John Williamson, Trevor Hart, Greg Greenwood, Jay Paul, Lance
Pollack, Diane Binson, Dennis Osmond, & Joseph A. Catania, “Association of co-occuring psychosocial health
problems and increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS among urban men who have sex with men,” American Journal of
Public Health, June 2003, Volume 93, Number 6, pages 939-942.
52 Ron Stall, Thomas C. Mills, John Williamson, Trevor Hart, Greg Greenwood, Jay Paul, Lance Pollack, Diane Binson,
Dennis Osmond, & Joseph A. Catania, “Association of co-occuring psychosocial health problems and increased
vulnerability to HIV/AIDS among urban men who have sex with men,” American Journal of Public Health, June 2003,
Volume 93, Number 6, pages 939-942.
Page 15 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
physical and emotional health problems and substance abuse that interfere with daily activities
among homosexual adults.
The findings of significantly higher rates of substance abuse among homosexually-behaving
individuals is significant for the foster care system, as demonstrated by the research of Curtis in
1993, who reported, “Findings indicate that the impact of AOD [alcohol and other drugs] on the
ability of child welfare agencies to deliver services is profound and adversely affects the system by
compounding problems, such as personnel shortages and shortages in the availability of foster
homes…. Problems related to AOD also frustrated efforts toward family preservation and
reunification and taxed limited treatment resources in the community.”53
In their 2001 review of research on foster family characteristics related to behavioral and
emotional problems of foster children, Orme and Buehler cited numerous studies for their
conclusion,
“Existing research with samples from the general population documents a
robust association between parents’ depressive affect (with the mother’s affect
assessed most frequently) and a broad array of indicators of child maladjustment….
There is some evidence that maternal depressive affect is more strongly associated
with child internalizing problem behaviors than with externalizing behaviors….Dadds
(1987) describes families with a depressed parent or parents as characterized by lack
of coherence and agency and by heightened emotional dysregulation. In addition to
providing a difficult environment for family functioning, these characteristics tend to
impair parenting…Socially, depressed parents are less skilled and responsive to
intimates, including their children…. The perceived helplessness and hostility that are
part of depression may interfere with depressed parents’ ability to be warm and
consistent with their children…”54
Numerous studies have demonstrated the relationship between a parent’s mental disorder and child
maladjustment. A 1999 study published by Bluestone and Tamis-LeMonda55 reported that a
mother’s depression is negatively associated with positive child-centered parenting styles. A 2002
study by Forehand and his colleagues found “a significant association between maternal depressive
symptoms and child depressive symptoms in African American girls, but not boys.”56 In a 1998
review of research on children of parents with affective disorders, Beardslee and colleagues
concluded, “…a number of longitudinal studies have confirmed that children of affectively ill
parents are at a greater risk for psychiatric disorders than children from homes with non-ill parents.
Life table estimates indicate that by the age of 20 a child with an affectively ill parent has a 40%
chance of experiencing an episode of major depression. Children from homes with affectively ill
parents are more likely to exhibit general difficulties in functioning, increased guilt, and
interpersonal difficulties as well as problems with attachment.”57
53 Page 543 in Patrick A. Curtis, “The impact of alcohol and other drugs on the child welfare system,” Child Welfare,
1993, Volume 72, Number 6, pages 533-542.
54 Page 11 in John G. Orme, & Cheryl Buehler, “Foster family characteristics and behavioral and emotional problems of
foster children: a narrative review,” Family Relations, 2001, Volume 50, Number 1, pages 3-15.
55 C. Bluestone & C.S. Tamis-LeMonda, “Correlates of parenting styles in predominantly working- and middle-class
African American mothers,” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1999, Volume 61, 881-893.
56 Page 1012 in Rex Forehand, D. J. Jones, G H. Brody, & L. Armistead, “African American children’s adjustment: The
roles of maternal and teacher depressive symptoms,” Journal of Marriage and Family, Volume 64, pages 1012-1023.
57 Page 1134 in William R. Beardslee, Eve M. Versage & Tracy R. G. Gladstone, “Children of affectively ill parents: a
review of the past 10 years,” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, November 1998,
Volume 37, Number 11, pages 1134-1138.
Page 16 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
The 2001 review by Murry and her colleagues concluded, “Psychological distress in mothers
induces negative emotionality that compromises their relationships with their partners and
children…. …parenting becomes less nurturant and involved.”58
A meta-analysis of studies on the relationship between depression in fathers and child
psychopathology published in 2004 by Kane and Garber concluded, “Results indicated that paternal
depression was significantly related to offspring internalizing and externalizing psychopathology
and father-child conflict.”59 Similarly, a review of research on the relationship of depression in
mothers and child adjustment problems published in 2004 by Elgar and colleagues concluded,
“”depression in mothers increases risk of emotional and behavioral problems in children….
Biological mechanisms (genetics, in utero environment) mediate influences form mother to child,
while psychosocial (attachment, child discipline, modeling, family functioning) and social capital
(social resources, social support) mechanisms mediate transactional influences on maternal
depression and child adjustment problems.”60 A study of adolescents aged 11 to 14 years old
published in 2001 by Childs and colleagues found, “Maternal depression accounted for half the
variance (52%) in child adjustment.” Maternal depression was a risk factor for adolescent
maladjustment….”61 In 2001, Carlson and Corcoran published a study finding that the mother’s
psychological functioning is “particularly important for children’s behavior….”62 According to a
review of the research by Factor63 in 1990, psychological disorder of the parent places the child at
high risk for maladjustment through modeling, family dysfunction, and inappropriate child-rearing
methods.
In 2004, Hammen and her colleagues published a study that found that “maternal
depression… contributed to chronic interpersonal stress in the mothers, affecting quality of
parenting and youths’ social competence. …the association between maternal and child depression
was entirely mediated by the predicted family and interpersonal stress effects.”64 Professor
Hammen and colleagues wrote, “…one risk factor that is believed to be among the strongest
predictors of depression in childhood and adolescence is maternal depression.”65
58 Page 917 in V. McBride Murry, P. A. Brown, G. H. Brody, C. E. Cutrona, & Ronald L. Simons, “Racial
discrimination as a moderator of the links among stress, maternal psychological functioning, and family relationships,”
Journal of Marriage and the Family, 2001, Volume 63, pages 915-926.
59 Page 339 in Peter Kane and Judy Garber, “The relations among depression in fathers, children’s psychopathology,
and father-child conflict: a meta-analysis,” Clinical Psychology Review, 2004, Volume 24, pages 339-360.
60 Page 441 in Frank J. Elgar, Patrick J. McGrath, Daniel A Waschbusch, Sherry H. Stewart, & Lori J. Curtis, “Mutual
influences on maternal depression and child adjustment problems,” Clinical Psychology Review, 2004, Volume 24,
pages 4410459.
61 Page 175 in H. F. Childs, H.B. Schneider, C. S. Dula, & H. G. Schneider, “Adolescent adjustment: Maternal
depression and social competence,” International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 2001, Volume 9, Number 2-3,
pages 175-184.
62 Marcia J. Carlson & Mary E. Corcoran, “Family structure and children’s behavioral and cognitive outcomes,” Journal
of Marriage and the Family, 2001, Volume 63, Number 3, pages 779-792.
63 David C. Factor, “Parental psychopathology and high-risk children,” In Robert T. Ammerman & Michael Hersen
(eds.), Children at risk. NY: Plenum Press, 1990, pages 171-198.
64 Constance Hammen, Josephine H. Shih, & Patricia A. Brennan, “Intergenerational transmission of depression: test of
an interpersonal stress model in a community sample,” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2004, Volume
72, Number 3, pages 511-522.
65 Page 511 in Constance Hammen, Josephine H. Shih, & Patricia A. Brennan, “Intergenerational transmission of
depression: test of an interpersonal stress model in a community sample,” Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 2004, Volume 72, Number 3, pages 511-522.
Page 17 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
A study published in 2004 by Papp and colleagues found direct links between maternal and
paternal symptoms of anxiety and depression and hostility with child adjustment problems.66
Similarly, research studies have documented the negative effects of parental substance abuse
on child adjustment. For example, Eiden and her colleagues published a study in 1999 finding that
maternal cocaine use was associated with more negative caregiving and negative discipline.67 In a
2004 study, DiLauro found, “Perpetrators who used alcohol or drugs were more likely to neglect
than were those in the nonuse group.”68
By its very structure, the foster home with a homosexually behaving adult creates a set or
cluster of most or all of the above stresses, harms, and disadvantages to the child at the very time
that the child is already experiencing the tragically unavoidable extraordinary stresses and
disadvantages of foster placement. For example, a 2002 publication by Compas and colleagues
identified the significance of how depression in a parent figure often elicits involuntary stress
responses in a child, adversely affecting their adjustment.69
66 L. M. Papp, E. M Cummings, & A. C. Schermerhorn, “Pathways among marital distress, parental symptomatology,
and child adjustment,” Journal of Marriage and Family, 2004, Volume 66, Pages 368-384.
67 Page 293 in Rina Das Eiden, Melissa Peterson, & Tamaira Coleman, “Maternal cocaine use and the caregiving
environment during early childhood,” Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 1999, Volume 13, Number 4, pages 293-302.
68Page 85 in Michelle D. DiLauro, “Psychosocial factors associated with types of child maltreatment,” Child Welfare,
2004, Vol. LXXXIII, Number 1, pages 69-99.
69 Bruce E. Compas, Adela M. Langrock, Gary Keller, Mary Jane Merchant, & Mary Ellen Copeland, “Children coping
with parental depression: Processes of adaptation to family stress,” in Sherryl H. Goodman & Ian H. Gotlib (Eds.),
Children of depressed parents: Mechanisms of risk and implications for treatment. Washington, DS: American
Psychological Association, 2002, pages 227-252.
Page 18 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
C. The Widespread Disapproval of Homosexual Behavior Exposes Child to Harmful Stress
Homosexual behavior is widely disapproved by the majority of the U.S. population.
Aware of the social stigma of living with homosexually-behaving adults, school-aged children
in households with a homosexual adult generally suffer stress associated with their shame,
embarrassment, fears that others will discover their family member’s homosexuality, fears of
peer rejection, actual disruption of valued friendships, suffering name-calling or ostracism,
and/or seeing their family member disapproved.
Research studies of representative samples of the population in the United States and other
Western nations consistently report that only 1% to 3% of the population claim to be homosexual
(gay or lesbian) or bisexual in same-gender sexual identity70 and this parallels their report of their
sexual behavior in the past year.71 In the United States, the National Health and Social Life Survey
conducted in 1992 by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago reported,
“About 1.4 percent of the women and 2.8 percent of the men report identifying with a label
denoting same-gender sexuality.”72 This same study found that 1.3% of women and 2.7% of men
reported same-gender sexual partners in the past year. (4.1% of women and 4.9% of men reported
ever having any same-gender sexual partner since the age of 18).73
A 2001 report from the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS), a nationally representative
household survey of people in the U.S. aged 15 to 54 years, found that 1.5% of women and 2.1% of
men reported a same-sex sexual partner in the 5 years before the interview.74
The Canadian government released the StatsCan survey in June 2004 that reported only
0.7% of women and 1.3% of men consider themselves homosexual.75
In the United Kingdom, the1994 National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles of
18,876 individuals from 16 to 59 years of age found 0.4% of women and 1.1% of men reported
same-gender sexual experience in the past year, and 6.1% of men and 3.4% of women reported ever
having a homosexual experience.76
A research study conducted in France in 1993 found that 1.1% of men reported at least one
male partner in the past year and 4.1% reporting ever having a homosexual experience.77
70 William B. Rubenstein, “Some Demographic Characteristics of the Gay Community in the United States,” The
Williams Project, UCLA School of Law, 2003.
71 In the USA: Laumann, Edward O., Gagnon, John H., Michael, Robert T., & Michaels, Stuart. The Social
Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago
Press, 1994. In the UK: Kaye Wellings, Julia Field, Anne Johnson, & Jane Wadsworth. Sexual behavior in Britain:
The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles. New York: Penguin, 1994, page 187. In France: Alfred Spira
et al Les comportements sexuels en France. Paris: La documentation Francaise, 1993, page 138. In Canada:
“StatsCan Report confirms lower than claimed incidence of homosexuality, at 1%” LifeSiteNews.net, June 15, 2004.
72 Laumann, Edward O., Gagnon, John H., Michael, Robert T., & Michaels, Stuart. The Social Organization of
Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1994, page
297.
73 Lauman et.al., page 294.
74 Stephen E. Gilman, Susan D. Cochran, Vickie M. Mays, Michael Hughes, David Ostrow, & Ronald C. Kessler, “Risk
of psychiatric disorders among individuals reporting same-sex sexual partners in the National Comorbidity Survey,”
American Journal of Public Health, June 2001, Volume 91, Number 6, pages 933-939.
75 “StatsCan Report confirms lower than claimed incidence of homosexuality, at 1%” LifeSiteNews.net, June 15, 2004.
76 Kaye Wellings, Julia Field, Anne Johnson, & Jane Wadsworth. Sexual behavior in Britain: The National Survey of
Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles. New York: Penguin, 1994, page 187
77 Alfred Spira et al Les comportements sexuels en France. Paris: La documentation Francaise, 1993, page 138.
Page 19 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
The Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study of a representative sample of
the Dutch population aged 18 to 64 years, reported in 2001 that 2.8% of 2878 men and 1.4% of
women had same-sex partners in the preceding year.78
1. The National Health and Social Life Survey conducted by the National Opinion Research
Center at the University of Chicago reported findings “…based on personal interviews in 1992 with
3,432 respondents who were randomly drawn from the non-institutionalized civilian population of
the United States by an area probability design….”79 This research found that 66.7% of the U.S.
population agreed with the statement, “Same-gender sex is always wrong,” and 19.9% answered,
“not wrong.”
2. The General Social Surveys of the National Opinion Research Center asked
national samples of the U.S. population to answer a question on homosexual relationships80:
What about sexual relations between two adults of the same sex--
do you think it is always wrong, almost always wrong, wrong only sometimes,
or not wrong at all?
1973 1976 1980 1984 1988 1991 1994 1998
Always Wrong 72.5% 70.3% 73.8% 75.1% 77.4% 77.4% 67.6% 58.6%
Not Wrong at All 11.2% 15.5% 14.2% 13.3% 12.7% 14.9% 22.8% 28.2%
Note that only a small minority of adults in the U.S. believes that sexual relations between two
adults of the same sex is “Not Wrong at All” (currently about one-fourth of the population). Some
individuals responding to this survey question would recognize that an adult who is coerced into a
homosexual behavior is not morally responsible for it, and therefore those survey respondents might
answer “Almost Always Wrong,” or “Wrong Only Sometimes” to allow for this possibility or other
extenuating circumstance such as having sex while psychotic, drunk, or under the influence of some
drug. Therefore, the answer “Not Wrong at All” may be the best measure of the percentage of the
population that attaches no negative moral judgment to homosexual behavior.
3. The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum Survey of 1,515
adults conducted October 15-19, 2003 reported that 50% of the general public expresses an
unfavorable opinion of gay men and 38% express a favorable opinion; 48% express an unfavorable
opinion of lesbians and 39% express a favorable opinion. This survey also reported that 55 percent
of Americans believe that homosexual behavior is a sin, and 33% disagree that it is a sin.81
4. A USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll in late July 2004 reported that 49% of a sample of the
U.S. population said that homosexuality should not be considered “an acceptable alternative
lifestyle,” compared to 46% who said it should be acceptable.82 A January 2004 CNN/USA
Today/Gallup Poll reported that 53% of Americans oppose a law that would allow homosexual
78 Theo G. M. Sandfort, Ron de Graaf, Rob V. Bijl, & Paul Schnabel, “Same-sex sexual behavior and psychiatric
disorders,” Archives of General Psychiatry, January 2001, Volume 58, pages 85-91. Theodorus G. M. Sandfort, Ron de
Graaf, & Rob V. Bijl, “Same-sex sexuality and quality of life : Findings from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey
and Incidence Study, ” Archives of Sexual Behavior, February 2003, Volume 32, Number 1, pages 15-22.
79 Laumann, Edward O., Gagnon, John H., Michael, Robert T., & Michaels, Stuart. The Social Organization of
Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1994.
80 Davis, James A., Smith, Tom W., & Marsden, Peter V. General Social Surveys, 1972-2002: Cumulative Codebook.
Chicago: NORC, 2003. http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/projects/gensoc.asp
81 Survey of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, http://pewforum.org/docs/index.php?DocID=38, accessed on
09-06-04.
82 Page, Susan, “Poll shows backlash on gay issues,” USA Today, July 28, 2004.
Page 20 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
couples to legally get married, 24% favor such a law, and 23% do not have an opinion on the
question.83
5. The Harris Poll conducted a nationwide non-probability cross section sample of 3,698
adults in the United States on March 18 and 29, 2004 on public opinion on adoption of children by
same-sex couples. 231 of the respondents (6.25%) identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or
transgendered. The Harris Poll reported that more Americans disapprove of adoption of children by
single-sex couples than approve. 35% approved of a female couple adopting a child, while 43%
disapproved. 33% approved of a male couple adopting a child, while 45% disapproved. When
asked whether children who are raised by same-sex couples should have all the same rights and
entitlements as other children, 90% agreed and 5 % disagreed.
A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publication stated, “For example, there
remains a tremendous stigma to acknowledging gay and bisexual activity in African American and
Hispanic communities.84
The 14% to 20% decrease in recent decades in adults considering homosexual behavior
“always wrong” together with the simultaneous 17%+ increase in the population considering
homosexual behavior as not wrong is quite likely the result of an active gay activist political
movement and popular press reports that contend that homosexuals are “born that way.” But the
best scientific research does not support this mistaken notion. But the misleading popular press
reports of gay activists’ statements and misinterpretations of scientific studies has influenced
increasing numbers of American people to believe that homosexual behavior is caused by one’s
genetic makeup and therefore cannot be morally condemned.
In a more recent scientific study that overcame the sampling bias in earlier studies, Bailey
and colleagues obtained permission to send a survey to all individuals registered in the Twin
Registry of the nation of Australia. In the journal article reporting on this more methodologically
sound study which was published in 2000,85 the investigators found concordance for homosexuality
in only 3 of 27 pairs of male identical twins and only 3 of 22 pairs of female identical twins;
concordance for homosexuality was found in none of the 16 pairs of male fraternal twins and in
only one of 18 pairs of female fraternal twins. Bailey and his colleagues concluded, "This suggests
that concordances from prior studies were inflated due to concordance dependent ascertainment
bias" (page 534), and these researchers concluded that their study "did not provide statistically
significant support for the importance of genetic factors" for homosexual orientation (page 534). In
their review of the methodological limitations of research purporting biological causes for
homosexual orientation, two physicians who also have Ph.D. research degrees concluded,
Recent studies postulate biological factors as the primary basis for sexual
orientation. However, there is no evidence at present to substantiate a biological
theory, just as there is no compelling evidence to support any singular psychosocial
explanation.86
Even though there exists widespread published and broadcasted misinformation that falsely
claims that “homosexuals were born that way,” these representative national surveys indicate that a
83 Carroll, Joseph, “American Public Opinion About Gay and Lesbian Marriages.” Report on The Gallup Organization
website, www.gallup.com, January 27, 2004.
84 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Need for sustained HIV prevention among men who have sex with men.
Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 2002, pages 1-2.
85 J. Michael Bailey, Michael P. Dunne, & Nicholas G. Martin, "Genetic and environmental influences on sexual
orientation and its correlates in an Australian twin sample," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, March 2000,
Volume 78, page 33.
86 William Byne and Bruce Parsons, “Human sexual orientation,” Archives of General Psychiatry, 1993, Volume 50,
page 228.
Page 21 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
strong and enduring majority of the American adult population still believes that homosexual
behavior is always morally wrong and/or believes homosexual behavior should not be considered an
acceptable lifestyle. Huge percentages of parents, therefore, have taught their children that
homosexual behavior is wrong, and therefore huge percentages of children entering foster care hold
the strong belief that homosexually-behaving adults are living immoral lifestyles.
It is not in the best interests of a foster child to be forced to be a victim of social
experimentation with a deviant family form that is controversial and contrary to the values of the
vast majority of humans down through history, and is contrary to the values and desires of virtually
all biological/legal parents of the foster children. It is not fair to subordinate the best interests of the
child to a self-centered agenda or set of selfish desires of a deviant segment of society who would
use the child as a pawn to advance their highly controversial political agenda.
Page 22 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
Children Suffer Harmful Stress Associated with Living in a Household with a Homosexually-
Behaving Adult
In his 1994 review, the gay studies scholar James Sears wrote, “The difficulties confronted
by acknowledged lesbian mothers or gay fathers is, in many ways, similar to those faced by singleparents
and divorced households with the significant exception of the additional burden of wrestling
with the social stigma associated with homosexuality.”87 Sears cites other articles to substantiate
his conclusion, “Parents often fear the impact of such disclosure on their children. In deciding
whether to disclose the parent’s sexual identity, the most common parental fears are rejection from
the child, inability of the child to understand, and child rejection from peers.”88
Professor Richard E. Redding, J.D., Ph.D., Associate Director of the Institute of Law,
Psychiatry and Public Policy at the University of Virginia School of Law reviewed evidence that
shows that “solid social support networks” have been found to contribute to lower rates of foster
placement disruption and with the foster child’s improvement in symptoms of developmental
disruption.89 But homosexual parents (and especially homosexual fathers) generally do not receive
the same positive level of extended family and community support for their family life as do
married men and women and heterosexual single parents. Instead, homosexual men and women
typically experience significant stress when extended family members or others in the community
remind them of [1] society’s normative view of heterosexual family life, [2] the unnatural status of
homosexuality, and [3] the widespread moral disapproval of homosexual behavior, and when [4]
other parents decide to not allow their own children to associate with homosexuals or homosexual’s
family members, over concern that their child not be influenced by homosexuals to possibly
participate in that deviant lifestyle. And occasionally homosexual adults experience even extreme
dysfunctional and/or criminal forms of disapproval that causes them to experience psychological
trauma, such as discrimination, verbal abuse, physical abuse, or sexual abuse.90 Professor Michael
K. Sullivan at the University of Tennessee has documented the social “stumbling blocks” that
prevent many homosexual adults from living unrestricted, healthy lives.91 Dr. Sullivan’s research
concludes that homosexual individuals often face “negativity from society” in the forms of what he
terms “homophobia and heterosexism,” which some investigators contend can be internalized by the
homosexual to form self-loathing and depression.92
87 Page 140 in James T. Sears, “Challenges for educators: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual families, The High School Journal,
1993-1994, pages 138-156.
88 Page 142 in James T. Sears, “Challenges for educators: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual families, The High School Journal,
1993-1994, pages 138-156.
89 R. E. Redding, C. Fried, & P. A. Britner, “Predictors of placement Outcomes in treatment foster care: Implications for
foster parent selection and service delivery,” Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2000, Volume 9, Number 4, pages
425-477; see also, for example, P. Fine, A Developmental Network Approach to Therapeutic Foster Care. Washington,
DC: Child Welfare League of America, 1993; E. Soliday, “Services and supports for foster caregivers: Research and
recommendations,” Children’s Services: Social Policy, Research, and Practice, 1998, Volume 1, pages 19-38; E.
