A Danish study comparing children from families with two mothers, and families with a mother and a father, finds that:
while five percent of children from traditional families developed conditions such as depression or anorexia between 1992 and 2008, the number was two percent among the 387 children of lesbian parents participating in the study.
The percentage of lesbians' children with psychological conditions is actually 1.8 percent, rounded up to 2 percent.
Many arguments against civil unions and same-sex marriage focus on the supposed debilitating effects on children with parents of the same gender. However, these arguments are supported by little credible research. The current study suggests that scientific research on this issue, if undertaken, will benefit proponents of LGBTQ rights more than it will their opponents.
Merete Lauberg, of the University Of Copenhagen Department Of Public Health, proposes that the life experiences of same-sex parents allows them to raise mentally healthier children:
According to Lauberg, a reason why mental issues are less likely for kids of lesbian parents could be that the mothers had to develop more resistance in their lives, than heterosexuals. "Resistance makes you stronger, and that could be passed on to their children," Lauberg said.
Psychiatrist Per Hove Thomsen offers a related explanation:
"A lot of other parents have challenges having children, but children with lesbian mothers face particular challenges." [...] "The women have had to make an extra effort to get pregnant, and that could have an effect on the child."
Although same-sex marriage is still not legal in Denmark, Denmark legally recognized same-sex unions in 1989, and legalized adoption in registered couples in 1999. If parents who experience "resistance in their lives" raise mentally healthier children, then gay couples in countries with worse records of LGBTQ rights may also offer psychological benefits to their children.
The study did not examine the mental health of children with male gay parents. However, if the researchers are correct in attributing their results to the "resistance" encountered by lesbian parents, then similar results could be expected for the children of gay male couples or the children of other sexual minorities.