Who should kids live with in single-parent homes?

Results from a nationwide study cast doubt on the common belief that children in single-parent households are better off living with their same-sex parent. The research revealed no evidence that a same-sex advantage shows up shortly after a family breaks up or even when the children reach adulthood, indicates Doug Downey, co-author of the study and assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State University, Columbus. He says the results should persuade judges involved in child custody cases that there is no inherent advantage for girls to be placed with their mothers or boys with their fathers.

Downey and Brian Powell a sociologist at Indiana University, Bloomington, examined data from three separate national surveys involving 11.018 people who lived or had lived in single-parent households. They examined how the participants fared on more than 70 different measures, including relationships with parents and friends, grades, misbehavior in school, and use of alcohol and drugs. The results showed only one instance where children who resided with their same-sex, parent fared better than others, in one of the surveys, children who lived with their same-sex parent were more likely to repart that they felt in control of the events in their lives. However, this factor was not significant in the other two studies.

Moreover, in one case, children showed an advantage from...