Soliday, K. McCluskey-Fawcett, & N. Meck, “Foster mothers’ stress, coping, and social support in parenting drugexposed
and oter at-risk toddlers,” Children’s Health Care, 1994, Volume 23, pages 15-32; P. D. Steinhauer, M.
Johnston, M. Snowden, J. Santa-Barbara, B. Kane, P. Barker, & J. P. Hornick, “The foster care research project:
Summary and analysis,” Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 1988, Volume 33, pages 509-516.
90 Kimberly F. Balsam. Trauma, stress, and resilience among sexual minority women—a monograph. Journal of
Lesbian Studies, 2004, Volume 7, Number 4.
91 Michael K. Sullivan. Sexual minorities : Discriminations, challenges and developments in America—a monograph.
Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 2004, Volume 8, Numbers 2/3.
92 Michael K. Sullivan. Sexual minorities : Discriminations, challenges and developments in America—a monograph.
Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 2004, Volume 8, Numbers 2/3.
Page 23 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
In the parenting process or from conversations with peers, nearly all school-aged children
become aware of the wide-spread moral disapproval of homosexual behavior by the majority of the
U.S. population. Even though morally disapproving of homosexual conduct, most adults will
express kindness, acceptance, and even tolerance of men who say they have sex with men, or of
women who say they have sex with women. And most parents, teachers, and moral leaders in the
community make an ongoing effort to socialize children to be equally kind to those who may
participate in behavior considered immoral.
However, many of the peers that foster children encounter in their neighborhood and at
school are not yet fully socialized to an ideal adult level of social, emotional, and moral maturity, so
not surprisingly, these youngsters often use immature ways to express their awareness of the social
stigma and wide-spread moral disapproval attached to homosexual behavior. Therefore, if other
children learn that a particular child lives in a household with a homosexually-behaving adult, or
with “two mothers,” or “two fathers,” that child is at very high risk of suffering shame,
embarrassment, fear that others will discover they live with a homosexual, as well as the keen
emotional stress of being cruelly teased, called derogatory names, rejected, or in some extreme
cases even beaten up if peers do find out about their family structure. School-aged children in the
United States are generally aware that words associated with homosexual behavior such as “gay,”
“fag,” “queer,” or “lesbo,” carry strong negative connotations among their peers, in the same way
(if not worse) than other hostile put-downs children regrettably use such as “retard,” “nerd,” or
“fatso.”
251 Qualitative Cases Published Document Stress and Distress Inherent to the Structure of a Home
Headed by a Homosexual
Several books contain transcribed interview or written narratives by children of homosexual
parents. The following is a list of some of these 8 studies published in books, with the numbers of
children contained in each study:
38 total, including 29 daughters and 9 sons aged 5 to 39 years from 34 lesbian households are
reported by Louise Rafkin93 in 1990
19 total, including 13 daughters and 6 sons aged 11 to 66 years from lesbian and/or gay parents
from 18 homosexual households are reported by Lisa Saffon94 in 1996
7 total, including 6 daughters and one son aged 6 to 18 years from 4 lesbian households are
reported by Maureen A. Asten95 in 1997
73 total, including 41 daughters and 32 sons aged 7 months to 30 years from lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender households are reported by Peggy Gillespie96 in 1999.
19 total, including 13 daughters and 6 sons—adolescent and adult ages—from 19 lesbian or gay
parent households (plus 2 daughters of transsexuals not included in the 19 total) are reported
by Noelle Howey and Ellen Samuels97 in 2000
12 sons aged 13 to 44 years of gay fathers reported by Andrew Gottlieb98 in 2003
93 Louise Rafkin, Different Mothers: Sons and Daughters of Lesbians Talk About Their Lives. Pittsburg: Cleis Press,
1990.
94 Lisa Saffon, “What About the Children?” Sons and Daughters of Lesbian and Gay Parents Talk About their Lives.
London: Cassell, 1996.
95 Maureen A. Asten, Lesbian Family Relationships in American Society. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 1997.
96 Peggy Gillespie (Ed.), Love Makes a Family: Portraits of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Parents and Their
Families. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1999.
97 Noelle Howey and Ellen Samuels, Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender
Parents. NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.
98 Andrew R. Gottlieb, Sons Talk About Their Gay Fathers: Life Curves. NY: Harrington Park Press, 2003.
Page 24 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
33 total, including 26 daughters and 7 sons aged 7 to 31 years from lesbian and gay father
households are reported by Judith E. Snow99 in 2004.
50 adult sons and daughters aged in their 20s and 30s of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgendered parent households are reported through brief excerpts of interviews and
summaries by Abigail Garner100 in 2004
___
251 total sons and daughters of homosexual-behaving parents.
My review of the 57 sons and daughters of homosexual parents reported by Rafkin and
Saffron found that more than 90% of the children mentioned one or more problems and more than
90% of those problems were directly attributable to their parent being a homosexual. Although this
is not a representative sample, it is significant in that Saffron wrote, “The sample was biased
towards people who have fairly good relationships with their parents. …Some sons and daughters,
especially those who were lesbian and gay themselves, were eager to share their stories and make
their case for lesbian and gay rights.”101 A majority made reference to difficulties they had in
relating to and adjusting to their parent’s multiple partners in during their childhood and teen years.
And the vast majority spontaneously described strong emotions of fears, anxiety, apprehension,
embarrassment, and/or anger surrounding their desire to conceal their parent’s homosexuality from
their peers and extended family members.
The following types of stresses were described by child, adolescent, and adult children of
homosexual parents above-mentioned 8 qualitative studies and in my clinical experience with
children in households with a homosexual adult:
1. In homes with a homosexually behaving adult, children experience the stress and associated
harm of the much higher rates of ostracism, discrimination, and well-documented experience of
assault experienced by family members living with a homosexual.102
In a 2003 study of 454 public school students, Seals and Young found, “Nine percent of the
students reported often being teased in an unpleasant way, 13.5% reported often being called
hurtful names, 6.6% reported often being threatened with harm, and 10.8% reported often being hit
or kicked.”103 Therefore this type of stress does occur, but only a small proportion of students
experience teasing, threats, and physical harm.
The 1994 review by Sears focused on the stigma experienced by children of homosexual
parents, “…one out of two children of lesbian mothers experienced relationship problems with
other people due to the stigma of their mother’s sexual identity (Wyers, 1987), and another (Lewis,
1980) concluded:
Although the findings are similar to those… of children of divorce, the
particular issue of acceptance of the ‘crisis’ is dissimilar…. Children’s initial
reaction to divorce was denial of pain; follow-up one year later revealed more open
acceptance of the hurt. One reason for this may be that children of divorce have
community support for their pain; children of lesbians do not. (p. 199)
99 Judith E. Snow, How It Feels to Have a Gay or Lesbian Parent. NY: Harrington Park Press, 2004.
100 Abigail Garner, Families Like Mine: Childen of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is. NY: HarperCollins, 2004.
101 Saffron, page 5.
102 Beverly R. King, “Ranking of stigmatization toward lesbians and their children and the influence of perceptions of
controllability of homosexuality,” Journal of Homosexuality, 2001, Volume 41, Number 2, pages 77-97.
103 Page 739 in Dorothy Seals and Jerry Young, “Bullying and victimization: prevalence and relationship to gender,
grade level, ethnicity, self-esteem, and depression,” Adolescence, 2003, Volume 38, Number 152, pages 735-747.
Page 25 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
…The children of lesbians seem not to have peer support available to them,
since most of these children have either pulled away from their friends altogether or
maintained friends but with a sense of their own differentness. (p. 202)”104
Because the 50% rate of peer harassment and bullying experienced by children of homosexual
parents is about five times the rate of that experienced by other children, Sears recommended that
schools institute anti-harassment policies to include sexual orientation and the substitution of words
such as “mother” and “father” with “parent.”105 An eleventh grade boy with two lesbian mothers
said,
In the seventh and eighth grade, I was harassed by other kids who would say
stupid things about my mom, mostly. …People use the word “faggot” at lot. …It’s
basically used as a general insult. One teacher called someone in her classroom a
“faggot,” and my friend said something to her.
The challenge of school personnel is highlighted by Gillespie in 1999 who wrote,
…“dyke,” “faggot,” and “you’re so gay” are often the insults of choice among
school-age children. Although school personnel usually respond swiftly to the use of
racial slurs, anti-gay language is often routinely ignored and even tolerated in many
schools and other public settings. Institutionalized homophobia also prevents many
children of gays and lesbians from sharing personal information about their family
structure with their friends. Fearing ridicule of their parents’ sexual orientation, many
students with LGBT parents are also afraid of being called gay themselves.
Interviews with students confirm these observations. Teenager Eric DeMarco
Benjamin spoke about his painful encounters with prejudice and homophobia:
“Growing up with lesbian moms wasn’t easy. Some kids teased me and tried to beat
me up. They thought that I was gay just because my parents are. …Still, sometimes,
I don’t tell people about my family. Its’ hard to bring girlfriends home because I
don’t know how they will react.106
Sears also summarized the available research, in part, by stating, “Children are less
accepting when a same-sex parent ‘comes out’ than when a parent of the other gender discloses
sexual identity. …Sons are less accepting when learning their parent is gay than are daughters. As
children enter adolescence there is a greater likelihood that they will experience peer harassment
about their parents’ sexual identity and engage in a variety of self-protective mechanisms. Gay
fathers are more likely to report their children experiencing difficulty with peer harassment because
of the parent’s homosexuality.”107
In 2003, King and colleagues published a cross-sectional study of 505 heterosexual men,
656 homosexual men, 85 bisexual men, 588 heterosexual women, 430 homosexual women, and 113
bisexual women in England and Wales. They concluded, “The main findings for these comparisons
were similar to those reported in U.S. studies. …gay men and lesbians reported more psychological
distress than heterosexuals, despite similar levels of social support and quality of physical health as
heterosexual men and women. …Violence and bullying in adult life, for whatever reason, were
104 Pages 147-148 in James T. Sears, “Challenges for educators: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual families, The High School
Journal, 1993-1994, pages 138-156.
105 Page 152 in James T. Sears, “Challenges for educators: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual families, The High School
Journal, 1993-1994, pages 138-156.
106 Page xiii in Peggy Gillespie, “Preface,” in Peggy Gillespie (Ed.), Love Makes a Family: Portraits of Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Transgender Parents and Their Families. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1999. See
also pages 38-39.
107 Pages 151-152 in James T. Sears, “Challenges for educators: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual families, The High School
Journal, 1993-1994, pages 138-156.
Page 26 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
more commonly reported by lesbian than heterosexual women, but there were few differences on
these factors between gay and heterosexual men. However, regardless of the prevalence of such
events, gay men and lesbians often attributed the harassment or violence to their sexuality.
Lesbians were no more likely than bisexual women to have been verbally assaulted but were more
likely to attribute such verbal assaults they received to their sexuality. …Gay men and lesbians
were more likely to have been insulted at school because of how their sexuality was perceived by
others than bisexual men and women.”108
In her 1999 book that transcribed excerpts from interviews of children of homosexual
parents, Gillespie reported an interview with a 16-year-old African American daughter of a lesbian
mother, who said, “My grandpa majored in biology in college, but he wasn’t allowed to teach at a
high school because he was black. Not long ago, I spoke on a panel at a high school with my mom.
This guy in the audience told my mom that he wouldn’t want her to teach his kids because she is a
lesbian. It reminded me so much of what happened to my grandpa.”109 Gillespie pointed out that
schools and communities need to be made safer for lesbian, gay bisexual, and transgender
individuals and their children.110 In his 1994 review, Sears discussed the particular additional stress
experienced by ethnic minority children of homosexual parents, underscoring “the difficulties of
being a minority within a minority….”111 Sears cited the work of Morales (1990) who concluded,
“The multi-minority status makes it difficult for a person to become integrated and assimilated.
…‘Coming out’ …not only jeopardizes the intra-family relationships, but also threatens their strong
association with their ethnic community.”112
Even in the Netherlands which is a country known for tolerance for homosexuals, a study of
a large representative sample of adults found,
“More homosexual men and women reported having experienced any kind of
discrimination in the preceding year than heterosexual men and women.” 113
Foster children need to be placed in environments that are likely to be free from known
emotional and physical harm. Therefore, homes with a homosexually behaving adult cannot
provide the same level of emotional and physical safety as a heterosexual married couple can.
Thus, a married couple has greater potential to help the foster child develop a positive self-image
and to experience positive feelings about his or her past, present, and future.
2. In homes with a homosexually behaving adult, children experience the stress and associated
harm of shame, and/or embarrassment associated with living with a homosexual whose lifestyle is
controversial in their community and contrary to the child’s moral, ethical, and/or religious
upbringing in their family of origin with their biological/legal parents. These children experience
108 Michael King, Eamonn McKeown, James Warner, Angus Ramsay, Katherine Johnson, Clive Cort, Oliver Davidson,
& Lucienne Wright. Mental health and social wellbeing of gay men, lesbians and bisexuals in England and Wales.
London: Mind—National Association for Mental Health, 2003.
109 Page xiii in Peggy Gillespie, “Preface,” in Peggy Gillespie (Ed.), Love Makes a Family: Portraits of Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Transgender Parents and Their Families. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1999.
110 Page xiv in Peggy Gillespie, “Preface,” in Peggy Gillespie (Ed.), Love Makes a Family: Portraits of Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Transgender Parents and Their Families. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1999.
111 Page 146 in James T. Sears, “Challenges for educators: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual families, The High School
Journal, 1993-1994, pages 138-156.
112 E. Morales, “Ethnic minority families and minority gays and lesbians,” in F. Bozett & M. Sussman (Eds.),
Homosexuality and family relations. NY: Haworth Press, 1990, pages 217-239.
113 Page 19 in Theodorus G. M. Sandfort, Ron de Graaf, & Rob V. Bijl, “Same-sex sexuality and quality of life :
Findings from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study, ” Archives of Sexual Behavior, February
2003, Volume 32, Number 1, pages 15-22.
Page 27 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
the stress and associated harm of shame, and/or embarrassment associated with greater exposure to
the homosexual family member’s homosexual friends whose lifestyle is controversial in their
community and contrary to the child’s upbringing in their family of origin with their
biological/legal parents. The research review by Sears stated,
Studies of gay parents and their children report different findings regarding
the child’s reaction…. Pennington (1987) found the differing ‘children’s reactions to
mother ‘coming out’ generally range from ‘Please, can’t you change, you’re ruining
my life?’ to “I’m proud of my mom, and if other kids don’t like it, then I don’t want
that kind of person to be my friend.’” …Miller (1979b) found… “children who
showed the greatest acceptance were those who, prior to full disclosure, were
gradually introduced by their parents to homosexuality….”114
In 1998, Drucker reported interviews of homosexual parents and their children. Chelsea, a 13 year
old daughter of a gay father commented,
“Having a gay father does create some challenges and obstacles. There are
some people I don’t want to know about it. When they call me at my dad’s and ask,
‘Who was that? That wasn’t your dad.’ I have to make excuses.”115
A Hispanic lesbian who has an 11-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter said the following in an
interview by Gillespie in 1999,
In the Hispanic community, there’s a lot of verbal and physical violence
against gays and lesbians. People are thrown out of their families. Most Hispanics
are Catholic, and they are raised to think that gay people are very bad in every sense.
That’s why there’s rampant homophobia in the Hispanic community. Rampant. The
priests are constantly saying bad things about us. They say, “Keep away from those
people. They’re bad. They’re sinners. They’re damned, and they’re all going to
hell.” And people do listen to what the priests say.116
These children experience the stress and associated harm of shame, and/or embarrassment
associated with exposure and often required involvement in gay and lesbian political activist
events, demonstrations, parades, and meetings, which lifestyle is controversial in their community
and contrary to the child’s upbringing in their family of origin with their biological/legal parents.
Traditional heterosexual marriage is not controversial, but so-called “gay marriage” and
homosexual partnerships are controversial in virtually all communities in the USA.
3. In homes with a homosexually behaving adult, children are more likely to experience the stress
and associated harm of living with a parent or adult in conflict with the spiritual beliefs of their
family of origin and/or extended family members such as grandparents, aunts and uncles. In
homes with a homosexually behaving adult, children are also more likely to experience the stress
and associated harm of exposure to militant political views in conflict with their family of origin,
with its advocacy of what many biological parents believe is embracing immoral behavior. These
children are likely to experience the stress and associated harm of observed and overheard conflicts
that their biological/legal nuclear family and extended family members (such as grandparents, aunts
and uncles) are highly likely to have with the homosexual lifestyle of the homosexually behaving
114 Page 142 in James T. Sears, “Challenges for educators: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual families, The High School
Journal, 1993-1994, pages 138-156.
115 Page 144 in Jane Drucker, Lesbian and Gay Families Speak Out. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 1998.
116 Page 171 in Peggy Gillespie (Ed.), Love Makes a Family: Portraits of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Parents and Their Families. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1999.
Page 28 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
adult whose lifestyle is controversial in their community and contrary to the child’s social, moral,
ethical, and/or religious upbringing in their family of origin with their biological/legal parents.
Homosexual behavior is controversial, but loving marital sexual relations are not.
Homosexual headed families are controversial, but heterosexual marriage is not.
Virtually no one teaches children that loving marital sexual behavior is sinful, leading to an
eternity in Hell. Virtually no parents teach their children that marriage is immoral. But many
children raised in a devout Christian, Jewish, or Muslim home are taught that the willful choice of a
person to persist in homosexual behavior is deliberate immorality and sin that will doom that
individual to an eternity in Hell, not Heaven. If the child feels attachment to the homosexual adult in
the foster home, this knowledge can cause sadness and conflicted emotions. The majority of parents
(both heterosexual and many homosexuals) desire that their child grow up to be heterosexual and
many will seek professional help to prevent homosexual development if such is detected in their
child. But it would be an extremely rare set of heterosexual parents who would request professional
help to ensure that their child becomes a homosexually behaving adult. The child would experience
the stress of personally identifying with and becoming attached to individuals in their family of
origin and in their foster family who hold diametrically opposed value systems regarding
homosexual behavior and lifestyle.
The majority, if not vast majority, of biological/legal parents of foster children desire that
their child not be placed in a home with a homosexually-behaving adult, and many of these
biological/legal parents still have some parental rights. The normal state goal during foster
placement is to work toward a reuniting of the child with his or her biological/legal parents, if at all
possible,117 so placing a child in a home with an adult homosexual is counterproductive to the
reunification goal in that it introduces an additional obstacle for the agency to develop a cooperative
relationship with the biological parent(s).
The state recognizes that for many foster children, certain parental privileges are retained
while the child is in foster care. Understandably, the vast majority of biological/legal parents do not
invite open homosexuals to relate to their children for reasons of promoting the emotional, social,
physical health, moral, and/or spiritual development of their child. The child placed in a foster
home with a homosexually behaving adult is likely to be aware that their living situation is contrary
to their biological/legal parent’s desires to protect them from exposure to advocates of the
disapproved homosexual lifestyle. Whether the foster child would come to adopt a favorable view
of homosexual behavior or not, the child would experience the stress of personally identifying with
and becoming attached to individuals in their family of origin and in their foster family who hold
diametrically opposed value systems. Or it could inhibit the development of the needed positive
relationship between foster parent and foster child.
Nearly all children in foster care originate from a heterosexual couple, so a foster family
with a homosexually behaving adult creates a major conflict for nearly all foster children. The vast
majority of all foster children will eventually be placed in some type of heterosexual family after
temporary foster care. It is a high probability that either the child or the heterosexual home of the
foster child’s long term placement (or both the child and that long term family unit) will consider a
home with a homosexually behaving adult to be abnormal and undesirable.
These conflicts between the lifestyle of the homosexual household with the values of the
child’s biological/legal parents would be internalized and especially experienced by the foster child
during the regular required home visits to the biological/legal parents. In the majority of cases, it is
117 Elizabeth Kenny, “Foster parenting,” in J. J. Ponzetti, Jr. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family,
Second Edition. New York: Thomson Gale, 2003, pages 688-692.
Page 29 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
expected that the homosexual headed household will not be affirming the foster child’s
biological/legal parents’ beliefs that homosexuality is immoral, unhealthy, undesirable, and/or
condemned as sin by God. Homosexual foster parents who talk to the foster child about so-called
“homophobia” would not be showing respect for the foster child’s religion—as they should be
doing—in many cases. This creates a conflict of values for most foster children who would be
placed in a home with a homosexually behaving adult. The foster parents need to speak positively
about the foster child’s biological/legal parents, with whom the human services agencies are
attempting to remediate for the eventual, hoped return of the child to his or her family of origin.
4. In homes headed by homosexuals, children experience the stress and associated harm of anxiety
and fears that their peers at school or in their neighborhood will discover that they have a
homosexual foster parent instead of a mother and father. In his 1994 review, Sears provided
statements by children of homosexual parents to illustrate the strategies of concealment, denial, and
very selective disclosure that they use to avoid harms associated with others’ discovering their
parents’ homosexuality:
According to Bozett (1987a), children generally use one of three “social
control strategies” to deal with their parent’s homosexuality. The first, boundary
control, is evidenced in the child’s control of the parent’s behavior, the child’s control
of their own behavior vis-à-vis their gay parent, and the child’s control of others’
contact with the parent. Some of these controls are evidenced in an interview with
two adolescent girls both of whom have lesbian parents:
Margo: I try and hide stuff when people walk in, but probably most of my
friends know.
Interviewer: Do they ever ask you directly?
Tania: My friends don’t My mother’s girlfriend doesn’t live with us. My
mom keeps stuff out but I make a point of putting it away when someone is
going to come over….
Margo: I used to always walk between my mother and Cheryl… So it
wouldn’t be really obvious. But it probably was…. People say, “Why do
they live together?” And you make up all these stories and they don’t even fit
together. …One of my girlfriends asked me once and I was really
embarrassed. I was like “No! What are you talking about? Where did you get
that idea from?” (Alpert, 1988, pp. 100-102).
The second controlling strategy, nondisclosure, is evidenced in the child’s
refusal to share (and in some cases deny) their parent’s homosexuality. One lesbian
woman, discussing the difficulties she faced in her daughter’s denials, commented:
When I asked Noelle [now age 13] what she would say if anybody asked her
about me she said she would deny it. I was very very hurt. I talked it over with
Cathy (a lesbian and a close friend). She said her son …had got into a fight at
school about her and had come home really upset. …She told him that she didn’t
expect him to fight her battles for her….
The third controlling strategy, disclosure, is evidenced by a child’s selective sharing
of this personal information. …In Gantz’s (1983) study, a 13-year-old child of a household
with two lesbians noted, “I’ve told one person…. I didn’t know how he’d react. He said
he’d keep it a secret, so that made me feel a little better” (p. 68). Another male respondent
commented, “You have to be sure they won’t tell somebody else. I was worried [about]
people knowing [because] I was afraid of what they’d think of me…” (Bozett, 1987a, p. 43).
