In October 1995, consortiums of psychiatric and educational profes sional organizations, including the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association and the National Educational Association, submitted amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court asserting that the scientific literature unequivocally supports the following propositions (a) that homosexuals, including homosexual teachers, do not disproportionately molest children, (b) that children of homosexual patients are not more likely to become homosexuals, (c) that professionals agree that homosexuality is not a pathology, and (d) that homosexual attractions are biologically or genetically predetermined and are therefore beyond the control of the individual. The first two contentions are inconsistent with the scientific literature, and the second two grossly oversimplify a contentious and uncertain literature.
In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court said same-sex sexual activity could not be prohibited by law. Analyzing data from the 1996 National Household Survey of Drug Abuse (N= 12,381) and comparing those who engaged in four recreational activities-homosexual sex, illegal drug use, participation in prostitution, and smoking --against those who abstained, participants (1) were more frequently disruptive (e.g., more frequently criminal, drove under the influence of drugs or alcohol, used illegal drugs, took sexual risks), (2) were less frequently productive (e.g., less frequently had children in marriage, more frequently missed work), and (3) generated excessive costs (e.g., more promiscuous, higher consumers of medical services). Major sexuality surveys have reported similar findings for homosexuals. Societal discrimination inadequately accounts for these differences since parallel comparisons of black and white subsamples produced a pattern unlike the differences found between homosexuals and nonhomosexuals.
The 1986 study of 50 lesbian mothers by Green, et al. may be the most influential concerning homosexual parenting. However, after setting standards for--and noting preliminary evidence of--gender identity confusion in 1980 and 1982, confirmatory findings in 1986 were not included in the report's abstract and conclusions. Numerous discrepancies in different published accounts of this study--including number of subjects and how, subjects were matched and analyzed--cannot be reconciled. The earliest reports were not cited in the final report which led to treatment in the literature as separate studies. The inconsistencies between the published accounts are substantive and numerous enough to recommend that the authors issue a complete and detailed report of the study.
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