THE NATURE/NUTURE DEBATE

Credit: Time Out New York

Is 'Gay' Contagious? Study Claims Homosexuals Have More Gay Kids

By Elizabeth C.

IN A STUDY THAT PROMISES TO IGNITE DEBATE, a Kansas State University professor who performed a meta-analysis of 26 studies says that the children of gay parents are "far more likely" to be gay themselves.

Walter Schumm, a family studies professor, asserts in a paper to be published in November that "evidence…suggests intergenerational transfer of sexual orientation can occur at statistically significant and substantial rates, especially for female parents or female children."

Schumm was provoked to study the question closely after a researcher at the conservative Family Research Institute was vilified after publishing a study concluding that “parents' sexual inclinations influence their children's." That study concluded that about 30 percent of the children of gay parents identified themselves as homosexual.

That is near identical to the 28 percent figure that Schumm arrived at in his meta-analysis of the 26 previously published studies. The 28 percent figure only applied to children who were over the age of 17; the figure dropped to 20 percent when children younger than 17 were included in the data.

Up to 10 percent of the children of straight parents identify themselves as gay, according to Schumm.

The percentage of the U.S. population believed to be gay varies widely

Schumm said that he was provoked to investigate the issue after the Family Research Institute's Paul Cameron was vilified after his 2006 study was published.

Said Schumm of his research,"I just want to know the truth.”

Comments

First of all, the researcher used extremely poor methods to come up with the results for this study.
Second, if true, then we need to consider that kids are more likely to come out to their parents who are gay/lesbian and kids who have heterosexual parents. One of the benefits of being in a family that is more accepting of diverse sexual orientation.
Lastly, does it really matter anyway? Heterosexual parents produce gay children too. Whether biologically manifested or socially constructed, there should be no justification for denying people basic human rights solely because of their sexual identity.

Posted by: EJF | October 18, 2010 11:18 AM

Before you start posting about so called studies you may want to do some fact checking. Luckily another site has done the work for you a debunked this bogus "study" :

http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/tag/walter-r-schumm

Posted by: John Taite | October 18, 2010 08:35 AM

In this case homosexuality is not "contagious" but inherited. There is an X chromosome gene cluster, Xq28, that will result in homosexuality in about 80% of those caring the gene.
This gene cluster is also associated with higher miscarriage rates. So families with high frequency of homosexual individuals will also have high miscarriage rates.
Keep in mind that just as miscarriages are multifactorial ( have different causes) so is homosexuality.
For homosexuality there are:
Genetic causes
Hormonal causes (altered hormonal level in the last trimester of pregnancy)
Immunological factors (sometimes a woman may produce antibodies against proteins present in the Y chromosome - that is more likely to happen in women who already have several male births prior - exposing her to those foreign proteins - see homosexuality and male birth order)

If you are interested I can send the studies your way.
Any information plese contact dsartori@shastacollege.edu

Posted by: Professor Sartori | October 18, 2010 07:50 AM