Page 30 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
Further, according to Bozett (1987a), there are several factors which influence the
degree to which children employ one or more of these strategies. Those children who
identify with the father because of their behavior, lifestyle, values or beliefs are less likely to
use any social control strategy. Whereas children who view their father’s homosexuality as
“obtrusive,” who are older, or who live with their father are more likely to employ these
strategies.118
Other family studies research has demonstrated that keeping volatile “family secrets” is associated
with greater individual stress and creates family relationship dysfunctions.
5. In homes headed by homosexuals, children experience the stress and associated harm of the
stigma of having a homosexual foster parent instead of a mother and father. Homosexual couples
are stigmatized for being more transient and for being abnormal. They do not attract the same level
of social support and the same degree of extended family support as married couples do. Foster
children in particular have the need to experience a more relaxed, enjoyable family life that is not
possible when the stigma of homosexual behavior is such a predominant fact of life.
6. In a 2003 article in the journal Adolescence, Van Womer and McKinney wrote, “Young people
who identify as gay or lesbian, and even those who do not but are perceived as such, are potential
victims of verbal and physical assaults.”119 Peers often assume or say that the child from a
household with a homosexual adult is also a homosexual, exposing the child to derogatory namecalling
such as “sissy,” “queer,” “gay,” etc. In his 1994 review, Sears wrote,
The most commonly experienced problem or fear confronting children, most
notably adolescents, from lesbian or gay households is rejection or harassment from
peers or the fear that others would assume that they too, were homosexual (Bigner &
Bozett, 1990; Bozett, 1987a; Lewis, 1980; Wyers, 1987). …An excerpt from a case
study, written by a family psychotherapist (Corley, 1990) who worked with the two
lesbians, Jane and Marge, and their eight children… is illustrative…. “Marge’s two
boys had difficult adjusting to do…. By now everyone at their school knew Joe and
tom had two mothers. ….The children started to tease them about having ‘lesbos’ for
parents. …many fights erupted over the teasing they received. Since Joe and Tom
were embarrassed over what the children at school were saying, they usually told the
teachers and principal that there was no reason for the fights. …Although the boys
were only average students, they always passed. Now they were bringing home
failing marks.”120
In a 2003 study, Seals and Young found that victims of bullying (such as exclusion, mean teasing,
name calling, threats of harm, or physical assault) were significantly more depressed than those not
bullied.121
7. In homes headed by homosexuals, children experience the stress and associated harm of the loss
of friendships and/or loss of peer socializing opportunities associated with having a homosexual
118 Pages 144-145 in James T. Sears, “Challenges for educators: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual families, The High School
Journal, 1993-1994, pages 138-156.
119 K van Womer & Robin McKinney, “What schools can do to help gay/lesbian/bisexual youth, Adolescence, 2003,
Volume 38, Number 151, pages 409-420.
120 Page 144 in James T. Sears, “Challenges for educators: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual families, The High School
Journal, 1993-1994, pages 138-156.
121 D. Seals & J. Young, “Bullying and victimization,” Adolescence, 2003, Volume 38, Number 152, pages 735-747.
Page 31 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
foster parent instead of a mother and father. For example, a child of a homosexual parent will often
not feel comfortable inviting a friend to his or her home to play or to stay overnight.
8. In her 1998 book, Drucker quotes a lesbian mother who said, “The boys (ages 17 and 15) know
we are sexual, though we don’t discuss it unless they ask questions. One of them has gotten into
our sex toys once that we know of…”122 In homes with a homosexually behaving adult, children
are more likely to experience the stress and associated harm of encountering or being exposed to
homosexual paraphernalia (such as dildos or other sex toys) and homosexual pornography during
their formative years of psychosexual development. Lauman’s representative survey of U.S. adults
found that adults with same-sex partners dildos and other sex toys significantly more frequently
than do heterosexuals. The homosexual lifestyle is preoccupied with adolescent and young adult
nudity that is depicted in the vast majority of homosexual pornography. To desensitize an
adolescent male child to inserting his penis in another male’s rectum, or to receive a male’s penis in
their own rectum, or to suck a male’s penis, adult homosexuals are known to expose an adolescent
boy to pictured or video role models of other young people engaged in homosexual acts.
In homes with a homosexually behaving adult, children are more likely to experience the
stress and associated harm of an ill-timed sex education that is not timed to match the psychosexual
developmental needs of the child, but instead exposes the child to information about males sucking
penises and inserting penises into rectums at formative ages when those mental images can become
strongly associated with sexual arousal patterns, predisposing the child to developing anxiety about
sex, a confused sexual identity or a homosexual orientation. Knowledge of specific abnormal or
deviant sexual practices is more safely introduced after the child has had the opportunity to develop
a stable and secure gender identity and psychosexual identity.
9. In homes with a homosexually behaving adult, children are more likely to experience the stress
and associated harm of sexual molestation by a homosexual behaving adult who may be more
likely to perpetrate sexual abuse than a heterosexual parent figure. This stress and harm is
frequently not reported to the authorities because many, if not most, sexually-abused boys are
reluctant to report the sexual molestation because it implies to them that they are not normal.
Empirical studies support the historic common sense conclusion that individuals who advocate
sexual relationships outside the historically sanctioned marriage relationship are more likely to
behave sexually with youthfully attractive pubescent adolescents than normal advocates of married
sexuality. Parents in a natural family legitimately ask, “If homosexual adult role models to children
in a foster home do not advocate obtaining a marriage license for sexual relations, then what is their
boundary conditions for sexual relations? Would a homosexual parent condone homosexual
behavior by a ‘consenting’ teenager? How can I be sure this harmful influence is not introduced to
my child while she or he is in foster care?”
10. In homes with a homosexually behaving adult, children are more likely to experience the stress
and associated harm of being encouraged by homosexual visitors to participate in homosexual
behavior with its attendant risks of contracting sexually-transmitted diseases, tissue damage to
rectums, social ostracism, and relationship instability. Children raised by lesbian or gay parents
have complained that the homosexual friends of their parent will ask them, “Are you gay?” to which
the child feels embarrassed and feels that it is an intrusion on their privacy. Children who are
exposed to family members involved in homosexual behavior are themselves more likely to
experiment with unhealthy homosexual behavior and associated sexually deviant behavior
122 Page 206 in Jane Drucker, Lesbian and Gay Families Speak Out. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 1998.
Page 32 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
correlated with homosexual behavior. Children exposed to family homosexual male adult role
models who talk about their sexual practices of receiving a partner’s penis in their rectum, then
sucking that same penis, are more likely to imitate that same behavior which results in the ingestion
of fecal matter. Male homosexual behaviors are associated with higher rates of uro-genital organ
bacterial and virus infections, including fatal HIV/AIDS transmission. It is harmful to be exposed to
a lifestyle of risky behavior for one’s health and social relationships.
11. Children of the same sex as the homosexually-behaving adult in their foster home can
experience the stress and associated harm of anxiety and fears associated with being hugged or
otherwise physically embraced, perceiving physical affection differently and with suspicions of
sexual meanings, compared to hugs from a heterosexual parent. For example, when a boy knows
that the foster father or other adult male is sexually involved with other males, the boy would be
leery of and anxious about the father helping him with his bath, shower, or genital hygiene. Or
girls have reported aversion to a lesbian’s hugging them. This is because a child becomes aware of
a heterosexual couple’s commitment to marriage that includes reserving sexual activity within the
marriage relationship, but the child placed in a home with a homosexually behaving adult becomes
aware that the homosexual does not restrict sexual relationships to marriage, but in fact is
committed to behaving sexually outside the bounds of marriage.
12. In homes with a homosexually behaving adult, children are more likely to experience the stress
and associated harm of living with a parent or adult involved in rebellion against social norms
and expectation, particularly in illegal drug abuse. A child placed in foster care is especially
vulnerable to maladjustment; it is therefore both unnecessary and detrimental to expose the foster
child to an adult family member involved in homosexual behavior who is thereby an advocate of
rebellion against social norms, endorsing rebellion against the healthy and adaptive practice of
restricting sexual behavior to the legal marriage relationship. Particularly male homosexual
behavior is typically socially superficial, and recreational in function, not contributing to stable
family life. Exposure to rebellion against historic sexual morality of Western culture encourages the
child to reject the spiritual teachings of historic Judaism, Christianity, or Islam—which account for
the religious training of the vast majority of children in the USA.
13. In homes headed by a single homosexual, children experience the stress and associated harm of
living with parents who are themselves under more stress than heterosexuals, causing additional
stress on the foster child. Brinamen (2000) found that the usual supports afforded to heterosexual
parents are not available to “gay” fathers. The 2002 review of existing research by Razzano and her
colleagues123 stated, “….findings indicate that being a lesbian (or gay man) exposes individuals to
significantly higher levels of external and internal stressors that place them at high risk for mental
health problems…. Findings from initial investigations document that more than three-quarters of
lesbians reported use of mental health services (e.g., attending therapy) at some time in the past….
…findings suggested that, compared to heterosexual women, lesbians have significantly higher
rates of suicide, alcoholism, more limited sources of social support, shorter duration of partnered
relationships, and increased threats of discrimination in employment settings. Higher risks for
suicide also have been documented among lesbians as well as gay men, along with vulnerability to
anxiety, panic, and health risks such as smoking….” (pages 53-54).
123 Pages 53-54 in Lisa A. Razzano, Alicia Matthews, & Tonda L. Hughes, “Utilization of mental health services: a
comparison of lesbian and heterosexual women,” Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 2002, Volume 14, pages
51-66.
Page 33 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
In a 2004 study, DiLauro’s data supported her hypothesis that “parent-related stressors are
associated with [child] neglect.”124
14. In homes with a homosexually behaving adult, children are more likely to experience the stress
and associated harm of experiencing the chronic illness and/or death of the foster parent from
AIDS. Hard facts about the unhealthiness of a gay male lifestyle are as follows: In 1997, the
International Journal of Epidemiology published the results of mortality rates among gay and
bisexual males in Canada. The report was conducted by the British Columbia Center for Excellence
in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. The authors of this survey concluded: “In a
major Canadian centre, life expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 20 years
less than for all men. If the same pattern of mortality were to continue, we estimate that nearly
half of gay and bisexual men currently aged 20 years will not reach their 65th birthday. Under
even the most liberal assumptions, gay and bisexual men in this urban center are now experiencing
a life expectancy similar to that experienced by all men in Canada in the year 1871.”125
The United States population126 in 2003 was 290,809,777, and the age and racial/ethnic
distributions were the following:
Age
• Up to 4 6.8% 19,775,640
• 5 to 13 12.8% 37,223,651
• 14 to 17 5.7% 16,576,157
• Total under 18 25.3% 73,574,874
• Adult (18 +) 74.7% 217,234,900
Through the year 2002, 886,575 individuals were diagnosed with AIDS since the beginning of the
epidemic.127 877,275 of these cases are adult and adolescent males, 159,271 are adult and
adolescent females, and 9,300 were children under age 13. The CDC estimates that among the adult
and adolescent males,
• 420,790 cases were exposed through male-to-male sexual contact
• 59,719 cases were exposed through both male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use
• 172,351 cases were exposed through injection drug use
• 50,793 cases were exposed through heterosexual contact
• 14,350 cases were exposed through other means, including hemophilia, blood transfusion,
perinatal exposure.
Among the adult and adolescent females,
• 67,917 were exposed through injection drug use
• 84,835 were exposed through heterosexual contact
• 6,519 cases were exposed through other means, including hemophilia, blood transfusion,
perinatal exposure.
124 Page 84 in Michelle D. DiLauro, “Psychosocial factors associated with types of child maltreatment,” Child Welfare,
2004, Vol. LXXXIII, Number 1, pages 69-99.
125 R.S. Hogg, S.A. Streathdee, K.J. Craib, M.V. O’Shaughnessy, J.S. Montaner, and M.T. Schechter, “Modelling the
impact of HIV disease on mortality in gay and bisexual men,” International Journal of Epidemiology, 1997, Volume 26,
pages 657-661.
126 United States Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov)
127 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). HIV/AIDS surveillance report 2002, volume 14.
Page 34 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
Among the 384,906 individuals living with AIDS at the end of 2002,128 (constituting .16% of the
population—that is, 16/100th of 1 percent)
• 171,592 were adult and adolescent males who had been exposed through male-to-male
sexual contact
• 23,495 were adult and adolescent males who had been exposed through both male-to-male
sexual contact and injection drug use
• TOTAL of 195,087 homosexually-behaving men (50.7% of AIDS cases)
• 30,254 were black adult and adolescent females exposed by heterosexual contact (7.9% of
cases)
• 17,497 were black adult and adolescent females exposed by injection drug use
• 1,382 were black adult and adolescent females exposed by other means
• TOTAL of 49,133 black females exposed by all types of exposure
Of the approximately 3,273,368 adult and adolescent males having sex with males in the U.S. (2.8%
of the population males), 195,087 (about 6%) are living with AIDS. Of the approximately
14,847,000 black adult and adolescent females in the U.S., 49,133 (.0033% or 33/10000 of 1%) are
living with AIDS. In other words, 33 out of 10,000 black females have AIDS compared to 600 out
of 10,000 homosexually-behaving males. Therefore, homosexually-behaving males are 18 times
more likely to have AIDS than black females.
In 2002, 16,371 people died of AIDS,129 including
• 5,418 adult and adolescent males who had been exposed through male-to-male sexual
contact
• 1,262 adult and adolescent males who had been exposed through both male-to-male sexual
contact and injection drug use
• TOTAL of 6680 homosexually-behaving men (41% of deaths due to AIDS)
• 2,197 adult and adolescent females who had been exposed through heterosexual contact
(13.4% of deaths due to AIDS)
• 6,671 (40.7%) of those dying of AIDS resided in the South, the region with the largest
number of AIDS deaths.
Arkansas has a population of approximately 2,725,714, with 2,199,651 (80.7%) of the
population being adults and adolescents, with approximately 1,099,826 adult and adolescent males.
At 2.8% of the male population, it is estimated that there are 30,795 homosexually-behaving males
in Arkansas. At the end of 2002, Arkansas had 2,189 adults and adolescents with HIV infection
(not yet AIDS) and 1,822 adults and adolescents living with AIDS. This is a total of 4011 adults
and adolescents with HIV/AIDS. 45% of the cases of HIV/AIDS were exposed by male-to-male
sexual contact, and 5.8% by male-to-male sexual contact plus injection drug use, yielding a total of
50.8% of all HIV/AIDS cases being homosexually-behaving males. Approximately 2038 of these
cases are homosexually-behaving men, that is about 6.6% of the homosexually-behaving males in
Arkansas are known to be positive for HIV or AIDS.
128 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). HIV/AIDS surveillance report 2002, volume 14, Table 11, page
20.
129 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). HIV/AIDS surveillance report 2002, volume 14, Table 7, page
16.
Page 35 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
97.2% of the adult/adolescent male population is exclusively heterosexual, which is about
1,069,031 individuals. 9.5% of the cases of HIV/AIDS were exposed by male heterosexual contact
which would be 382 of the HIV/AIDS cases in Arkansas being heterosexual adult and adolescent
males, which is about .036% or 36/1000th of 1% of the heterosexual males are known to be positive
for HIV or AIDS. This is 36 out of 100,000 heterosexual males have HIV/AIDS compared to 6600
out of 100,000 homosexually-behaving males have HIV/AIDS. Therefore the homosexuallybehaving
male is 183 times more likely to have HIV/AIDS than a heterosexual male.
In a recent survey of the inherently unsafe sexual practices among homosexuals, Dr. John R.
Diggs reported130 that homosexual males contract syphilis at a rate that is three to four times as high
as among heterosexuals. It was further reported that anal intercourse puts homosexual males at a
high risk for anal cancer, and is a cause of hemorrhoids, anal fissures, anorectal trauma, and
retained foreign bodies. Homosexuals who engage in oral to anal contact have a high rate of
parasitic and other intestinal infections. A 1988 CDC survey reported that homosexual males
account for 21% of all Hepatitis B cases although they comprise only about 2% of the population.
“Bug chasers” are homosexually-behaving males who deliberately seek to become HIV
infected. The increased practice of “barebacking” for the deliberate purpose of “bug chasing”
among homosexuals is a rising concern of public health officials.131
Jeanne Marrazzo of the University of Washington School of Medicine recently summarized
a number of infections sexually-transmitted by the sexual practices of women who have sex with
women (WSW), including transmission of infected cervicovaginal secretions, human
papillomavirus (HPV), squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL), bacterial vaginosis (BV), and more
uncommon, HIV and hepatitis B. She reviewed studies that report, “Bacterial vaginosis (BV), a
condition associated with pelvic inflammatory disease and adverse outcomes of pregnancy, occurs
in 24% to 51% of WSW.”132
A study by Marrazzo and colleagues133 of the prevalence and risk factors for infection with
herpes simplex virus type 1 and –2 among lesbians reported, “HSV-1 seroprevalence increased
significantly with an increasing number of female sex partners,” and “Sexual transmission of HSV-
1 may occur more frequently among lesbians than among heterosexual women.”
The prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and blood borne viruses, risk
behaviors were studied in 1408 women who have sex with women (WSW) were compared to 1423
controls who were women who denied ever having sex with another woman, all of whom attended
a public STI and HIV service in Sydney between March 1991 to December 1998. Only 7% of the
WSW reported that they had never dad sexual contact with a male. The investigators reported,
“Bacterial vaginosis (BV) was significantly more common among WSW (OR 1.7, p<0.001).
Abnormalities on cervical cytology were equally prevalent in both groups, except for the higher
130 “The Health Risks Of Gay Sex,” Dr. John Diggs, Jr., Corporate Resource Council publication, available on
NARTH’s web site.
131 Perry Halkitis, Jeffrey T. Parsons, Leo Wilton, “Barebacking among gay and bisexual men in New York City:
Explanations For The Emergence Of Intentional Unsafe Behavior,” Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 32; Issue 4;
2003. DeAnn K. Gauthier & Craig J. Forsyth, "Bareback sex, bug chasers, and the gift of death," Deviant Behavior: An
Interdisciplinary Journal, 20:85-100, 1999. See also Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, April 2004.
132 Page 330 in Jeanne M. Marrazzo, “Sexually transmitted infections in women who have sex with women: who
cares?” Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2000, Volume 76, pages 330-333.
133 J. M. Marrazzo, K Stine, & A Wald, “Prevalence and risk factors for infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 and –
2 among lesbians,” Sexually Transmitted Diseases, December 2003, Volume 30, Number 12, pages 890-895.
Page 36 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
cytological BV detection rate in WSW (OR 5.3, p=0.003).” The prevalence of hepatitis B
(previous and new diagnoses) was significantly greater in WSW (OR=2.1, p<0.001), and the
“prevalence of hepatitis C was significantly greater in WSW (OR 7.7, p<0.001), consistent with the
more frequent history of injecting drug use in this group (OR 8.0, p<0.001). WSW were more
likely to report previous sexual contact with a homo/bisexual man (OR3.4, p<0.001), or with an
injecting drug user (OR 4.2, p<0.001).”134 And WSW more commonly reported a higher number of
lifetime partners, ever having exchanged sex for money as a “sex worker,” being IDU themselves,
and a past history of sexually-transmitted infections (44% in WSW compared to 32% of women
never having sex with women).
In referring to several studies showing “an alarming prevalence of HIV related risk
behaviours in WSW,” Marrazzo described these risk behaviors as including “sex with homosexual
or bisexual men, use of injection drugs and of crack cocaine, and exchange of sex for drugs or
money.”135 In another study of 18,585 visits to a female STD clinic, Marrazzo and colleagues
found, “Relative to women reporting sex only with men, those reporting sex with both men and
women reported more recent partners, sex with partners at high risk for HIV, injection drug and
crack cocaine use, and exchange of sex for drugs or money. Women reporting sex exclusively with
women more frequently reported prior sex with a bisexual man or an HIV-infected partner.”136
Similar findings were reported in other research.137 A study of patients attending a New York City
sexually transmitted disease clinic reported, “Women reporting same-sex contact were more likely
than exclusively heterosexual women to be HIV seropositive (17% vs 11%; odds ratio [OR] = 1.7,
95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0,2.6), to exchange sex for money/drugs (48% vs 12%, OR-6.7,
95% CI = 4.6,9.8) to inject drugs (31% vs 7%, OR=6.3, 95% CI=4.1,9.5), and to use crack cocaine
(37% vs 15%, OR=3.3, 95% CI=2.2,4.8).”138
Mouth-anus contact is a sexual behavior associated with disease transmission that is almost
exclusively performed by MSM and WSW but rarely by heterosexuals. A 2004 cross-sectional
survey found that oral-anal contact (“rimming”) was reported as occurring “often” by 10% of WSW
and “occasionally” by 29% of WSW.139
134 Katherine Fethers, Caron Marks, Adrian Mindel, & Claudia S. Estcourt, “Sexually transmitted infections and risk
behaviours in women who have sex with women,” Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2000, Volume 76, pages 345-349.
135 Page 331 in Jeanne M. Marrazzo, “Sexually transmitted infections in women who have sex with women: who
cares?” Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2000, Volume 76, pages 330-333.
136 Page 41 in Jeanne M. Marrazzo, Laura A. Koutsky, & H. Hunter Handsfield, “Characteristics of female sexually
transmitted disease clinic clients who report same-sex behaviour,” International Journal of STD & AIDS, Volume 12,
Number 1, pages 41-46.
137 For example, V. Gonzales, K.M. Washienko, M.R. Krone, L.I. Chapman, E.M.Arredondo, H.J.Huckeba, & A
Downer, “Sexual and drug-use risk factors for HIV and STDs: a comparison of women with and without bisexual
experiences,” American Journal of Public Health, 1999, Volume 89, Issue 12, pages 1841-1846.
138 P.J. Bevier, M.A. Chiasson, R.T. Heffernan, & K.G. Castro, “Women at a sexually transmitted disease clinic who
reported same-sex contact: their HIV seroprevalence and risk behaviors,” American Journal of Public Health, 1995,
Volume 85, Issue 10, pages 1366-1371.
139 J. V. Bailey, C. Farquhar, C. Owen, & D. Whittaker, “Sexual behaviour of lesbians and bisexual women,” Sexually
Transmitted Infections, 2003, Volume 79, pages 147-150.
Page 37 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also pointed out, “WSW may be at risk for
HIV through use of unscreened semen from sources other than sperm banks,”140 that they use to
conceive a child.
A study of 498 lesbians and bisexual women sampled from the public found overall HIV
seroprevalence of 1.2%.141
These and other research findings indicate that the higher rate of sexually-transmitted
infections among WSW compared to exclusive heterosexuals is related to these risk behaviors that
are significantly associated with the lifestyle of WSW.
Aware of the social stigma of living with homosexually-behaving adults, school-aged
children and adolescents generally suffer significant debilitating stress associated with their shame,
embarrassment, fears that others will discover their family member’s homosexuality, fears of peer
rejection, actual disruption of valued friendships, suffering name-calling or ostracism, and/or seeing
their family member disapproved. In facing these sources of psychosocial stress, foster children are
not only limited in their coping resources by being socially and emotionally immature compared to
adults, but most of them generally suffer serious psychological adjustment problems that further
handicaps their ability to cope with such stress. This source of psychosocial stress and emotional
suffering is uniquely associated with the structure of the home with a homosexually-behaving adult
member, and is not present in a home where the mother and father are married and any other adult
members are heterosexual.
It is not in the best interests of a child to be exposed to any set of the above-listed
disadvantages, stresses, and harms that are inherent to the family unit containing a homosexually
behaving adult. Therefore, it is a rational imperative to disqualify homosexually behaving
individuals from becoming foster parents. It is not in the best interests of the child to be exposed at
young developmental ages to such a controversial lifestyle as homosexuality. Children should be
allowed to grow up to adulthood before being confronted with questions of deciding on their own
sexual lifestyle.
140 M.B. Kennedy, M.I. Scarlett, A.C. Duerr, & S.Y. Chu, “Assessing HIV risk among women who have sex with
women: scientific and communication issues,” Journal of the American Medical Womens Association, 1995, Volume
50, Number 3-4, pages 103-107.
141 G.F. Lemp, M. Jones, T.A. Kellogg, G.N Nieri, L. Anderson, D. Withum, & M. Katz, “Hiv seroprevalence and risk
behaviors among lesbians and bisexual women in San Francisco and Berkeley, California,” American Journal of Public
Health, 1995, Volume 85, Issue 11, pages 1549-1552.
Page 38 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
D. CONCLUSION: Foster Placement in Qualified Heterosexual Families Eliminates
the Unique Harmful Stressors That are Inherent to a Home with a Homosexual Adult
Replicated research evidence clearly demonstrates that homosexually-behaving adults have
substantially higher rates of psychological disorder and substance abuse. Further replicated
research demonstrates that parenting by adults with psychological disorder produces emotional and
behavioral maladjustment in children. In 1998, Jones reported a study of 445 foster children ages 0-
12 years in which he focused on variables that prevent successful reunification efforts. This study
found, “A child with medical or behavioral problems was more likely to reenter foster care.”142
Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that a higher percentage of foster children placed with a
homosexual adult will have behavioral problems, thereby resulting in higher rates of failure in
reunification, compared to foster parenting by heterosexuals.
Stresses are commonly known to be potentially damaging to an individual’s physical health
and psychological adjustment. For example, a study published in 1992 by Abidin found that life
stress is a “key in subsequent child functioning.”143 In 1990, Hodges and colleagues reported a
study of stress and child adjustment, finding, “Higher numbers of stressful life events were related
to higher teacher ratings of anxiety, social withdrawal, and internalizing symptoms.”144 A study by
Thompson and colleagues published in 1993 found that child behavior problems were related to
high stress.145 Psychosocial stressors typically function cumulatively and the additional stresses of
being placed in a home with a homosexually behaving adult greatly increases the likelihood that the
child will develop an Adjustment Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or stress-caused physical
illnesses (cf., all current diagnoses in the International Classification of Diseases, 9th
Edition/Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM, 2004] that psychiatrists, psychologists, and physicians
are required to use currently across the USA). There are numerous childhood illnesses, such as
diabetes, that are worsened by the experience of stress. Therefore, it is imperative for the state to
minimize or eliminate avoidable sources of stress on the foster child, at the time that the
unavoidable stresses of foster placement become necessary.
Children placed in foster care suffer the unavoidable stresses of loss of familiar home,
neighborhood, friends, and school. Because children entering foster care have substantially higher
rates of psychological disorder than other children, as a group they are more vulnerable to the
harmful physical and emotional effects of stress. Public controversy and court challenges have
resulted from the placement of children in foster care of homosexuals outside Arkansas,146 because
homosexual behavior is widely disapproved by the majority of the U.S. population, and because the
inherent nature and structure of the household with a homosexually-behaving adult uniquely
endangers foster children by exposing them to harmful stresses that are not present in a
household of heterosexual adults. The stressors uniquely inherent to the homosexual household
result in higher rates of social rejection, emotional turmoil, and sometimes even physical harm
142 Loring Jones, “The social and family correlates of successful reunification of children in foster care,” Children &
Youth Services Review, Vol 20(4), May 1998. pp. 305-323.
143 Page 60 in Richard R. Abidin, “The relationship of early family variables to children’s subsequent behavioral
adjustment,” Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 1992, Volume 21, Number 1, pages 60-69.
144 Page 63 in Weilliam F. Hodges, Julie London, & Julia B. Colwell, “Stress in parents and late elementary age
children in divorced and intact families and child adjustment,” Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 1990, Volume 14,
Number 1, pages 63-79.
145 Page 78 in Robert J. Thompson, Kathy A. Merritt, Barbara R. Keith, Laura B. Murphy, et al., “The role of maternal
stress and family functioniong in maternal distress and mother-reported and child-reported psycyological adjustment of
non-referred children,” Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 1993, Volume 22, Number 1, Pages 78-84.
146 Beverly A. Uhl, “A new issue in foster parenting—gays,” Journal of Family Law, 1986-1987, Volume 25, Number
3, pages 577-597.
Page 39 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
attributable to peers who immaturely act out on the widespread social stigma and disapproval
associated with homosexual conduct; this constitutes a less safe emotional and physical
environment for the foster child and contributes to substantial deterioration in the foster child’s
psychological adjustment because of the greater psychological vulnerability of foster children. The
type of home that has the best chance of being the least stressful and most safe and stable setting for
caring for foster children is the married couple who have been married for several years, with the
qualifications specified by Arkansas regulations. The passage of the Adoption and Safe Families
Act of 1997 Public Law 105-89147 mandates a primary emphasis on the safety of children in
the foster care system.148 Therefore, it is in the best interests of the foster child to be placed in
a foster home where the adult or adults are exclusively heterosexual.
147 U.S. Gov. Printing Office, 1997.
148 Lee, Wendy Ya-Chun. Process and criteria of electing foster parents: A national comparative study of state foster
care systems. Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume 62 (4-A), Oct 2001, page 1601. Ann Arbor, MI: University
Microfilms International.
Page 40 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
II.
The Inherent Instability of Homosexual Relationships Deprives Foster Children of the
Greater Level of Continuity That They Need and That Heterosexual Families Can Provide
A. Inherent Relative Instability of Partner Relationships with Homosexually-Behaving Adults
Homosexual partner relationships are significantly and substantially less stable and
more short-lived on the average compared to a marriage of a man and a woman.
Homes headed by an adult who is sexually involved with same-sex persons are significantly
less stable and less secure environments for children over time, compared to a natural family
structure in which a married mother and father live together in the same home. For this reason,
there are reasons to expect greater risks for psychological maladjustment and emotional suffering
my children permanently placed in a single gender parent home.
The National Health and Social Life Survey conducted by the National Opinion Research
Center at the University of Chicago reported findings “…based on personal interviews in 1992 with
3,432 respondents who were randomly drawn from the non-institutionalized civilian population of
the United States by an area probability design….”149 This study found a clear pattern :
“In all cases, when we dichotomize our sample, the group of people with
same-gender partners (or who define themselves as homosexual or bisexual) have
higher average numbers of partners than the rest of the sexually active people in the
sample.”150
Table 8.4 in this publication151 indicates that the number of lifetime partners since the age of 18 is
also significantly higher for homosexually-behaving men and women:
For men:
• Men with no same-gender sexual partners since the age of 18 had a mean of 15.7
lifetime sexual partners (with a 95% confidence interval of 12.9 to 18.4 partners).
• But men with any same-gender sexual partners had a mean of 44.3 lifetime sexual
partners (with a 95% confidence interval of 22.2 to 66.5 partners). Thus, on the
average, homosexually-behaving men have nearly three times the number of lifetime
sexual partners that heterosexual men have.
For women:
• Women with no same-gender sexual partners since the age of 18 had a mean of 4.9
lifetime sexual partners (with a 95% confidence interval of 4.4 to 5.5 partners).
• But women with any same-gender sexual partners had a mean of 18.7 lifetime sexual
partners (with a 95% confidence interval of 13.0 to 26.3 partners). Thus, on the
average, homosexually-behaving women have nearly four times the number of sexual
partners that heterosexual women have.
Table 8.4 also indicates how this pattern works out in a shorter time span closer to the duration of a
foster family placement:152
149 Laumann, Edward O., Gagnon, John H., Michael, Robert T., & Michaels, Stuart. The Social Organization of
Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1994, page
599.
150 Laumann, Edward O., Gagnon, John H., Michael, Robert T., & Michaels, Stuart. The Social Organization of
Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1994, page
314.
151 on page 315
Page 41 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
For men:
• Men with no same-gender sexual partners in the last 5 years had a mean of 4.8 partners
(with a 95% confidence interval of 4.2 to 5.4 partners). This is an average of nearly one
partner per year for males who have sex with females.
• But men with any same-gender sexual partners had a mean of 16.7 partners (with a
95% confidence interval of 9.9 to 23.4 partners). This is an average of more than 3
sexual partners each year by males who have sex with males. This rate of partner
turnover is substantially too unstable to provide the level of continuity of home life
needed by foster children.
For women:
• Women with no same-gender sexual partners in the last 5 years had a mean of 2.2
partners (with a 95% confidence interval of 2.0 to 2.4 partners). This is an average of
about one partner every 2 years and 4 months among women who have sex with men.
• But women with any same-gender sexual partners had a mean of 10.1 partners (with a
95% confidence interval of 1.0 to 19.2 partners). This is an average of slightly more
than 2 sexual partners each year among women who have sex with women. This rate of
partner turnover is substantially too unstable to provide the level of continuity of home
life needed by foster children.
Similar findings that homosexual men and women less frequently report having a steady sexual
partner than did heterosexual men and women were reported in a study of large representative
sample of men and women in the Netherlands.153
Research evidence suggests that the range in numbers of homosexual partners among
males can vary to numbers exceeding 1000 lifetime sexual partners. The study of a
nonprobability sample by Bell and Weinberg154 of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University
found that among 574 white homosexual males,
• only 3% reported fewer than 10 sexual partners
• 6% reported 10 to 24 sexual partners
• 8% reported 25 to 49 sexual partners
• 9% reported 50 to 99 sexual partners
• 15% reported 100 to 249 sexual partners
• 17% reported 250 to 499 sexual partners
• 15% reported 500 to 999 sexual partners
• 28% reported 1000 or more sexual partners
Thus, 43% reported 500 or more sexual partners, and 60% reported 250 or more sexual partners.
The numbers of partners of black homosexual males was only modestly but not substantially
fewer that whites.
• 79% of white homosexual males and 51% of black homosexual males reported that more
than half of their sexual partners were strangers to them.
152 Most individuals would answer the Arkansas question on whether they are engaged in homosexual behavior by
making reference to the past five years of their life (a behavior pattern in the more distant past which is not their current
practice would not likely be reported).
153 Page 17 in Theodorus G. M. Sandfort, Ron de Graaf, & Rob V. Bijl, “Same-sex sexuality and quality of life :
Findings from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study, ” Archives of Sexual Behavior, February
2003, Volume 32, Number 1, pages 15-22.
154 Alan P. Bell & Martin S. Weinberg, Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women. NY: Simon &
Schuster, 1978, pages 308-309.
Page 42 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
• 20% of white homosexual males and 43% of black homosexual males reported that half
or less of their sexual partners were strangers to them.
• Only 1% of white homosexual males and 5% of black homosexual males reported that
none of their sexual partners were strangers to them.
This suggests that male homosexual behavior is characterized largely by pursuing anonymous
sexual partners.
• 61% of white homosexual males and 46% of black homosexual males reported that they
did not see more than half of their sexual partners socially again.
• 70% of white homosexual males and 38% of black homosexual males reported that they
had sex only once with more than half of their sexual partners.
This suggests that for most male homosexuals, their sexual partnerships are not stable.
Among 227 white homosexual females, Bell and Weinberg reported
• 3% reported 1 sexual partner
• 9% reported 2 sexual partners
• 15% reported 3-4 sexual partners
• 31% reported 5-9 sexual partners
• 16% reported 10-14 sexual partners
• 10% reported 15-24 sexual partners
• 8% reported 25-49 sexual partners
• 5% reported 50-99 sexual partners
• 1% reported 100-249 sexual partners
• 1% reported 250-499 sexual partners
Thus, 41% of white homosexual females had 10 or more sexual partners, and 72% had 5 or
more sexual partners.
• 6% of white and black homosexual females reported that more than half of their sexual
partners were strangers to them.
• 32% of white homosexual females and 38% of black homosexual females reported that
half or less of their sexual partners were strangers to them.
• 62% of white homosexual females and 56% of black homosexual females reported that
none of their sexual partners were strangers to them.
This indicates that the majorities of white and black homosexual females do not have sexual
relations with strangers, but suggests the possibility that a much higher minority of homosexual
females have sexual relations with strangers than to heterosexual females.
The study by Bell and Weinberg was conducted on convenience samples, so one cannot
scientifically claim that this study is representative of the U.S. population. Instead, their study
only reports the high percentage of anonymous sexual behavior and the extent of instability of
homosexual partnerships observed in one group.
Considering the representative sample of the U.S. population by the National Health and
Social Life Survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center, we can conclude that
foster homes with exclusively heterosexual adult members are substantially more stable and
therefore clearly in the best interests of foster children, compared to the substantially greater
instability of households with a homosexually-behaving adult member.
A form of same-sex marriage has recently been allowed in Norway, the Netherlands, and
Germany, and a form of registered partnerships has recently been legalized in Canada, Denmark,
Iceland, Hungary, and Sweden—a total of only 8 of over 200 countries in the world formalizing
Page 43 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
homosexual unions.155 A longitudinal study156 based on population registers in Norway and
Sweden that included legally registered same-sex partnerships in Sweden, reported that homosexual
male couples were 1.5 times as likely to break up as married heterosexual couples. Homosexual
female couples were found to be 2.67 times as likely to break up as heterosexual married couples.
When controls for demographic characteristics associated with increased risk of divorce were added
to the analysis, male homosexual couples were 1.35 times as likely to divorce, and lesbian couples
were three times as likely to divorce as heterosexual married couples were.
While Norway passed the Registered Partnership Act in 1993, which allowed homosexual
couples many legal rights that heterosexual couples have, this act restricts homosexual couples from
having children of their own.157 In addition to Norway, Canadian and Danish laws also prohibit
registered homosexual couples to adopt children.158
155 B. Ryan & J. R. G. Demarco, "Sexual orientation," in J. J. Ponzetti, Jr. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Marriage
and Family, Second Edition. New York: Thomson Gale, 2003, pages 1491-1499.
156 Andersson, Gunnar; Noack, Turid; Seierstad, Ane; and Weedon-Fekjaer, Harald. "Divorce-Risk Patterns in Same-
Sex Marriages in Norway and Sweden," Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America,
April 1-3, 2004, pages 1-28.
157 Rune Halvorsen, “The ambiguity of Lesbian and gay marriages: Change and continuity in the symbolic order,”
Journal of Homosexuality, 1998, Volume 35, Number 3-4, pages 207-231.
158 B. Ryan & J. R. G. Demarco, "Sexual orientation," in J. J. Ponzetti, Jr. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Marriage
and Family, Second Edition. New York: Thomson Gale, 2003, pages 1491-1499.
Page 44 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
B. Homosexuals are Inherently Less Capable of Providing a Psychologically Stable Home
Homosexually-behaving adults inherently suffer significantly and substantially higher
rates of psychological disorder, suicidal ideation, suicidal attempt, completed suicide, conduct
disorder, and substance abuse; therefore, as a group, households with a resident
homosexually-behaving adult are substantially less capable of providing the best
psychologically stable and secure home environments that are especially needed by foster
children who generally have higher rates of psychological disorder than other children
(evidence cited above). Further, households headed by a homosexual generally receive less
social support from neighbors and extended families than heterosexual headed homes.
The State of Arkansas also has a legitimate interest in promoting the foster child adjustment
by excluding the less stable homosexually-behaving adult household members from licensed foster
homes because heterosexuals inherently have substantially greater relationship stability, better rates
of mental health, substantially lower rates of suicide, and substantially lower rates of substance
abuse. The substantially higher rates of unstable sexual partnerships found among homosexuallybehaving
individuals results in a higher rate of relationship break-ups, together with the negative
effects of such relationship break-ups on the children’s well-being in the household. In a 2002
study, Wu and Hart reported, “…exiting both marriage and cohabitation seems to have similar
effects: Dissolving either union tends to be associated with a decrease in physical health, mental
health, or both.”159
And foster children especially need the advantages inherent to households with exclusive
heterosexual adult members who have significantly greater rates of mental health, because they
have lost such positive influences for their development by virtue of the very reasons they have
been removed from their family of origin to be placed in foster care and because of the high rate of
psychological disorders found in foster children compared to the general population and compared
to other children on Medicaid.
159 Zheng Wu & Randy Hart, “The effects of marital and nonmarital union transition on health,” Journal of Marriage
and Family, 2002, Volume 64, pages 420-432.
Page 45 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
C. Greater Instability of Households with a Homosexual Adult Risks Harm of More Foster
Child Transitions
In foster homes with a homosexually-behaving adult, many foster children would
inevitably develop relationships with and attachments to partners of that homosexual adult,
but then be emotionally hurt by the loss of that relationship. This would occur many times
more often in homosexual foster households than in heterosexual foster families. Because
foster children have already suffered a loss of living with their family of origin, they are more
vulnerable to psychological harm when this occurs in their foster home.
This relationship instability in households with a homosexually-behaving adult would
require more frequent re-evaluations of the suitability of that foster home. (Arkansas
regulations appropriately require a re-evaluation of the suitability of a foster home after such
family transitions take place.) And this greater relationship instability would risk a higher
frequency of the State agency finding that it is necessary to remove a foster child from that
foster home with the homosexually-behaving adult for transition to an alternate foster
placement. Foster children have already suffered one or more traumatic transitions, and more
frequent transitions seriously risks greater psychological harm and psychosocial maladjustment.
In their 2001 research review of the effects of stress on children, Carlson and Corcoran
concluded, “Any family transition may be stressful for children, and more transitions may lead to
greater stress… Therefore, one measure of children’s stress is the number of family transitions
experienced since birth. Clearly, family transitions represent only one possible source of stress for
children, and other transitions such as moving or changing schools might also induce stress….”160
In a 2001 review of 34 studies of foster families, Orme and Buehler cited studies of foster
children to support their summary statement that placement disruptions “are important because they
may exacerbate existing behavioral and emotional problems or lead to the development of such
problems.”161 A year 2000 study by Forman found that “family instability predicts adolescent
internalizing and externalizing symptoms…. [and] that the instability-adjustment relationship is
mediated by children’s sense of coherence (the extent to which children feel their families make
sense, are predictable, provide the necessary emotional resources, and are worth investing in)….
The current study advances understanding of both parent-related and child intrapsychic mediating
mechanisms accounting for family instability’s negative effects on child adjustment.”162
Thus, removal of a foster child from one foster home and transition to an alternate foster
placement has been shown to have adverse effects on the foster child’s psychological and social
adjustment. Foster children have already suffered one or more traumatic transitions, and such an
increase in the number of such transitions seriously risks greater psychological harm and
maladjustment. The 2001 research review by Princeton University researcher Marcia Carlson and
University of Michigan researcher Mary Corcoran explains why additional transitions are harmful
to children’s well-being,
Stress theory holds that changes in family organization and circumstances
cause stress in children’s lives; this is because changes may lead to modifications in
family dynamics, organization, and roles that yield behavior modifications for both
160 Page 782 in Marcia J. Carlson & Mary E. Corcoran,” Family structure and children’s behavioral and cognitive
outcomes, “Journal of Marriage and Family, 2001, Volume 63, pages 779-792.
161 Page 9 in John G. Orme, & Cheryl Buehler, “Foster family characteristics and behavioral and emotional problems of
foster children: a narrative review,” Family Relations, 2001, Volume 50, Number 1, pages 3-15.
162 Evan Michael Forman, “Family instability and adolescent adjustment: An exploration of intrapsychic and parenting
mediating mechanisms,” Dissertation Abstracts International, 2000, Volume 60 (10-B), page 5224.
Page 46 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
children and adults…. Certain family events may directly increase children’s stress
because of… changes in household composition, or changes in residential location.
…Some researchers have posited that the stress of family change is cumulative
because any disruption requires readaption, and therefore the number of family
transitions has greater negative consequences for children….163
In homes headed by homosexuals, children experience are more likely to experience the
stress and associated harm of the instability of the partner relationship of the homosexual foster
parent in terms of becoming attached to one or more partners who then separate from their
homosexual foster parent, because of the higher rate of turnover in homosexual relationships and
the fact that homosexuals have substantially more lifetime sexual partners than heterosexuals. The
foster parent should serve as a positive role model for both the foster child, and for the
biological/legal parents with whom many foster children eventually return. But instability in
relationships is not a positive role model, and by its very structure, the homosexual headed family is
not likely to be a positive role model. In fact, research has measured “stress on the child from
changes in family organization…”164 related to family structure and transitions experienced by
children.
In a research article published in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect, Dr. Rae R. Newton
and his colleagues recently summarized a body of research studies on the harmful effects of
additional transitions beyond a child’s initial foster placement:
“Researchers and child welfare workers agree that placement stability is critical for the
success of foster care placement. Once removed from one dangerous or neglectful
environment, a child confronting further disruption through numerous placement failures is
likely to experience difficulties trusting adults or forming attachments with adults and
children. …There is also evidence that placement disruption and behavior problems are
associated and that multiple placements in out-of-home care are associated with both
immediate and long-term negative outcomes for the child.”165
These investigators’ research study of 415 youth in foster care found that placement disruption
contributed to high risk for the “deleterious effects” of “both internalizing and externalizing
behavior” and that even foster children who initially score within normal ranges “may be
particularly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of placement breakdowns.”166
163 Page 781 in Marcia J. Carlson & Mary E. Corcoran,” Family structure and children’s behavioral and cognitive
outcomes, “Journal of Marriage and Family, 2001, Volume 63, pages 779-792.
164 Marcia J. Carlson & Mary E. Corcoran, “Family structure and children’s behavioral and cognitive outcomes,”
Journal of Marriage and the Family, 2001, Volume 63, Number 3, pages 779-792.
165 R. R. Newton, A. J. Litrownik, & J. A. Landsverk, “Children and youth in foster care: Disentangling the relationship
between problem behaviors and number of placements,” Child Abuse & Neglect, 2000, Volume 24, Number 10, page
1364; these authors cite extensive research supporting these statements, including: R. J. Cook, “Are we helping foster
care youth prepare for their future?” Children and Youth Services Review, 1994, Volume 16, pages 213-229; T.
Festinger. No one ever asked us ….A postscript to foster care. New York: Columbia University Press; K. Kufeldt, J.
Armstrong, & M. Dorosh, “In care, in contact?” In J. U. Hudson and B. Galaway (Editors), The State as Parent.
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1989, pages 355-368; S. Millham, R. Bullock, K. Hosie, & M. Haak. Lost in
Care. London: Gower, 1986; J. T. Pardeck, “Multiple placement of children in foster family care: An empirical
analysis,” Social Work, 1984, Volume 29, pages 506-509; R. M. Penzerro, & L. Lein, “Burning their bridges:
Disordered attachment and foster care discharge,” Child Welfare, 1995, Volume LXXIV, pages 351-366; I. Piliavin, M.
Sosin, A. H. Westerfelt, & M. Matsueda, “Toward a longitudinal analysis of homelessness,” Journal of Social Issues,
1992, Volume 46, pages 157-174.
166 R. R. Newton, A. J. Litrownik, & J. A. Landsverk, “Children and youth in foster care: Disentangling the relationship
between problem behaviors and number of placements,” Child Abuse & Neglect, 2000, Volume 24, Number 10, pages
1363-1374.
Page 47 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
E. CONCLUSION: Qualified Heterosexual Families Provide the Greater Stability that a
Foster Child Needs that a Household with a Homosexual Adult Inherently Cannot Provide
Foster children have already suffered one or more traumatic transitions, and more
frequent transitions result in greater psychological harm and psychosocial maladjustment.
The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 Public Law 92-272 shifted the focus
of the foster care system to minimizing child removal rates.167 Therefore, it is clearly in the
best interests of foster children to be placed in foster homes that include only heterosexual
adults because they are comparatively much more stable.
167 Lee, Wendy Ya-Chun. Process and criteria of electing foster parents: A national comparative study of state foster
care systems. Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume 62 (4-A), Oct 2001, page 1601. Ann Arbor, MI: University
Microfilms International.
Page 48 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
III.
The Inherent Structure of a Household with a Homosexual Adult Deprives a
Foster Child of Substantially Needed Benefits That Only a Heterosexual Family Can Provide
By virtue of their unfortunate life circumstance, foster children have either lost a stable
married mother and father, or suffered the deprivation of either a mother or a father or both.
Because of this loss or deprivation in combination with the very high rate of psychological disorders
among children in foster care, this is a child population that is in special need of the unique benefits
for child adjustment that is provided by the structure of a stable home with a married mother and
father. The structure of homosexual foster-parent households lack a daily resident model of either a
mother or a father, lacks a model of a husband/wife relationship, and lacks the unique contributions
of either a mother or a father to childrearing. Therefore it is in the best interests of foster children to
be placed in a home of a married couple.
A. The Effects of the Structure of Potential Types of Foster Families Must be Considered to
Determine the Environment that is Best for Promoting the Well-Being of Foster Children
Openly-identified homosexual researchers frequently argue in their published writing that an
adult’s sexual orientation has no bearing on whether that adult can carry out certain important
parenting functions (such as changing diapers, driving the child to school, nurturing the child,
providing for the child’s physical needs, or other loving actions). The capability to adequately carry
out important parenting functions is a necessary but not sufficient condition for providing a family
environment in the best interests of a foster child. It is in the best interests of foster children to be
placed in families where the parents not only are able to competently carry out important parenting
functions, but also provide the best family structure providing the environment that provides the
greatest contributions to child development, child adjustment, and eventual adult adjustment. The
state legitimately restricts foster care licenses to a variety of different types of individuals who are
unable to provide the family structure that is in the best interests of the child.
[1] For example, it is not a question of whether a married young man and woman aged 18
year old have the skills to perform a list of certain vital parenting functions, such as tying a child’s
shoes, putting a bandage on a minor scrape, providing proper supervision, hugging and comforting
the child who falls and scrapes her knees, or cooking nutritious meals. The fact that two 18 year
olds are at higher risk of being unable to provide a reliably stable family structure over time makes
it legitimate for the State to disqualify the entire group of newly married couples from licensure as
foster parents, even though that group may contain a number of rare but exceptionally capable and
stable young people. The general rule of excluding newly married couples from licensure as foster
parents will function in the best interests of foster children by providing the most stable home
environment.
[2] Similarly, a couple in their late 90’s may apply for a license to become foster parents,
and be fully capable at the time of performing all the needed parenting functions. They may even
have more extensive prior experience in successfully rearing children. But it is in the best interests
of foster children to prohibit foster parent licenses to elderly couples in their advanced years on the
basis of the likelihood that the group of elderly individuals generally will not be able to provide
continuity of parenting over a sufficiently long enough period of time to best meet the needs of most
foster children.
[3] Similarly, a mother and father recently immigrated from Thailand who only speak the
Thai language fluently and know only a few English words might apply for a foster license. They
Page 49 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
may well be able to perform many parenting functions very well and have years of successful
experience doing so, but their home would pose disadvantages and undue stresses on the foster
child because of foreign Asian family customs quite unlike the child’s family of origin, and by
teaching a language to the child that is not as adaptive as the English language is in US culture.
There may be nothing intrinsically wrong with this couple’s Asian language and customs, but the
group of new immigrants from Asian cultures generally does not prepare the child for living in
American culture. Thus the very structure of that family can be the basis for the state denying that
couple a foster license, even though they may be highly skilled in parenting.
[4] A couple who are blind and deaf—like Hellen Keller was—may apply for a foster parent
license. They might be the most loving, kind, nurturant, motivated, and skilled parents you can
imagine, capable of many parenting functions. This particular couple might be able to marshal
scientific evidence that they are capable of providing parenting equal to that of parents with sight
and hearing, because of their technological devices and incredible adaptability in the face of uphill
odds. However, the very structure of their household would likely pose undue disadvantage, stress,
and potential inadvertent harm to foster children. Based on the structural deficits of such a home
created by blind and deaf adults, the state would be justified in denying them a foster license on the
basis of considering the best interests of the child, and this would not be arbitrarily discriminatory.
[5] A married couple who are both convicted felons who have already served their sentences
might have wonderful skills in performing parenting functions, but the state has the obligation to
disqualify the group of convicted felons to reduce the reasonable risk of instability for a foster child.
[6] Similarly, a household with a homosexually-behaving adult may contain one or two
parents who are capable of many functions of parenting, but the inherent stresses, harms, relative
instability, and disadvantages compared to heterosexual parents, intrinsically associated with the
structure of their household justify the denial of a foster license to that home to promote the best
interests of the child.
For any particular applicant in any of the above six family structures, individual “screening”
for the adequacy of their parenting skills and functioning is insufficient and inappropriate for this
reason: Each of these family structures (for different practical reasons) is inherently incapable of
providing foster homes in the best interests of foster children when compared to what licenseeligible
homes are likely to provide.
Dual-gender and heterosexual parenting in which married mothers and fathers live together
in the same home is more likely to provide more stable and secure environments for children and
this natural family structure, on the average, provides greater benefits for many aspects of children’s
well-being. On the other hand, the inherent structure of foster-parent households with one or more
homosexually-behaving members deprives foster children of vitally needed positive contributions to
child adjustment and to the child’s preparation for successful adulthood adjustment that are present
in heterosexual foster homes that meet Arkansas’ licensing requirements.
Page 50 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
B. Only a Home With a Mother and Father Provides the Best Set of Role Models that Can
Best Meet the Unique Needs of a Foster Child
A reasonable basis for the Arkansas regulation is grounded in the universally recognized and
scientifically documented set of significant physical and psychological differences between the
sexes. Foster children particularly have lost a positive role model of a married mother and father,
and a household headed by two individuals of the same anatomic sex inherently cannot provide the
best model for family living for such a child. The State of Arkansas has a legitimate interest in
promoting childrearing in foster homes that provide both male and female role models.
Because marriages consist of both a man and a woman, they provide special advantages to
raising children. In a foster home headed by a qualified married couple, “children see and
experience the innate and unique abilities and characteristics that each sex possesses and contributes
to their combined endeavor. Children, thus, learn lessons for later life by seeing both parents
working together in child rearing.”168
Having both a mother and a father in the family home provides a child with four models that
provide strong advantages to a child who grows up to become a married adult:
a) a heterosocial role model of a stable married male/female relationship
b) a heterosocial role model of mother and father coordinating co-parenting
c) a parenting role model of father-child relationship, and
d) a parenting role model of a mother-child relationship.
There are specific disadvantages a foster child would suffer that are inherent to the structure
of a household headed by a homosexual. A homosexual adult does not provide the role model for
the kind of family relationships that the vast majority of all foster children will have after growing
up to adulthood. In a home headed by an adult sexually involved with same-sex persons, only a
mother-child relationship or a father-child relationship is modeled. Inherently missing from the
homosexual headed household by its very structure is the capability to provide the functions of:
a) a heterosexual role model of married male/female social relations
b) a heterosexual role model of mother and father coordinating co-parenting
c) either a mother-child or a father-child relationship model.
Thus, homes lacking a mother or lacking a father will deprive a child of 3 of the 4 role models
inherently found in the natural family structure of a heterosexual marriage.
There are unique positive benefits to the foster child to observe a stable married mother and
father lead a family unit because vast majority of children develop as heterosexuals and become
married in their adulthood years. Homosexual parenting ill-equips the vast majority of children for
their future heterosexual and marital couple relationships and co-parenting relationships. Research
previously cited indicates that only 1% to 2% of children will grow up to participate in a
homosexual lifestyle for their adulthood years. Therefore, only a married mother and father can
provide the best family environment for the overwhelming majority of foster children, which
inherently cannot be duplicated by the homosexual.
168 Coolidge, David Orgon. “The question of marriage,” in Christopher Wolfe, Homosexuality and American Public
Life. Dallas: Spence Publishing Co., 1999, pages 235-237.
Page 51 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
C. Only a Home With a Mother and Father Provides the Unique Positive Benefits of Both a
Father and Mother that Are Particularly Needed by Foster Children
. Homes headed by an adult who is sexually involved with same-sex persons deprive the child
of either the unique positive contributions of a father to child development or the unique positive
contributions of a mother to child development that have been established by extensive
psychological research by a large number of investigators.169 Having both a mother and a father at
169 Biller, Henry B., Fathers and Families: Paternal Factors in Child Development. Westport, Connecticut & London:
Auburn House, 1993.
Biller, Henry B., Preventing paternal deprivation. In Becoming a Father: Contemporary, social, developmental, and
clinical perspectives. Shapiro, Jerrold Lee; Diamond, Michael J.; New York, NY, US: Springer Publishing Co, 1995.
pp. 72-82.
Biller, Henry B., & Jon Lopez Kimpton, The father and the school-aged child. In: Role of the father in child
development (3rd ed.). Lamb, Michael E.; New York, NY, US: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1997. pp. 143-161.
Biller, Henry B., & Margery Salter. Father loss, cognitive and personality functioning. In : Problem of loss and
mourning. Dietrich, David R.; Shabad, Peter C.; Madison, CT, US: International Universities Press, Inc, 1989. pp. 337-
377.
Blankenhorn, David. Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem. New York:
BasicBooks/HarperCollins Publishers, 1995.
Booth, Alan, & Ann C. Crouter (Eds.), Men in Families: When Do They Get Involved? What Difference Does It
Make? Mahwah, NJ & London: Erlbaum, 1998.
Hart, Craig H., Combating the myth that parents don’t matter, Proceedings of the World Congress of Families II,
Geneva, 1999, 2003.
Lamb, Michael E. (Ed.), The Role of the Father in Child Development. New York: Wiley, 1976, 1981, 1997, 2004
editions.
Marsiglio,William (Ed.), Fatherhood. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995.
Marsiglio,William, Paul Amato, Randal D. Day, & Michael E. Lamb, Scholarship on fatherhood in the 1990s and
beyond, Journal of Marriage and the Family, November 2000, Vol. 62, pp. 1173-1191.
McDowell, David J., Ross D. Parke, & Shirley J. Wang, Differences between mothers’ and fathers’ advice-giving style
and content: Relations with social competence and psychological functioning in middle childhood. Merrill-Palmer
Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 1, 55-76.
McDowell, David J., Mina Kim, Robin O’Neil, & Ross D. Parke, Children’s emotional regulation and social
competence in middle childhood: The role of maternal and paternal interactive style, Marriage and Family Review,
2002, Vol 34, No. 3/4, pp. 345-364.
Parke, Ross D., Fatherhood [in The Developing Child Series]. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.
Parke, Ross D., Development in the family, Annual Review of Psychology, 2004, Vol. 55, pp. 365-399.
Parke, Ross D., Father involvement: A developmental psychological perspective, Marriage and Family Review, 2000,
Vol 29, No. 2/3, pp. 43-58.
Parke, Ross D., & Armin A. Brott, Throwaway Dads. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1999.
Parke, Ross D.,, & Sheppard G. Kellam (Eds.), Exploring Family Relationships with Other Social Contexts. Hillsdale,
NJ & Hove, UK: Erlbaum, 1994.
Parke, Ross D., Fathers and families. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of Parenting (2nd ed., Vol. 3). Mahwah, NJ:
Erlbaum, 2002, pages 27-73.
Parke, Ross D.,, & Gary W. Ladd (Editors), Family-Peer Relationships: Modes of Linkage. Hillsdale, NJ & Hove and
London: Erlbaum, 1992.
Parke, Ross D., Jessica Dennis, Mary L. Flyr, Kristie L. Morris, Colleen Killian, David J. McCowell, & Margaret
Wild, Fathering and children’s peer relationships. In Michael E. Lamb (Ed.), The Role of the Father in Child
Development. New York: Wiley, 2004, pages 307-340.
Parke, Ross D., S. Simpkins, D. J. McDowell, M. Kim, C. Killian, J. Dennis, et al. Relative contributions of families
and peers to children’s social development. In P. K. Smith & C. Hart (Eds.), Handbook of Social Development. NY:
Wiley, pages 156-177.
Popenoe, David, Life Without Father: Compelling New Evidence that Fatherhood and Marriage are Indispensable for
the Good of Children and Society. New York: Martin Kessler Books/The Free Press, 1996.
Page 52 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
home holds the desirable potential of providing the child with both the unique positive contributions
of a father to child development and the unique positive contributions of a mother to child
development.
1. The Unique Contributions of the Father to Child Development and Adjustment
In their 2001 review of research on foster family characteristics associated with higher
levels of foster family functioning, Orme and Buehler summarized the studies as follows:
“Several possible general correlates of foster family functioning have also
been examined. Walsh and Walsh (1990) examined 75 predictors of foster family
functioning using a sample of 51 foster families. Five of these 75 factors were
uniquely related to higher levels of foster family functioning: role comfort, affinity
for children as a motivation for fostering, stress tolerance, foster father’s provision
of a strong male role model, and child-centeredness of the foster family.
Demographic circumstances and motivation for fostering seem to be unrelated to
foster family functioning (J. Rowe et al., 1984; Walsh & Walsh, 1990).”170
This research finding is supported by other extensive research on the influence of fathers in families
of tens of thousands of children.
In a 2000 review article171 in the journal Child Development, Cabrera, Tamis-LeMonda,
Bradley, Hofferth, and Michael E. Lamb wrote,
Children may benefit from interacting with two involved parents, and may
profit from interacting with people who have different behavioral styles. Some
researchers have argued that this stylistic difference is gender-based (Popenoe, 1996).
Fathers’ biological and socially reinforced masculine qualities predispose them to
treat their children differently than do mothers. For example, fathers are more likely
than mothers to encourage their children to be competitive and independent and to
take risks.
…Fathers’ emotional investment in, attachment to, and provision of resources
for their children are all associated with the well-being, cognitive development, and
social competence of young children even after the effects of such potentially
significant confounds as family income, neonatal health, maternal involvement, and
paternal age are taken into account (e.g., Amato & Rivera, 1999; Yogman, Kindlon,
& Earls, 1995). In addition, fathers have been found to be important players in the
development of children’s emotional regulation and control (Gottman, Katz, &
Hooven, 1997). During middle childhood, paternal involvement in childrn’s
schooling in both single-father and two-parent families is associated with greater
academic achievement and enjoyment of school by children (Nord, Brimhall, & West,
Pruett, Kyle D. Fatherneed : Why Father Care is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child. New York: The Free
Press, 2000.
Rhoads, Steven E. Taking Sex Differences Seriously. San Francisco: Encounter Books, 2004.
Small, Arnold, Henry B. Biller, & James O. Prochaska. Sex-role development and parental expectations among
disturbed adolescent males. Adolescence, Vol 10(40), Winter 1975. pp. 609-615.
170 Page 9 in John G. Orme, & Cheryl Buehler, “Foster family characteristics and behavioral and emotional problems of
foster children: a narrative review,” Family Relations, 2001, Volume 50, Number 1, pages 3-15; J. A. Walsh, & R. A.
Walsh Quality care for tough kids: Studies of the maintenance of subsidized foster placements in The Casey Family
Program. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 1990; J. Rowe, H. Cain, M. Hundleby, & A Keane,
Long-term foster care. NY: St. Martin’s Press, 1984.
171 Page 130 in N. J. Cabrera, C S. Tamis-LeMonda, R. H. Bradley, S. Hofferth, & M. E. Lamb, « Fatherhood in the
twenty-first century, » Child Development, 2000, Volume 71, Number 1, pages 127-136.
Page 53 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
1997). For both resident and nonresident fathers, active participation in their
children’s lives, rather than simply the amount of contact, appears to be formatively
important (Nord et al.). In adolescence , too, stronger and closer attachments to
resident biological fathers or stepfathers are associated with more desirable
educational, behavioral, and emotional outcomes (Furstenberg & Harris, 1993). High
involvement and closeness between fathers and adolescents, rather than temporal
involvement per se, protect adolescents from engaging in delinquent behavior and
experiencing emotional distress (Harris, Furstenberg, & Marmer, 1998). Thus, both
quantity and quality of father involvement combined into the concept of “positive
paternal involvement” results in positive child outcomes.
…Little is known about the effects of nonresident fathers’ involvement on
children’s development…. A review of the survey literature reveals no evidence that
nonresident father involvement benefits children (Greene, Halle, LeMenestrel, &
Moore, 1998).
In the late 1990’s, Ross Park and his colleagues conducted research that found that play is an
important learning process for children and fathers are more oriented to physical play with children
than are mothers.172
Park’s research found that a child’s infancy, fathers spend a greater proportion of their time
interacting with infants by playing with them.173 Park reported that the father’s play is more
unpredictable and physically arousing to the child, providing a unique learning experience for the
infant.174
Biller and Kimpton reported in 1997 that in school-aged children, fathers participate in more
instrumental activities—such as sports and scouting—more frequently with sons than with
daughters.175 In the 1990’s, Carson, Park, and colleagues found that fathers tend to elicit more
positive and less negative emotion from children during play, helping children learn to read social
cues and to regulate emotions resulting in more positive social adjustment with peers.176 The
father’s patience and his understanding of the child emotions results in positive social outcomes and
these links are stronger for fathers than for mothers.177 In 1998, Hart and colleagues found that such
greater playfulness, patience and understanding with children are associated with less aggressive
behavior with peers at school and that the father’s influence in this regard outweighed the mother
effects.178
In a 2004 study, Dorius and her colleagues reported the results of their study of a probability
sample of 4,987 adolescents, “…we examine the degree to which closeness to mother, closeness to
father, parental support, and parental monitoring buffer the relationship between peer drug use and
adolescent marijuana use. The relationship between peer drug use and adolescent marijuana use
was attenuated by both closeness to father and the perception that parents would catch them for
major rule violations.”179
172 Park (1996) & Isley, O’Neil, Clatfelter & Parke, (1999)
173 Ross D. Parke, Fatherhood. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.
174 Ross D. Parke, Fatherhood. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.
175 Henry B. Biller & J. L. Kimpton, “The Father and the School-Aged Child,” in Michael Lamb (Ed.), The Role of the
Father in Child Development. NY: Wiley, 1997.
176 Carson & Park (1996), Park et al (1992, 1994)
177 Parke (1996), Isly, O’Neil & Parke, 1996
178 Hart, Nelson et al (1998)
179 Page 163 in Cassandra J. Dorius, Stephen J. Bahr, Hohn P. Hoffmann, & Elizabeth Lovelady Harmon, “Parenting
practices as moderators of the relationship between peers and adolescent marijuana use,” Journal of Marriage and
Family, 2004, Volume 66, pages 163-178.
Page 54 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
In a 1998 longitudinal study of children in which data were collected in 1976, 1981, and
1987, following children into adolescence and early adulthood to the ages of 17 to 22 years of age,
Harris and colleagues180 found that the father’s involvement significantly influences economic and
educational attainment of youth, significantly results in lowered rates of delinquency. These
investigators also reported that the father’s emotional closeness promotes positive social behavior,
less distress and greater psychological well-being in the transition to adulthood. The father’s
presence was also found to be associated with less premarital adolescent sexual behavior. The
research design used by these investigators allowed them to ascertain that the fathers’ positive
effects were independent of the effects of the mothers’ influence.
The father usually fulfills an instrumental, action-oriented and limit setting role in family in
contrast to the more expressive, more emotionally supportive role of the mother.181 Research has
reported that the father has more influence on gender role adjustment of both boys and girls than
does mother, because his instrumental focus is associated with preparing children for their various
roles in society.182 Fathers provide a sex-role model for sons to identify with and the affectionate
involvement of fathers fosters secure masculine identity in sons. Further, masculine fathers
encourage normal feminine identification in daughters.183
Longitudinal research by Heatherington and colleagues184 found that compared to girls
growing up with both their mother and father, girls growing up without their father because of his
death were more inhibited towards males in their adolescence and adulthood, while girls growing up
without their fathers because of divorce or separation were overly responsive to males sexually,
having higher rates of teen pregnancy, earlier marriages, and having higher rates of separation and
divorce.
A positive, continuous relationship with a father is associated with a good self-concept,
higher self-esteem, higher self-confidence in personal and social interaction, higher levels of moral
maturity, reduced rates of unwed teen pregnancy, greater internal control and higher career
aspirations.185
In 2000, William Marsiglio, Paul Amato, Randal Day, & Michael Lamb 186 published a
review on the research on fathers. Their review found 72 studies published in 1990s on fathers and
children with continuously married parents:
“Of the 72 studies identified, only eight used data from independent sources
and controlled for the quality of the mother-child relationship. Of these, five revealed
significant associations between positive father involvement and child outcomes. For
example, Browne and Rife (1991) found that teachers’ reports that children had few
problems at school (such as failing a grade or poor attendance) were associated
significantly with children’s reports of supportive paternal [father] behavior, even
after controlling for variations in the level of supportive mother behavior. Overall,
the majority of studies that used multiple sources and control for maternal [mother]
180 Harris, Furstenberg & Marmer (1998) Demography
181 Rekers (1986) review of research
182 Rekers (1986)
183 Biller (1993) & Amato (1998): Rekers (1983 testimony to US Senate), Rekers (Feb & June 1986 testimony to US
House), Rekers (1986), reviews –
184 Hetherington (1972), Hetherington, Cox & Cox (1976, 1978, 1979):
185 Biller (1993) & Amato (1998): Rekers (1983 testimony to US Senate), Rekers (Feb & June 1986 testimony to US
House), Rekers (1986), reviews –
186 William Marsiglio, Paul Amato, Randal D. Day, & Michael E. Lamb, “Scholarship on fatherhood in the 1990s and
beyond,” Journal of Marriage and the Family, November 2000, Volume 62, pages 1173-1191.
Page 55 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
characteristics support the notion that positive father involvement is linked with
desirable outcomes among children….”187
In a 1995 publication, Young and colleagues “found that when married fathers engage in
authoritative parenting (such as providing encouragement and talking over problems), children
tended to have high levels of life satisfaction.”188 Many reviews of the research fathers report that
studies demonstrate that fathers provide unique contributions to children’s development by
contributing to core aspects of children’s self-identities, self confidence, stability and selfregulation.
189 For example, in 1995, Blankenhorn reported that positive father presence provides
girls with a stable relationship of love and respect from a non-exploitive adult male that provides
security and trust that helps them avoid precocious sexual activity and exploitive relationships with
other males.
In 1999, Amato and Gilbreth190 reported their finding that even non-residential fathers with
strong attachments with adolescents, who used authoritative parenting methods, influenced their
adolescents to be significantly less likely to become imprisoned.
2. The Unique Contributions of the Mother to Child Development and Adjustment
In a child’s infancy, while fathers spend their time with infants by playing with them,
mothers divide their time between caregiving and play about equally.191 While the father’s play is
more unpredictable and physically arousing to the child, the mother’s play is more verbal, didactic,
and involves the use of more toys in the interaction, contributing a different type of unique learning
experience for the infant than the father’s type of play interaction.192
In a research review193 published in 2003 by Ishii-Kuntz, research was summarized that
found that while fathers across cultures are more likely to see playing with children as a major role
they have as a parent, mothers more commonly use “an attentive and hands-on approach,” in which
they are more involved in routine care such as bathing, changing, helping with homework, and
providing meals. In 1994, Starrells194 reported other research has demonstrated that mothers are
more supportive than fathers of their children.
In a 1998 longitudinal study of children in which data were collected in 1976, 1981, and
1987, following children into adolescence and early adulthood to the ages of 17 to 22 years of age,
Harris and colleagues195 found that the mother’s involvement significantly influences economic and
educational attainment of youth. The positive effects of the mother’s influence was demonstrated to
be independent of the father’s positive effects.
187 Page 1183 in William Marsiglio, Paul Amato, Randal D. Day, & Michael E. Lamb, “Scholarship on fatherhood in
the 1990s and beyond,” Journal of Marriage and the Family, November 2000, Volume 62, pages 1173-1191.
188 Young, Miller, Norton & Hill (1995)
189 Blankenhorn (1995), Harris et al (1998, Hawkins & Palkovitz (1999), Lamb (1997), and Popenoe (1996) review
studies:
190 P. A. Amato & J. G. Gilbreth, “Non-residential fathers and children’s well-being,” Journal of Marriage and the
Family, 1999, Volume 61, pages 15-73.
191 Ross D. Parke, Fatherhood. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.
192 Ross D. Parke, Fatherhood. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.
193 Masako Ishii-Kuntz, “Motherhood,” in J. J. Ponzetti, Jr. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family,
Second Edition. New York: Thomson Gale, 2003, pages 1146-1151.
194 M. E. Starrells, “Gender differences in parent-child relations,” Journal of Family Issues, 1994, Volume 15, pages
148-165.
195 Harris, Furstenberg & Marmer (1998) Demography
Page 56 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
Mothers provide a sex-role model for daughters to identify with.196 And there are other
domains of parent-child interaction in which mothers have a greater influence. For example, in
1992, Hart and his colleagues197 reported a study that found mothers have stronger effects on
children’s development of prosocial behavior (such as cooperative play with peers) by reasoning
with children about consequences for their actions. In this way, mothers have a great influence on
children’s peer acceptance and the child’s prosocial, cooperative play with peers. Such parenting
plays an important role in how socially well-adjusted children are at home and outside the home 198
The 1987 review of studies by Parker and Asher concluded that there is “general support for the
hypothesis that children with poor peer adjustment are at risk for later life difficulties. Support is
clearest for the outcomes of dropping out and criminality. It is also clearest for low acceptance and
aggressiveness as predictors….”199
3. The Unique Benefits of the Combination of a Mother and Father for Foster Child
Development and Adjustment
Hart’s (1999) review found: fathers and mothers make unique positive contributions to
children. Dual-gender and heterosexual parenting in which married mothers and fathers live
together in the same home is more likely to provide more stable and secure environments for
children and this natural family structure, on the average, provides greater benefits for nearly every
aspect of children’s well-being, including better emotional and physical health, less substance
abuse, lower rates of early sexual activity by girls, better educational opportunity, less delinquency
for boys (Harris, Furstenburg, & Marmer, 1998; Waite, 1995).
Ordinarily for the vast majority of children, their emotional, social, and psychosexual
development involves both the identification of the child with the parent of the same sex, and
complementary role relationships with the parent of the other sex. Evidence indicates that
adolescents spend more time with same-sex parent than with the opposite-sex parent.200
Adolescents in general spend more of their free time with fathers, and more of their work and
organized leisure time with mothers.201 Further, many adolescent girls prefer to talk to their mother
about sex education, menstruation, or needing a bra, and many adolescent boys are more secure
talking with their father about learning to shave, learning to put on a tie, sex education issues,
nocturnal erections, and nocturnal emissions. Boys reveal some matters more comfortably with
fathers and other matters more comfortably with mothers; daughter similarly benefit from a parent
of both genders. Only the family headed by a mother and father has the necessary parent figures for
providing the best environment to promote stable psychological development of most children.
Parke (2004) reviewed recent research on development in the family and cited research
evidence that “mothers, fathers, and children—influence each other both directly and indirectly
(Minuchin 2002). Examples of fathers’ indirect impact include various ways in which fathers
modify and mediate mother-child relationships. In turn, women affect their children indirectly
through their husbands by modifying both the quantity and the quality of father-child interaction.”
“Moreover, evidence continues to mount that fathers both play distinctive roles in families and have
196 Biller (1993) & Amato (1998): Rekers (1983 testimony to US Senate), Rekers (Feb & June 1986 testimony to US
House), Rekers (1986), reviews –
197 Hart DeWolf, Wozniak & Burts (1992)
198 (Hart et al, 1998; 1990; 1992a,b). Hart, Olsen, Robason & Mandeleco 1997). Hojat (1998) reviews: At least 16
longitudinal studies of this (See Hart p. 5).
199 (Parker & Asher,1987, p. 357).
200 R. Larson & M. Richards. Divergent Realities. NY: Basic Books, 1994.
201 R. Larson & M. Richards. Divergent Realities. NY: Basic Books, 1994.
Page 57 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
unique effects after controlling for maternal effects (Marsiglio et al 2000). “A second trend I the
increasing focus on coparenting in recognition that mothers and fathers operate as a parenting team
and as individual parents (McHale & Rasmussen 1998).
It is not pertinent to the best interests of foster children to argue that it is possible for a child
to survive a period of childhood without either a mother or a father figure in the home. The foster
child is already at disadvantage by virtue of being removed from his or her biological/legal family,
and the state should not add to the child’s disadvantage by the avoidable action of placing the child
in a family with a homosexually behaving adult. Foster children especially need these advantages
inherent to households with exclusive heterosexual adult members because they have lost such
positive mother and father influences for their development by virtue of the very reasons they have
been removed from their family of origin to be placed in foster care.
Page 58 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
D. Existing Studies Comparing Homosexual Parenting to Heterosexual Parenting Fails to
Investigate These Structural Deficits of Homosexual Households and the Effects of Stress and
Stigma on Children
The existing quantitative research purporting to compare the effects of homosexual
parenting and heterosexual parenting focus on a relatively few variables related to parenting
functions and a few selected child outcomes, and are not adequate to address the structural deficits
inherent to homosexual parenting as they relate to child outcome. The existing qualitative literature
on the effects of homosexual parenting on sons and daughters repeatedly documents distress and
problems from the children’s perspective, including stress associated with fears of peer rejection,
embarrassment, loss of close friends, peers assuming they are homosexual, and the emotional toll of
keeping their parents’ homosexual behavior a secret. But because the quantitative studies
selectively do not measure these variables, they do not report these problems.
The quantitative studies that purport that there are no differences in the childhood outcomes
of homosexual parents compared to heterosexual parents are not adequate sources of empirical data
for policy making regarding the licensure of foster parents for several substantial reasons: (footnotes
to substantiating professional publications will be added to each of these points, with some quotes from articles
available)
1. This research studied convenience samples of volunteer homosexual parents without
psychological disorders and substance abuse who were “cherry-picked” by the investigators,
and are thus not representative of the general population of homosexuals, the majority of
whom have life-time occurrence of psychological disorders, suicidal ideation, suicide
attempt, and substance abuse. Parenting practices by the minority of homosexuals who are
psychologically normal cannot be considered representative of the parenting practices of the
entire group of homosexuals who have much higher rates of psychological disorder and
substance abuse than the studied homosexual parents.
2. Nearly all the children studied were not foster children, but instead largely the biological
children of the homosexual parent who had a close relationship with the child since birth.
The children investigated in these studies typically had a relationship for years before their
homosexual parent “came out” as a homosexual, and thus already had a strong attachment
and loyalty to the parent. It is well established that even abused children retain strong
loyalty and desire to remain with their biological parents to whom they are attached, and try
to rationalize away problems that their parent causes them. The child who has known the
parent from birth generally has a strong motivation to cope with the stresses imposed by the
parent’s homosexuality. But as a group, foster children are expected to respond to a
homosexual foster parent quite differently because nearly all foster children have grown up a
different set of heterosexual parents and did not have a pre-existing long-term relationship or
attachment with the homosexual parent since birth. The studied children of homosexual
parents had continuity with the same parent that they knew and loved before the parent
revealed to them that they were homosexual; but foster children are removed from the
heterosexual parents to whom they were attached and then abruptly placed with a
homosexual parent, which creates a very different adjustment challenge than the child
staying with the same parent who subsequently informs them of their homosexuality. Thus
the findings of existing studies of children of homosexual parents to which they have been
attached since birth do not directly apply to children entering foster care by homosexual
foster parents who are strangers to them and with whom they have no pre-existing
attachment or loyalty.
Page 59 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
3. The vast majority of the children studied in existing reports of parenting by homosexuals are
not reported to have psychological disorders. But the majority of foster children do have
psychological disorders. As a group, foster children are expected to respond to a
homosexual foster parent differently because foster children are more vulnerable to stress,
more vulnerable to a parent’s partner instability, and more vulnerable to the lack of a mother
or father, because of foster children’s past deprivations and losses of their family of origin,
and because of their substantially higher rates of psychological disorder than children in the
general population. The studied children were not reported to have psychological disorders
at the time their pre-existing parent “came out” as a homosexual, but foster children
generally do suffer psychological disorders at the time they are placed in the home of a new
homosexual foster parent. Research conducted on the adjustment of children without
psychological disorders has not been proven to apply to understanding the adjustment of
foster children with psychological disorders.
4. The studies of the adjustment of children of homosexual parents often compared two lesbian
parents who were wealthier and more highly educated than the general population and
“cherry picked” with convenience samples to be compared to a single heterosexual parent
trying to manage childrearing, household maintenance, and income production all by
herself. Because two parents have more resources (time, money, energy, etc.) than a single
parent, finding no difference in child outcomes in such studies does not provide legitimate or
valid data on the comparability of parenting by homosexuals to heterosexuals.
5. Most of the children of homosexual parents studied to date had spent a significant portion of
their childhood growing up in a heterosexual married couple home before the divorce of
their parents. This confounds the variables of homosexual parenting versus heterosexual
parenting, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to attribute child outcomes to
their heterosexual parenting or to their homosexual parenting. Further, Patterson (2000)
points out that many lesbian parents do not “come out” to their children in their custody
until years later, further making it difficult to interpret their parenting (from the child’s
perspective) as homosexual parenting or heterosexual parenting).
6. Existing studies of homosexual parenting have not studied the effects of the greater number
of sexual partner relationships over time on the children’s adjustment. Parallel research on
heterosexual couples has found serious adverse effects of changing partners on child
adjustment, and research cited above demonstrates a substantially higher turnover of sexual
relationships among homosexual compared to heterosexuals.
7. Most research on homosexual parenting has been conducted on lesbian mothers, and
relatively very little research has been conducted on homosexual fathers in a custodial
family relationship with children.
8. Very little research is available on the effects of parenting by bisexuals on child adjustment,
and yet the behavioral definition of homosexual behavior in the Arkansas regulation applies
to families headed also by bisexuals.
9. Multiple reviews by psychologists and other social scientists have documented fatal flaws in
the research methods of virtually all of the studies that claim there is no difference in child
outcomes between parenting by homosexuals and heterosexuals. Even the research
investigators of these homosexual parenting studies themselves acknowledge major
methodological weaknesses and flaws to their research. Only seriously flawed research
studies have reported that there are no important differences between homosexual parenting
effects and heterosexual parenting effects upon children. In fact, social science research
Page 60 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
commonly cited for the proposition that there is no important difference between
homosexual and heterosexual parenting does not, in fact, support that proposition.
• Studies alleging no difference in parenting influences of homosexual parents
compared to married heterosexual couples are flawed in terms of insufficient
quantity of subjects studied and in terms of scientific inadequacies of their research
methods.
• Most of the studies available on homosexual parenting have studied female
homosexual parents (many of whom were former heterosexuals) and very few
studies have focused on male homosexual parents. No study has adequate longterm
follow-up into mature adulthood to demonstrate the absence of harm.
• Studies alleging no difference in parenting of homosexual parents compared to
married heterosexual couples have failed to scientifically investigate all the serious
stresses, disadvantages, and harms described above.
• There are inadequate scientific data to establish the long-term adult adjustment of
children who are placed in foster homes with a homosexually behaving adult. The
state should not “experiment” with foster children by placing them in such
homosexual foster homes in light of all the evidence for additional disadvantage,
stress, and harm.
Numerous reviews by qualified research investigators, including leading pro-gay researchers who
have conducted homosexual parenting studies, have cited numerous methodological limitations and
flaws that call into serious question any attempt to generalize the results of the social science
research commonly cited for the proposition that there is no important difference between
homosexual and heterosexual parenting does not, in fact, support that proposition.
Professor Charlotte Patterson, a leading contributor to the studies of the effects of
homosexual parenting on children, published a review in November 2000, in which she made the
following statements:
• Under the heading, “Research on children of lesbian and gay parents,” she wrote, “Most
samples studied to date have been composed mainly of White, middle-class, largely
professional families.”202
• “Concern has also been voiced that in many studies that compare children of divorced
heterosexual mothers with children of divorced lesbian mothers, the lesbian mothers were
more likely to be living with a romantic partner; in these cases, maternal sexual orientation
and relationship status have been confounded.”203
• “In view of the small sample size and absence of conventional statistical tests, Huggins’
finding should be interpreted with great caution.”204
• “Because none of the published work has employed observational measures or longitudinal
designs, little is known about the details of actual behavior in these families or about any
changes over time.”205
202 Page 1058 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Family relationships of lesbians and gay men,” Journal of Marriage and the
Family, November 2000, Volume 62, pages 1052-1069.
203 Page 1060 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Family relationships of lesbians and gay men,” Journal of Marriage and the
Family, November 2000, Volume 62, pages 1052-1069.
204 Page 1061 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Family relationships of lesbians and gay men,” Journal of Marriage and the
Family, November 2000, Volume 62, pages 1052-1069.
205 Page 1061 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Family relationships of lesbians and gay men,” Journal of Marriage and the
Family, November 2000, Volume 62, pages 1052-1069.
Page 61 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
• “Although some gay men are also becoming parents after coming out, no research has yet
been reported on their children.”206
• “…it is important first to acknowledge that much of the research is subject to various
criticisms. For instance, much of the research has involved small samples that are
predominantly White, well-educated, middle class, and American…. It would also be
desirable to have data based on observational methods, collected within longitudinal
designs. Longitudinal studies are beginning to appear (e.g., Gartrell et al., 1999; Tasker &
Golombok, 1997), but observational work is still lacking. Other issues could also be raised
(see Patterson, 1995a).”207
• “Similarly, the phenomena associated with bisexuality (Paul, 1996) have received relatively
little study. Ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic diversity of lesbian and gay family lives have
yet to be systematically explored. From a methodological perspective, it would be valuable
to have more studies that follow couples or parents and their children over time.
Longitudinal studies of the relationships between lesbians, gay men, and members of their
families of origin over relatively long periods of time could also be helpful in describing
predictable sequences of reactions to significant life events (e.g., coming out, having a child)
among family members. To avoid the pitfalls associated with retrospective reporting, these
studies should utilize prospective designs that follow participants over time. Another
methodological issue in the literature to date is the dearth of observational data.
Observational studies of couples, parents, and children, as well as of lesbian and gay adults
with members of their families of origin, could provide valuable evidence about similarities
and differences between family processes in the family lives of lesbian, gay, and
heterosexual adults. …Future research that addresses these challenges has the potential to
improve understanding of lesbian and gay family life, increase inclusiveness of theoretical
notions about family structure and process….”208
In a 2004 review, Patterson wrote,
• “Despite the diversity of gay fatherhood, research to date has with some exceptions been
conducted with relatively homogeneous groups of participants. Samples of gay fathers have
been mainly Caucasian, well-educated, affluent, and living in major urban centers.
Although the available evidence suggests that self-identified gay men are much more likely
to live in large cities than elsewhere (e.g., Laumann et al., 1994), the representativeness of
the samples of gay fathers studied to date cannot be established. Most research has been
cross-sectional in nature and has involved information provided through interviews and
questionnaires by gay fathers themselves. Although valuable information has been collected
in this way, the degree to which data from observational and other methodologies would
converge with existing results is not known. Caution in the interpretation of findings
from research in this new area of work is thus required.”209
206 Page 1061 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Family relationships of lesbians and gay men,” Journal of Marriage and the
Family, November 2000, Volume 62, pages 1052-1069.
207 Page 1064 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Family relationships of lesbians and gay men,” Journal of Marriage and the
Family, November 2000, Volume 62, pages 1052-1069.
208 Page 1065 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Family relationships of lesbians and gay men,” Journal of Marriage and the
Family, November 2000, Volume 62, pages 1052-1069.
209 Page 402 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Gay fathers,” chapter 14 in Michael E. Lamb (Ed.), The Role of the Father in
Child Development, Fourth Edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004, pages 397-416.
Page 62 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
• In reviewing the research of Miller and Bozett on gay fathers, Patterson wrote, “They also
explain little about gay fathers’ actual behavior in parenting and other roles. Possible
problems related to sampling and selection biases should also be acknowledged.”210
• “As this brief discussion has revealed, research on gay men who have chosen to become
parents has barely begun. The research to date is limited in scope, and many important
issues have yet to be addressed. …Much remains to be learned about the determinants of
gay parenting, about its impact on gay parents themselves, and about its place in
contemporary communities.”211
• In reviewing Miller’s and Bozett’s research on sexual orientation among children of gay
fathers, Patterson states, “…these figures must be interpreted with caution. In addition,
small sample sizes and varied sampling procedures also suggest that interpretations should
be made with care.”212
• “As the preceding discussion makes clear, research on gay fathers and their families is
relatively recent and still sparse. Many important questions remain to be addressed, and
there is much for future researchers to accomplish in this area.”213
• “From a methodological perspective, a number of suggestions for future research can also be
offered. The first of these concerns sampling methods. Existing research has tended to
involve small, unsystematic samples of unknown representativeness. Larger, more
representative samples of individuals and families would be helpful. Also valuable would
be longitudinal research involving observational and other varied assessment procedures.
Multisite studies that systematically assess the impact of environmental as well as personal
and familial processes hold great promise. Except in the case of qualitative work, rigorous
statistical procedures should be employed.”214
The highly respected professor of human development and family studies, Walter Schumm
at Kansas State University published a review in 2004, in which he wrote:
• “Limitations of research on gays and family life are discussed, including the low statistical
power of small samples, a condition which increases the likelihood of failing to reject the
null hypotheses.”215
• “Research with gay samples is often limited because samples are small and bias is
introduced through volunteer or convenience samples….”216
• “Because gays represent only 2-3% of the U.S. population and some are reluctant to identify
their sexual orientation to researchers, it is difficult to obtain a group of gays large enough to
compare with heterosexual groups (in a random sample) without having such low statistical
210 Page 404 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Gay fathers,” chapter 14 in Michael E. Lamb (Ed.), The Role of the Father in
Child Development, Fourth Edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004, pages 397-416.
211 Page 407 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Gay fathers,” chapter 14 in Michael E. Lamb (Ed.), The Role of the Father in
Child Development, Fourth Edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004, pages 397-416.
212 Page 408 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Gay fathers,” chapter 14 in Michael E. Lamb (Ed.), The Role of the Father in
Child Development, Fourth Edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004, pages 397-416.
213 Page 410 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Gay fathers,” chapter 14 in Michael E. Lamb (Ed.), The Role of the Father in
Child Development, Fourth Edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004, pages 397-416.
214 Page 412 in Charlotte J. Patterson, “Gay fathers,” chapter 14 in Michael E. Lamb (Ed.), The Role of the Father in
Child Development, Fourth Edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004, pages 397-416.
215 Page 422 in Walter R. Schumm, “What was really learned from Tasker and Golombok’s (1995) study of lesbian and
single parent mothers?” Psychological Reports, 2004, Volume 94, pages 422-424.
216 Page 422 in Walter R. Schumm, “What was really learned from Tasker and Golombok’s (1995) study of lesbian and
single parent mothers?” Psychological Reports, 2004, Volume 94, pages 422-424.
Page 63 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
power as virtually to guarantee a “successful” outcome from a gay-rights perspective. …A
particular case in point… includes the results of Tasker and Golombok…. …the sample size
(45 cases) is so small the differences were not significant statistically.”217
• “Fitzgerald in her review of the literature on gay parents, cited studies with as few as 17, 22,
30, 36, 37, 45, 46, 55, 75, and 82 subjects—many of which yielded no statistically
significant differences between children of gay and heterosexual parents.”218
• “…use of small samples with low statistical power can create artificial situations in which
the gay rights hypothesis will appear to have been supported (by failure to reject the null
hypothesis of no differences) for faulty methodological reasoning rather than on valid data.
As Cohen argued, one does not ‘prove’ the null hypothesis; failure to reject the null
hypothesis does not warrant the conclusion that the null hypothesis is true. …Hoenig and
Heisey noted that ‘In matters of public health and regulation, it is often more important to be
protected against erroneously concluding no difference exists when one does.’ Using small
samples is a most likely way to make the erroneous conclusion of accepting the null
hypothesis (incorrectly) as evidence for no genuine difference. Further, even those who
have reviewed the same data and literature often have reached different conclusions.”219
• “…scholars and policymakers all should be very cautious in accepting, at face value, at least
some of the research being reported on gays and family life.”220
In a 148-page book published in 2001, Robert Lerner, and Althea Nagai—both specialists in
the field of quantitative analysis with Ph.D. degrees in sociology from the University of Chicago,
presented a detailed methodological and statistical evaluation of studies on homosexual parenting.
They concluded, “Do these 49 studies offer conclusive proof that there is ‘no difference’ between
heterosexual and homosexual households? We believe that these studies offer no basis for that
conclusion—because they are so deeply flawed pieces of research.”221
The 2002 review222 published by George Rekers, Ph.D., and Mark Kilgus, M.D., Ph.D.,
independently found serious, fatal methodological flaws in all the studies on the effects of
homosexual parenting. All the available published studies reviewed had one or more of the
following methodological flaws:
• Omission of a parallel heterosexual parent control group
• Lack of a two-biological parent comparison group
• Too small of sample size for statistical power
• Sampling bias
• Failure to obtain a representative sample
• Lack of random sampling
• A sample inappropriate for developmental research questions
217 Page 422 in Walter R. Schumm, “What was really learned from Tasker and Golombok’s (1995) study of lesbian and
single parent mothers?” Psychological Reports, 2004, Volume 94, pages 422-424.
218 Page 422 in Walter R. Schumm, “What was really learned from Tasker and Golombok’s (1995) study of lesbian and
single parent mothers?” Psychological Reports, 2004, Volume 94, pages 422-424.
219 Page 423 in Walter R. Schumm, “What was really learned from Tasker and Golombok’s (1995) study of lesbian and
single parent mothers?” Psychological Reports, 2004, Volume 94, pages 422-424.
220 Page 422 in Walter R. Schumm, “What was really learned from Tasker and Golombok’s (1995) study of lesbian and
single parent mothers?” Psychological Reports, 2004, Volume 94, pages 422-424.
221 Page 9 in Robert Lerner & Althea K. Nagai, No Basis: What the Studies Don’t Tell Us About Same-Sex Parenting.
Washington DC: Marriage Law Project, 2001.
222 George Rekers & Mark Kilgus, “Studies of homosexual parenting: A critical review,” Regent University Law
Review, 2001-2002, Volume 14, Number 2, pages 343-382.
Page 64 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
• Measures lacking reported reliability
• Measures lacking reported validity
• Lack of anonymity of research participants
• Self-presentation bias
• Inaccurate reporting of findings
• Lack of inferential statistical testing of hypotheses
• Illegitimate claim of affirming the null hypothesis
• Unjustified generalizations or conclusions from the data
• Omission of including variables relevant to assessing child adjustment
Further, most of the studies themselves admit to major methodological limitations of their
sampling, design, or investigation in the discussion sections, even though they make bold claims in
their conclusions and article abstract (see quotes from the articles themselves in Rekers and Kilgus
that admit to design and methodological limitations of these studies).
In her 1999 article on research on children of lesbian and gay parents in Marriage and
Family Review, Fitzgerald listed the following limitations of existing studies:
• “Many of these studies suffer from similar limitations and weaknesses, with the main
obstacle being the difficulty in acquiring representative, random samples on a virtually
invisible population. Many lesbian and gay parents are not open about their sexual
orientation due to real fears of discrimination, homophobia, and threats of losing custody of
their children. Those who do participate in this type of research are usually relatively open
about their homosexuality and, therefore, may bias the research towards a particular group
of gay and lesbian parents….”223
• “Because of the inevitable use of convenience samples, sample sizes are usually very small
and the majority of the research participants end up looking quite homogeneous—e.g.,
white, middle-class, urban, and well-educated.”224
• “Another pattern is the wide discrepancy between the number of studies conducted with
children of gay fathers and those with lesbian mothers.”225
• “Another potential factor of importance is the possibility of social desirability bias when
research subjects respond in ways that present themselves and their families in the most
desirable light possible. Such a phenomenon does seem possible due to the desire of this
population to offset and reverse negative images and discrimination. Consequently, the
findings of these studies may be patterned by self-presentation bias….”226
• “In summary, faced with these frequent methodological difficulties, the generalizability of
these studies is limited and overall, they can best be described as descriptive and suggestive,
rather than conclusive.”227
• “Keeping this in mind, research is needed in which larger sample sizes are acquired
whenever feasible and where multiple methodologies are utilized. Longitudinal studies are
223 Page 68 in Bridget Fitzgerald, “Children of lesbian and gay parents: A review of the literature,” Marriage and Family
Review, 1999, Volume 29, Number 1, pages 57-75.
224 Page 68 in Bridget Fitzgerald, “Children of lesbian and gay parents: A review of the literature,” Marriage and Family
Review, 1999, Volume 29, Number 1, pages 57-75.
225 Page 68 in Bridget Fitzgerald, “Children of lesbian and gay parents: A review of the literature,” Marriage and Family
Review, 1999, Volume 29, Number 1, pages 57-75.
226 Page 69 in Bridget Fitzgerald, “Children of lesbian and gay parents: A review of the literature,” Marriage and Family
Review, 1999, Volume 29, Number 1, pages 57-75.
227 Page 69 in Bridget Fitzgerald, “Children of lesbian and gay parents: A review of the literature,” Marriage and Family
Review, 1999, Volume 29, Number 1, pages 57-75.
Page 65 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
needed ‘which seek to assess not only child adjustment over time, but also the family
processes, relationships, and interactions to which child adjustment may be linked.’”228
• “Another important area of research is needed to examine how homophobia affects children
in lesbian and gay families, or, more specifically, how the young and their families cope
with our heterosexist, homophobic society.”229
The gay studies and education research scholar, professor James T. Sears published a review
in 1994 in which he stated,
Studies on lesbian and gay parents and their families have been limited in
terms of sample size and methodology. For example, some studies (e.g., Weeks,
Derdeyn & Langman, 1975) have been clinical case studies and others have relied on
anecdotal evidence (e.g., Alpert, 1988; Brown, 1976; Mager, 1975) others have
studied small (10-40) groups of homosexual parents identified through gay-related
organizations (e.g., Scallen, 1981). Only a few studies have used larger samples with
more sophisticated research designs (e.g., Bigner & Jacobsen, 1989; Hotvedt &
Mandel, 1982). There have been no ethnographic, longitudinal, or nation-wide
studies conducted. Further, researchers generally have compared homosexual single
parents with with single heterosexual parents and, occasionally, homosexual parents
living with a domestic partner with remarried heterosexual couples. Due to their
incompatibility, no comparisons between homsexual parented households with the
“traditional” two-parent heterosexual families have been made. Urther, few of these
studies present statistical analyses, control for the presence of a male role model in
the home, take into account the desire to appear socially acceptable, include a
majority of adolescent subjects, or focus on bisexual parents (Gottman, 1990).
Finally, only a handful of studies have directly interviewed, surveyed, or observed
children raised by a father or a mother who is homosexual….”230
Therefore, the existing studies on the effects of lesbian and gay parenting on child
development and child adjustment are only very early preliminary, suggestive studies published for
scholarly progress only, to inform future researchers on some directions for more adequate research.
But these studies are only suggestive of findings on the highly selective small groups studied, not
generalizable to the general population of homosexual parents, and clearly not definitive and
therefore do not constitute a solid scientific basis for formulating public policies.
228 Page 69 in Bridget Fitzgerald, “Children of lesbian and gay parents: A review of the literature,” Marriage and Family
Review, 1999, Volume 29, Number 1, pages 57-75. The phrase in single quotation marks is Fitzgerald’s quote of
Patterson, 1992, page 1039).
229 Page 69 in Bridget Fitzgerald, “Children of lesbian and gay parents: A review of the literature,” Marriage and Family
Review, 1999, Volume 29, Number 1, pages 57-75.
230 Page 139 in James T. Sears, “Challenges for educators: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual families, The High School
Journal, 1993-1994, pages 138-156.
Page 66 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
C. The Best Child Adjustment and Well-Being Results from Parenting from Married Couples
A 2001 review of existing research by Marcia Carlson of Princeton University and Mary
Corcoran of the University of Michigan concluded, “As fewer children spend most or all of their
childhood living with two biological parents, concern has risen about the consequences of various
family structures for children’s development and well-being. …The link between family structure
and young adult outcomes is no longer questioned….”231
Child Well-Being in Households of Married Couples versus Cohabiting Homosexual Couples and
Cohabiting Heterosexual Couples
In 1996, Professor Sarantakos232 published the results of a study of educational success and
social development of 174 children in three types of households—58 children living with
heterosexual married couples, 58 children living with heterosexual cohabiting couples, and 58
children living with homosexual couples (47 lesbian and 11 gay male). The children studied were
“matched according to age, gender, year of study, and parental characteristics (education,
occupation and employment status). All children were of primary school age, and were living with
at least one of their biological parents at the time of the study. …The homosexual couples… were
matched according to socially significant criteria (e.g., age, number of children, education,
occupation, and socio-economic statue) to married and cohabiting (heterosexual) couples….”233
Data was obtained “primarily from teachers and only secondarily from parents and children”
through questionnaires and interviews, school aptitude tests, and behavioral observations of the
child in class and out-of-class. Analysis of variance demonstrated that the families headed by
married couples resulted in the best environment for children’s social and educational development
for almost every measure. The following are the specific findings for educational achievement in
which multiple data sources were combined for each area with an overall score “ranging from 1
(very low performance), through 5 (moderate performance) to 9 (very high performance):
• For language achievement, “the children of the married couples achieved the highest scores
and the children of the homosexual couples the lowest: the average achievement score of the
children of homosexual, cohabiting and married parents was 5.5, 6.8 and 7.7 respectively.
(…significant at the 0.000 level).”234
• For mathematics achievement, “…children of homosexual partners showed an overall
performance of 5.5, as against 7.0 and 7.9 for the children of cohabiting and married couples
respectively (…significant at the 0.000 level).”235
• For social studies achievement, “…children of homosexual couples tend to perform slightly
better than the children of the other two groups….The differences between these three
groups is shown in their average scores, i.e., 7.6, 7.3, and 7.0 for the children of homosexual
couples, married couples and cohabiting couples respectively… (…significant at the 0.008
level).”236
231 Pages 779 & 780 in Marcia J. Carlson & Mary E. Corcoran,” Family structure and children’s behavioral and
cognitive outcomes, “Journal of Marriage and Family, 2001, Volume 63, pages 779-792.
232 Sotirios Sarantakos, “Children in three contexts: Family, education and social development,” Children Australia,
1966, Volume 21, Number 3, pages 23-31.
233 Pages 23-24 in Sotirios Sarantakos, “Children in three contexts: Family, education and social development,”
Children Australia, 1966, Volume 21, Number 3, pages 23-31.
234 Sarantakos, page 24.
235 Sarantakos, page 24.
236 Sarantakos, page 25.
Page 67 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
• For sport interest and involvement, “…the children of heterosexual cohabiting couples
following closely the children of married couples, and with children of homosexual couples
far behind…. …the average scores of married, heterosexual cohabiting and homosexual
couples were 8.9, 8.3 and 5.9 respectively (…significant at the 0.000 level).”237
• Sociability scores “…were 7.5 for the children of married couples, 6.5 for the children of
cohabiting couples and 5.0 for the children of homosexual couples…. (…significant at the
0.000 level).”
“…more children of homosexual couples were reported to be timid, reserved,
unwilling to work in a team, unwilling to talk about family life, holidays and about out-ofschool
activities in general, to feel uncomfortable when having to work with students of a
sex different to the parent they lived with, and to be characterized as loners and as introvert.
To a certain extent these feels were reciprocated by a number of the students in class, who
preferred not to work with them, to sit next to them, or work together on a project.”
“A similar attitude was expressed by these children in their out-of-class activities. In
most cases children of homosexual couples ended up being by themselves, skipping rope or
drawing, while the others were involved in team sports. In extreme cases, they have been
ridiculed by the other children for some personal habits or beliefs, or for the sexual
preferences of their parents. In certain cases, these children were called sissies, lesbians or
gays, or asked to tell ‘what their parents do at home’, where they slept, and so forth. Such
incidents were one of the reasons for these children to move to another school, to refuse to
go to that school, or even for the parents to move away from that neighbourhood or town.”
“…Parents and teachers alike reported that comments such as ‘the pervs are coming’,
‘don’t mix with the sissies’, or ‘sisterhood is filthy’, made by some pupils, were not
uncommon.”238
• Sex identity was measured by multiple behavioral observations of play behavior and social
interactions among the students. “Teachers felt that a number of students of homosexual
parents were confused about their identity and what was considered right and expected of
them in certain situations. Girls of gay fathers were reported to demonstrate more ‘boyish’
attitudes and behaviour than girls of heterosexual parents. Most young boys of lesbian
mothers were reported to be more effeminate in their behaviour and mannerisms than boys
of heterosexual parents. Compared to boys of heterosexual parents, they were reported to be
more interested in toys, sport activities and games usually chosen by girls; they cried more
often when under the same type of stressful situations….”
“In general, children of homosexual couples were described by teachers as more
expressive, more effeminate (irrespective of their gender) and ‘more confused about their
gender’ than children of heterosexual couples.”
“With regard to the experiences of young children of homosexuals…, the findings
show that these children usually find it difficult to be fully accepted by their peers as boys or
girls. In many cases these children have been harassed or ridiculed by their peers for having
a homosexual parent, for ‘being queer’ and even labeled as homosexuals themselves.”
“In certain cases, heterosexual parents advised their children not to associate with
children of homosexuals, or gave instructions to the teachers to keep their children as much
as possible away from children of homosexual couples. Teachers also reported exceptional
237 Sarantakos, page 25.
238 Sarantakos, page 25.
Page 68 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
cases where a group of ‘concerned parents’ demanded that three children of homosexuals be
removed from their school.”
“Teachers have reported that children who went through such experiences have
suffered significantly in social and emotional terms, but also in terms of scholastic
achievement, and have developed negative attitudes to school and learning.239 These
children found it very difficult to adjust in school, to trust friends inside and outside the
school, and to join peer groups in general.”240
• Support with homework scores for the three groups were “7 for the children of married
couples, 6.5 for the children of cohabiting heterosexual couples and 5.5 for the children of
homosexual couples… (significant at the 0.000 level). …Overall, married couples and, to a
certain extent, cohabiting couples are reported by the teachers to offer more assistance and
more personal support and to be more interested in the school work of their children than
homosexual couples. A similar trend was reported with regard to parents assisting their
children with sport and other personal tasks.”241
• Parental aspirations for children’s education beyond the 10th year “…show a marked
difference between the three groups. The average score for married parents 8.1, for
cohabiting parents 7.4 and for homosexual parents 6.2…. (significant at the 0.000 level).”242
• Personal autonomy scores indicated, “Marrieds are reported to control and direct their
children more than the couples of the other two groups.”243
• “…Responsibility for household tasks is significantly higher among these [homosexual
parented] children than among children of heterosexual cohabiting and married couples.”244
Sarantakos concluded, “Overall, the study has shown that children of married couples are more
likely to do well at school in academic and social terms, than children of cohabiting heterosexual
and homosexual couples. …In summary, family environments are definitely instrumental for the
development of the attributes which encourage educational progress and social development among
children. However, these environments are shown to vary significantly according to the life style of
the parents, leading to adverse reactions among these children.”245
The research study by Sarantakos comparing children’s educational achievement and social
adjustment as a function of the family structures of married couples, heterosexual cohabiting
couples, and homosexual couples is a very rare type of study in the sense of including a homosexual
couple comparison group. Because Sarantakos found similar disadvantaged child outcomes in the
cohabitating heterosexual couple group and homosexual cohabiting couple group compared to the
married couple group, the best available additional research for the Court to consider regarding the
239 This quotation from the article implies that the attitudes towards school and learning were more negative among
children of homosexual couples compared to heterosexual couples. And consistent with this, the attitude to school and
learning scores were reported as “7.5 for the children of married couples, 6.8 for the children of cohabiting couples and
6.5 for the children of homosexual couples…. (…significant at the 0.000 level)” (Sarantakos, page 26). But the author
made an apparently contradictory statement to these scores and the quotation under the heading of “Sex Identity,” on
page 26 in earlier paragraphs when stating, “...children of cohabiting couples (especially homosexuals) demonstrated a
stronger attitude to learning than other children” (Sarantakos, page 26). So the study results with regard to scores on
attitudes towards school and learning are unclear from the article, and it may be that the score data were incorrectly
reported one way or another.
240 Sarantakos, page 26.
241 Sarantakos, pages 26-27.
242 Sarantakos, page 27.
243 Sarantakos, page 27.
244 Sarantakos, page 28. “Parenting styles—control and punishment” scores among the three groups were not found to
be significantly different.
245 Sarantakos, page 30.
Page 69 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
effects of family structure on child adjustment would be the research on cohabitation and singleparent
family structures compared to married couple family structure.
Child Well-Being in Households of Married Couples versus Cohabiting Heterosexual Couples
Using data “nationally representative of adolescents in the United States”246 from the
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a journal article in 2003 by Manning and Lamb
reported a study of well-being of 13,231 adolescents in married two biological parent families to
cohabiting parent stepfamilies, unmarried single mother families, and step married families. These
investigators concluded, “Teens living with co-habiting stepparents often fare worse than teens
living with two biological married parents. Adolescents living in cohabiting stepfamilies
experience greater disadvantage than teens living in married stepfamilies. …Teenagers living with
single unmarried mothers are similar to teens living with cohabiting stepparents….”247 Thus, in each
case, teen well-being was significantly worse in cohabiting and single parent families compared to
married couple families.
In 2004, Brown248 published a study of a nationally representative sample of the United
States civilian non-institutionalized population, consisting of 35,938 research subjects from the
national Survey of America’s Families. 5% of the children lived with cohabiting parents. The more
than 1000 school aged children in this sample who lived in cohabiting parent families experienced
worse outcomes in behavioral and emotional problems, on average, than those residing in two
biological married parent families. Brown reported,
Research on adult cohabitors’ psychological well-being reveals that
depression is especially high among cohabiting mothers (Brown, 2000). Parental
well-being has a profound impact on offspring (Amato & Booth, 1997) suggesting
that children residing in cohabiting unions are at risk of a variety of adverse
outcomes, including poor school performance, behavioral problems, and
psychological distress. …Most studies have shown that cohabitation is associated
with lower levels of child well-being, especially relative to marriage…. There is
essentially no evidence that children fare better in cohabitating unions than other
family forms.249
Brown reviewed recent research that demonstrates “that child well-being, measured by cognitive
performance and the absence of behavior problems, is greater in two-biological parent married
families than in cohabiting families.”250
Brown studied children aged 6 to 11 years and adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Reporting
her findings, she wrote, “Adolescents living outside two-biological parent married families tend to
exhibit more behavioral and emotional problems…. Economic resources do not appear to account
for the influence of family structure.”251 The level of emotional and behavioral problems exhibited
246 Page 881 in Wendy D. Manning & Kathleen A. Lamb, “Adolescent well-being in cohabiting, married, and singleparent
families,” Journal of Marriage and Family, 2003, Volume 65, pages 876-893.
247 Page 876 in Wendy D. Manning & Kathleen A. Lamb, “Adolescent well-being in cohabiting, married, and singleparent
families,” Journal of Marriage and Family, 2003, Volume 65, pages 876-893.
248 Susan L. Brown, “Family structure and child well-being: The significance of parental cohabitation,” Journal of
Marriage and Family, 2004, Volume 66, pages 351-367.
249 Pages 351-352 in Susan L. Brown, “Family structure and child well-being: The significance of parental
cohabitation,” Journal of Marriage and Family, 2004, Volume 66, pages 351-367.
250 Page 352 in Susan L. Brown, “Family structure and child well-being: The significance of parental cohabitation,”
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2004, Volume 66, pages 351-367.
251 Susan L. Brown, “Family structure and child well-being: The significance of parental cohabitation,” Journal of
Marriage and Family, 2004, Volume 66, pages 351-367.
Page 70 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
by children in cohabiting families “did not differ from those in single-mother families.” Children
with cohabiting families performed more poorly in educational and cognitive well being than those
in married couple families. “…adolescents residing outside two biological parent married families
were significantly less engaged in school.”252 Controlling for economic and parental resources,
Brown found that 6 to 11 year old children in cohabiting families scored lower in school
engagement, and 12 to 17 year old adolescents had more behavioral and emotional problems on
average than those in two biological married parent families. “The addition of a cohabiting partner
is not associated with higher levels of (child) well-being relative to living in a single mother
family.”253
Brown concluded, “Children living in two-biological cohabiting families experience worse
outcomes, on average, than those residing with two biological married parents, although among
children ages 6-11, economic and parental resources attenuate these differences. Among
adolescents ages 12-17, parental cohabitation is negatively associated with well-being, regardless of
the levels of these resources.”254 Therefore the two biological parent married couple was
demonstrated to be best family structure for child-well being in this study of a large nationallyrepresentative
sample of the U.S. population. Further, among all the family structures outside the
married mother and father family, there were worse outcomes that did not significantly differ
among the various alternative family forms outside the married mother and father family structure:
“Child well-being does not significantly differ among those in cohabiting versus married
stepfamilies, two-biological-parent cohabiting families versus cohabiting stepfamilies, or either type
of cohabiting family versus single-mother families.”255
In the light of research studies discussed previously that demonstrated increased child and
adolescent depression in homes with depressed mothers or fathers, it is significant that “…married
people fare better than their never-married counter-parts in terms of psychological well-being”256
and that a 2003 study by Lamb and Lee found “…a negative effect of entry into marriage on
depression, particularly when marriage was not preceded by cohabitation.”257 Marriage lowers
depression, and this study found that it is not a selective factor such as less depressed people getting
married. This lower level of depression among married couples compared to other family structures
has a distinct advantage for child mental health outcomes.
Using data from 24,599 students that was a representative sample from the United States, a
2002 study by Hoffmann reported, “…adolescents who reside in single-parent or stepparent families
are at heightened risk of drug use irrespective of community context.”258 These authors reviewed
other research studies that demonstrate, “…family structure continues to exert a significant impact
on some types of adolescent behavior, such as drug use, even after one controls for the effects of
252 Page 362 in Susan L. Brown, “Family structure and child well-being: The significance of parental cohabitation,”
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2004, Volume 66, pages 351-367.
253 Page 362 in Susan L. Brown, “Family structure and child well-being: The significance of parental cohabitation,”
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2004, Volume 66, pages 351-367.
254 Page 351 in Susan L. Brown, “Family structure and child well-being: The significance of parental cohabitation,”
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2004, Volume 66, pages 351-367.
255 Page 351 in Susan L. Brown, “Family structure and child well-being: The significance of parental cohabitation,”
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2004, Volume 66, pages 351-367.
256 Page 953 in Kathleen A. Lamb & Gary R. Lee, “Union formation and depression: Selection and relationship effects,”
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2003, Volume 65, pages 953-962.
257 Page 953 in Kathleen A. Lamb & Gary R. Lee, “Union formation and depression: Selection and relationship effects,”
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2003, Volume 65, pages 953-962.
258 Page 314 in John P. Hoffmann, “The community context of family structure and adolescent drug use,” Journal of
Marriage and Family, 2002, Volume 64, pages 314-330.
Page 71 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
family income, family relations, residential mobility, and a host of other variables…. The inability
of various economic and social characteristics to explain family structure effects on drug use was
highlighted in a recent study by Hoffmann and Johnson (1998).259 Using a large sample from the
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (HNSDA), they found that adolescents who resided
with a biological father and mother were ate lower risk of marijuana and other drug use than
adolescents who reside with single parents or stepparents. …Controlling for the effects of family
income and family moves did not fully attenuate differences among family types in the likelihood of
drug use. Hence, Hoffmann and Johnson (1998) concluded that hypotheses involving economic
resources or mobility do not sufficiently explain the effects of family structure on adolescent drug
use.”260 Hoffman also stated, “Many contemporary studies of family structure have addressed
differences among adolescents from single-parent, stepparent, and two-biological-parent families.
…a substantial body of literature indicates that living with a biological mother and father reduces
the risk of delinquent behavior…, school dropout…, and adolescent drug use.”261
Child Well-Being in Households of Married Couples versus Single-Parent (Homosexual and
Heterosexual) Families
Studies of single-parent families in the United States include a mixture of heterosexual
single parents, “closet” concealed homosexual single parents, openly identified homosexual single
parents, and bisexual single parents.
In the 2000 research review accompanying their research, Biblarz and Gottainer wrote,
“Evidence over the past 30 years shows that children raised in single-parent households generally
have lower average levels of psychological well-being and socioeconomic achievement than those
raised by two biological parents. …studies …show that children from both types of families
[widowed single-mother families and divorced single-mother families] have higher rates of
delinquency (running away or truancy) and emotional problems (depression or low self-esteem) and
lowered school performance)….”262
Carlson and Corcoran’s 2001 review concluded, “Research shows that children reared in
single-parent families do not fare as well as those reared in two-parent [heterosexual] families, on
average, regardless of race, education, or parental remarriage… they are more likely to experience
increased academic difficulties and higher levels of emotional, psychological, and behavioral
problems….”263 “Single-parent families have been associated with delinquent behavior…, use of
drugs, alcohol and tobacco…, lower self-esteem…, dropping out of high school…, younger age at
leaving home…, and early sexual activity…. Because parents influence their children in many and
multifaceted ways, the theoretical mechanisms that may explain the effect of family structure on
child outcomes are numerous. Four primary causal mechanisms that have been discussed in the
literature are economic status, parental socialization, childhood stress, and maternal psychological
259 J. P. Hoffmann & R. A. Johnson, “A national portrait of family structure and adolescent drug use,” Journal of
Marriage and the Family, 1998, Volume 60, pages 633-645.
260 Page 315 in John P. Hoffmann, “The community context of family structure and adolescent drug use,” Journal of
Marriage and Family, 2002, Volume 64, pages 314-330.
261 Page 314 in John P. Hoffmann, “The community context of family structure and adolescent drug use,” Journal of
Marriage and Family, 2002, Volume 64, pages 314-330.
262 Page 534 in Timothy J. Biblarz & Greg Gottainer, “Family structure and children’s success,” Journal of Marriage
and the Family, 2000, Volume 62, pages 533-548.
263 Page 779 in Marcia J. Carlson & Mary E. Corcoran,” Family structure and children’s behavioral and cognitive
outcomes, “Journal of Marriage and Family, 2001, Volume 63, pages 779-792.
Page 72 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
well-being….”264 “Single mothers report higher rates of depression and lower levels of
psychological functioning then do other mothers…. Mothers’ poor mental health has been shown to
adversely affect child behavior….”265
Adverse child outcomes are associated with deviations from the dual-gender parenting
model. Research indicates that role models outside the household do not have the same
advantageous influences on child development and child adjustment as mothers and fathers living
under the same roof as the developing child.
1995 US Bureau of the Census data (1998) indicate that only 10% of children with two
married parents lived in poverty compared to 50% who live with unmarried mother. Poverty
predicts more child social and academic problems, especially when accompanied by frequent
changes in residence and multiple intimate adult relationships by the parent.266
Poverty predicts academic and social problems, especially when accompanied with frequent
changes of residence and multiple intimate adult relationships.267 Though negative effects of
poverty and having single parent are interrelated, each is a risk factor w/independent negative
outcome effects for children.268 Father presence is more relevant than family income for decreased
delinquency. Delinquency is twice the rate where father is absent. When a child resides with a
single mother and her cohabiting boyfriend, delinquency rates are higher than when mother lives
alone with her child.269 After taking into account many other facts (such as, race, income,
residential instability, urban location etc), fatherless boys have twice the rate of incarceration as
boys living with a father.270
Twice the percentage of children from one-parent families (16% to 29%) drop out of high
school compared to mother/father families (8% to 13%). There are more teen giving birth and
school drop-out in one-parent families compared to than two-parent married families. Half of this
effect is to poverty & half due to lack of parent access and residential mobility. Marriage produces
better outcomes for children by providing a “long-term contract,” and a form of “co-insurance” of
economic and social resources for the child.271
Mother or father absence is associated with lowered academic performance, more cognitive
deficits, increased adjustment problems, greater susceptibility to delinquent peer group, more
conduct problems, higher rates of illicit drug and alcohol use, higher rates of suicide and homicide,
deficits in social problem solving competencies, deficits in social sensitivity, deficits in social role
taking skills, a poor self concept, low self esteem, lowered self confidence, less sense of mastery,
less self-assertiveness, delayed emotional and social maturity, increased sexual promiscuity, higher
rates of effeminancy in boys and higher risks for psychosexual development problems.272
Single parents at greater risk to develop poor quality relationships with their children,
leading to greater rates of child maladjustment.273
264 Page 780 in Marcia J. Carlson & Mary E. Corcoran,” Family structure and children’s behavioral and cognitive
outcomes, “Journal of Marriage and Family, 2001, Volume 63, pages 779-792.
265 Page 781 in Marcia J. Carlson & Mary E. Corcoran,” Family structure and children’s behavioral and cognitive
outcomes, “Journal of Marriage and Family, 2001, Volume 63, pages 779-792.
266 (Ackerman et al 1999).
267 Ackerman et al (1999) Developmental Psychology
268 Reviews by Bronfenbrenner et al (1996): THE STATE OF AMERICANS & Mayer (1997) WHAT MONEY
CAN’T BUY
269 Comanor & Phillips (1998)
270 Harper & McLanahan (1998)
271 Waite (1999) Demography
272 Rekers (1983 testimony to US Senate), Rekers (Feb & June 1986 testimony to US House) & Rekers (1986) reviews
273 Wallerstein & Kelly (1975) & Hetherington (1972) & Hetherington et al (1976)
Page 73 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
The review by Marsiglio, Amato, Day & Lamb (2000) of Furstenberg & Cherlin (1991)
stated: “Compared with fathers in two-parent households, nonresident fathers provide less help with
homework, are less likely to set and enforce rules, and provide less monitoring and supervision of
their children. If non-resident fathers rarely engage in authoritative parenting, then mere contact, or
even sharing good times together, may not contribute in a positive way to children’s
development.”274
274 Marsiglio, Amato, Day & Lamb (2000)
Page 74 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
D. CONCLUSION: Qualified Married Couples Provide for Critical Needs of Foster Children
That a Household with a Homosexual Adult is Inherently Unable to Provide
The foster-parent household with one or more homosexually-behaving members thereby
deprives the foster child of significant positive contributions to the child’s current adjustment
and to the child’s preparation for successful adulthood adjustment that are present in
heterosexual foster homes that meet Arkansas’ licensing requirements. Therefore, it is clearly
in the best interests of foster children to be placed with foster families where all adult
members are exclusively heterosexual because this natural family structure inherently
provides unique needed benefits and more psychologically stable families than is inherently
characteristic of households with a homosexually-behaving adult.
Page 75 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
OVERALL CONCLUSION:
The Arkansas Regulation Eliminates Avoidable Stressors,
Avoidable Instability, and Avoidable Deprivations and
Requiring the Foster Parents to be Heterosexual is in the Best Interests of Foster Children
Because foster children have higher rates of psychological disorder and conduct disorder
than the general population of children, and because foster children unfortunately must face
unavoidable stresses and losses in connection with the state’s necessary intervention, their optimal
future adjustment requires that the State eliminate all risk of avoidable stressors, of sources of
avoidable family instability, and of avoidable deprivations to be eliminated.
Empirical research, clinical experience, and reasoning clearly demonstrate that households
with a homosexual behaving adult member inherently [1] impose unique harms of profound
stressors on children, [2] are substantially less stable than heterosexual families, and [3] deprive
children of the needed benefits of having relatively better psychologically adjusted adult family
members who provide the needed benefits of both a mother and father figure in the foster home.
While the plaintiffs might speculate that a particular homosexually-behaving couple might in some
circumstance(s) be able to offer satisfactory or equivalent parenting functions for a foster child
placed in their household and even be preferred in some scenario, even if that could be empirically
established, it would be the rare exception and not the rule; further, such a placed foster child would
still be exposed to the risks of harm by the stressors, relative couple instability, and deprivation of a
mother or father that are inherent to the structure of the household with homosexual adult
membership. By analogy, in some exceptional circumstances, a convicted felon, a newly married
couple of 18-year-old adolescents, or a 95-year-old man might be able to offer satisfactory or
equivalent parenting functions for a foster child placed in their household, but certain risks
associated generally with the structure of that type of household justifies Arkansas regulations
prohibiting such a foster placement.
It is rational for the State to exclude households with homosexual adults from foster family
licensure because the household with a homosexual adult member has an inherent structure that
exposes the foster child to unique high risks for stress, foster family instability, and deprivation of
needed benefits. These risks and harms are reasonably eliminated by the Arkansas regulation
prohibiting the licensing of households with a homosexually-behaving adult member.
It has been shown that it is impossible to simultaneously accommodate the desire of
homosexually behaving adults to obtain a foster parent license and to act in the best interests of the
child. There is no constitutional right of American citizens to be foster parents. Instead, the
rational basis for regulations regarding the selection of foster parents must be based on common
sense, rational values, and empirical research findings regarding the best interests of the foster child.
This rational consideration logically excludes households with a homosexually behaving adult from
serving as foster parents. The state’s granting of foster parent licenses is not about the individual
desires of households with homosexually behaving adults. The state’s consideration must be about
the child’s needs instead.
Thus, homosexually behaving adults are not being excluded because they are a
discriminated against class of people. They are excluded by the Arkansas regulation because the
inherent structure of their household poses undue disadvantage, stress, and potential harms to the
foster child that can be typically avoided by denying them a foster parent license. This is not
basically different from denying foster parent licenses to other households with structures that are
not in the best interests of children. 15 year old couples, 90 year old couples, Thai-language-only
Page 76 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
speaking couples, blind and deaf parents, households with a pedophilic behaving adult, households
with practicing criminals, households with drug dealers and drug abusers, households with
unemployed adults, households that advocate the overthrow of the US government, households with
an active terrorist, households with sexually-promiscuous unmarried men and women cohabitating,
and households with homosexually behaving adults all have either inherent instability or inherent
disadvantage, stress, and potential harm to foster children.
If stable married couples are ever in short supply as applicants for foster parent licenses,
they should be actively recruited. And in the meantime, the second best placement would be in the
homes of heterosexual men or women who are not engaged in sexually promiscuous behavior.
Such a home has the potential to be headed by a stable married couple, and constitute a much larger
number in the population than homosexually practicing adults.
In assessing the risk/benefit ratio in formulating regulations for licensing foster parents, the
Arkansas regulation excluding homosexually-behaving adults from licensed foster parent homes is
the most loving action towards foster children and has appropriately focused on the risks and
benefits for the child, and not on the benefits for a group who want to become foster parents. The
State of Arkansas should not use foster children as guinea pigs for social experimentation in the
service of the self-centered political agenda of any particular advocacy group. Because there is no
constitutional right for all adults who desire to be a foster parent to be granted that status by the
State, the Arkansas regulation prohibiting foster licensure for households where one or more
homosexual adults resides is reasonably justified and is
• in the best interests of foster children,
• best complies with the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 Public Law 92-
272 that mandates the minimization of child removal rates, and
• best complies with the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 Public Law 105-89 that
mandates a primary focus of the foster care system on the safety of children.
________________________________________________________________________________
Author: Dr. George A. Rekers, Ph.D., FAACP; Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, ABPP;
Professor of Neuropsychiatry & Behavioral Science; Chairman, Faculty in Psychology; University
of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina.
Page 77 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
Appendix
The following are some common concerns that perhaps most biological/legal parents of
children in foster care would have. There is some suggestive research on non-representative
samples as well as years of clinical experience that reasonably raises additional concerns regarding
these potential harms potentially associated with placing foster children in households with a
homosexually-behaving adult. The limited pilot research and clinical evidence points to the need
for definitive 40-year longitudinal research conducted on large probability samples of the child
population before we would know whether or not placement of a foster child with a household with
a homosexually-behaving adult would substantially harm foster children in the following ways or
not.
Because of the unique psychological vulnerability of foster children with such high levels of
psychological disorders, before altering the Arkansas regulation to allow households with
homosexually-behaving adults to be licensed as foster families, it would clearly be in the best
interests of foster children for the State to have available more thorough research on sufficiently
large representative samples children that have ruled out the following potential harms to children:
Probable Additional Household Transitions due to Higher Risk of Hebephilia by Homosexual
Adults
Further, this relationship instability in households with a homosexually-behaving male also
would contribute to a potentially higher risk of removal and household transitions (compared to
households with only heterosexual adults) due to the sexual abuse of an adolescent male foster child
(i.e., “hebephilia”) by that homosexual. Three lines of research evidence suggest that a adult
homosexual male is more likely to approach an adolescent male for sexual purposes than a adult
heterosexual male is prone to approach adolescent females for sexual purposes.
[1] As stated by Paul and colleagues in a research review introducing their own study,
research investigations have reported, “Males who have been sexually abused are more apt than
their female counterparts to exhibit aggressive, hostile behavior (Watkins & Bentovim, 1992), and
to victimize others, possibly due to identifying with the aggressor (Becker, Cunningham-rathner, &
Kaplan, 1987; Burgess, Hazelwood, Rokous, Hartman, & Burgess, 1988; Carmen, Rieker, & Mills,
1984; Groth, 1979; Stevenson & Gajarsky, 1999).”275 In a research study 942 adults published in
2001 on their past histories of any childhood and adolescent molestation, Tometo and her
colleagues reported, “Forty-six percent of the homosexual men in contrast to 7% of the heterosexual
men reported homosexual molestation. Twenty-two percent of lesbian women in contrast to 1% of
heterosexual women reported homosexual molestation.”276 Because adult male homosexuals were
found to have been sexually molested at 6.6 times the percentage of adult male heterosexuals, it is
empirically expected that adult male homosexuals would be 6.6 times more likely to sexually
victimize adolescent males themselves.
[2] Homosexual adult males are more likely to view an adolescent male to be a desired
sexual partner than a heterosexual adult male would be likely to view an adolescent female to be a
desired sexual partner. A research study of 192 adults published in 2000 by Silverthorne and
275 Page 559 in Jay P. Paul, Joseph Catania, Lance Pollack, & Ronald Stall, “Understanding childhood sexual abuse as a
predictor of sexual risk-taking among men who have sex with men,” Child Abuse and Neglect, 2001, Volume 25, pages
557-584.
276Page 535 in Marie E. Tomeo, Donald I. Templer, Susan Anderson, & Debra Kotler, « Comparative data of childhood
and adolescence molestation in heterosexual and homosexual persons, Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2001, Volume 30,
Number 5, pages 535-541.
Page 78 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
Quinsey in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, reported on the sexual partner age preferences (among
18 to 60 year old individuals) of homosexual and heterosexual men and women.
• For heterosexual men, “the greatest mean response was to 25-year-old and the lowest to 58-
year-old female faces.” The youngest female face of 19 years old had a mean sexual
attractiveness rating of only 2.5 for heterosexual males, while the greatest rating of 4.8 was
for 25-year old female.
• For homosexual males, “the greatest response was to 18-year-old male faces and the lowest
to 58-year-old male faces.” For homosexual males, the youngest male face of 18 years old
had a mean sexual attractiveness rating of 4.9, and 23-year-old male faces had a 4.4 mean
rating.
Unlike pedophilia (which involves adult sexual conduct with children under age 12), non-pedophile
homosexual-behaving adults are generally sexually attracted to post-pubertal adolescents who have
a young adult level of sexual maturation. This indicates that homosexual males find adolescent
males to be the most sexually attractive to them as a sexual partner, while heterosexual males find
females in their mid-twenties to be much more attractive to them than adolescent females.
[3] The perpetrators of criminal sexual abuse on post-pubescent adolescents aged 13 to 17
are overwhelmingly males. Research indicates that homosexual behavior with adolescents is more
similar to homosexual behavior between adult males than it is to homosexual pedophilia.277
Because male homosexuals have three times the number of sexual partners as male heterosexuals
(established by research cited above), there is an empirical basis to expect a substantially higher
probability that a male homosexual in the household will sexually abuse an adolescent male foster
child than a male heterosexual would sexually abuse an adolescent female foster child.
Therefore, [1] because adult male homosexuals have been sexually molested at 6.6 times the
percentage of adult male heterosexuals, and males who were sexually abused are more apt to exhibit
aggressive behavior and to victimize others, [2] because adult male homosexuals rate adolescent
males about twice as attractive as sexual partners as adult male heterosexuals rate adolescent
females, and [3] because male homosexuals have 3 times the number of sexual partners as male
heterosexuals, there is an empirical basis to expect a substantially higher probability that a male
homosexual in the household will sexually abuse an adolescent male foster child than a male
heterosexual would sexually abuse an adolescent female foster child.
Such a higher incidence of criminal sexual conduct against an adolescent foster child would
also result in higher rates of needing to remove a foster child for transition to an alternate foster
placement.
Possible Harms from Conflicting Sex Role Models of Homosexual Parents
Homosexual parenting may rationally be expected to present special issues relating to child
development, including, but not limited to conflicting sex role models that contribute to a greater
likelihood of the child experiencing significant developmental and adjustment difficulties in the
areas of:
• gender identification.
• sexual identification.
• gender roles. Homosexuals have much higher rates of gender non-conformity, subjecting
the child to either the role model of an effeminate male or masculinized “butch” female.
277 “…homosexual hebephilia has more etiological factors in common with androphilia than does homosexual
pedophilia.” Page 273 in Ray Blanchard & Robert Dickey, “Pubertal age in homosexual and heterosexual sexual
offenders against children, pubescents, and adults,” Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 1998, Volume
10, Number 4, 273-282.
Page 79 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
• and associated psychosocial adjustment. Homosexual role models confuse children as they
compare those role models to the model of their biological/legal parents. If children imitate
non-conforming homosexual role models, they receive conflicted/negative feedback from
peers and immediate and extended family members of their biological/legal parents.
Some suggestive research findings and clinical experience raises concern that at certain
developmental periods, some children in homes headed by homosexuals might possibly experience
the stress and associated harm of confusion or embarrassment associated with living with a
homosexual whose cross-gender role behavior and abnormal sexual identity is in conflict with adult
role models in the child’s family of origin with their biological/legal parents. At crucial
developmental periods of childhood, living with a homosexually behaving adult with gender nonconformity
may possibly introduce conflict or confusion to the child’s psychosexual identity
development. The percentage of children so affected is presently unknown, but because there are
known cases of this adverse effect, it should be considered a risk. The state should not use foster
children for such an experiment.
Case of lesbian mother in father role with cross-gender identified son
In homes with a homosexually behaving adult, children are more likely to experience the stress and
associated harm of learning gender and sexual roles that are incompatible with and conflicting
with the acquisition of social skills associated with future stable heterosexual married life—the
lifestyle that the vast majority of individuals aspire to in adulthood. There are specific times of
development (especially in the preschool years and in adolescence) when identification with the
same sex parent figure in the home is crucial to gender identity development and consolidation. If
the same sex parent figure is a homosexual or gender-nonconforming adult, such a role model
contributes to psychosexual developmental abnormalities and intrapsychic conflicts which interfere
with adulthood marital adjustment.
The homosexual role model and gender non-conformity encouraged by homosexual parents
are expected for theoretical and empirical reasons to lead to a much higher incidence homosexual
behavior (with its attendant higher risk of lethal HIV/AIDS transmission) among the children who
develop from adolescence into adulthood.
Homosexual parenting may rationally be expected to present special issues relating to child
development, including, but not limited to, a grater likelihood of the child experiencing significant
developmental and adjustment difficulties in the areas of gender identification, sexual identification,
gender roles, sex roles, and other psychosocial adjustments.
Rekers (1986) review: father absence linked in boys to more effeminacy, higher
dependency, less successful adult heterosexual adjustment, greater aggressiveness and
exaggerated/distorted masculine behavior.
Wardle (1997) review: children of homosexual parents have greater rates of suffering
gender confusion, sexual identity confusion, and more likely to become homosexuals; homosexual
parents are sexually more promiscuous than heterosexual parents and homosexual couples are more
unstable and likely to separate (Bell, Weinberg & Hammersmith (181); children of homosexual
parents have much greater risk of losing a parent to AIDS, substance abuse, or suicide; children of
homosexual parents suffer from social stigma and social embarrassment of having a homosexual
parent, leading to peer ostracism and hindered peer relationships.
Daryl Bem (1996) developed an “exotic becomes erotic” theory of sexual orientation:
theory predicts that parental attitudes towards promoting gender conformity or gender nonPage
80 of 80
© Copyright, 2004, by George Alan Rekers, Ph.D.
conformity should influence their child’s gender attitudes, gender role behavior, and hence sexual
orientation development.
Stacy & Biblarz (2001) review of 21 studies: “…it is difficult to conceive of a credible
theory of sexual development that would not expect adult children of lesbigay parents to display a
somewhat higher incidence of homoerotic desire, behavior and identity than other children.”
“lesbian co-parent relationships are likely to experience dissolution rates somewhat higher than
among heterosexual co-parents “ (cf. Bell & Weinberg, 1978; Weeks, Heaphy & Conovan, book in
press). Studies show that lesbian mothers are less feminine and have less desire that their children
develop gender traits than hetero; “The evidence, while scanty and under analyzed, hints that
parental sexual orientation is positively associated with the possibility that children will attain a
similar orientation, and theory and common sense also support such a view.” P 33.
Green et al (1986): children of lesbian mothers displayed higher rates of gender nonconformity
in dress, play, and sex-role behavior compared to children of hetero mothers who had
greater gender conformity; reported 15 such statistically significant differences in gender behavior
and preferences;
Brewaeys et al (1977): 4-8 yo boys conceived through donor insemination to lebian
comother couples scored lower on sex-typed masculine behavior than DI boys in heterosexual twoparent
families and naturally-conceived boys in heterosexual two-parent families.
Tasker & Golombok (1997): 24% (6 of 25) of young adults raised by lesbian mothers
reported having had a homoerotic relationship-compared to none (0 of 20) of those raised by hetero
mothers. 64% (14 of 22) of young adults raised by lesbians reported have considered homosexual
relationships compared to only 17% (3 of 18) of those raised by hetero mothers; girls raised by
lesbian mothers have significantly greater number of sexual episodes than those reared by hetero
mothers; girls raised by lesbian mothers had higher rates of gender non-conformity, while those
raised by hetero mothers had gender conformity.
Bailey et al (1995): reported a moderate degree of transmission of homosexual orientation
from gay father to their adult sons.
Rekers (1999) review: evidence that childhood gender non-conformity is a very strong
predictor of adult homosexual behavior in both males and females, and first in importance among
many variables studied.