孩子由同性別雙親撫養，是否與由父母撫養一樣好，兩者毫無分別？直至最近，相關研究顯示答案為「非」。過去十年無論專業健康組織[1]、學界、社會政策研究員，還有媒體都認為，應撤銷相關限制，允許同性伴侶撫養孩子。此說牽涉範圍廣，足以影響跨世代，負責任的倡議者應提出充足且合理證據；但實情並非如此。再者，反有證據顯示，在同性戀環境下生活的孩子，其情緒、智性，乃至於身體受害的風險均增加。

生理方面

過去逾三十年的研究均證明，孩子由身生父母撫養、且二人婚姻由愛維繫並無大衝突者，最為適宜。在這種環境下長大的孩子，更適應各階段發展，更肯定其性別身分，學業成績更佳，情緒問題較小，成長後性格障礙也較少；[2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]這部分歸因於其生理上的父母、子女關係。[9]

儘管單親家庭、收養，與再婚，乃為彌補原生家庭缺憾而作的、愛孩子的做法，但在上述環境長大的孩子，所面對挑戰比一般孩子更大[9, 10]。單親父母財政往往較緊絀，時間也較緊張；而且很自然地，孩子分別與身生父母相處的時間必然也較少。有繼父或繼母的孩子，一方面要與繼父母重新建立關係，另方面也難免感到身生父母對配偶不忠。至於領養的孩子，總得面對遭身生父母拋棄的感受，且要應付強烈的尋根渴望。難處並非不能克服，但上述種種挑戰，都可能對孩子成長發展帶來負面影響。[9, 10]很明顯，除了極少數例外，同性雙親對孩子而言必然是不健康的，這等於奪去了他們其中一位、甚至兩位身生父母。

孩子需要一父一母

男女天生大不同，基因、荷爾蒙、生理結構等方面之別自不待言，此等生理化學之別，使男女無論在腦結構、心理、甚至學習模式等都不同。[11]因此，父母是全然不同的，對孩子的成長發展亦各有獨特貢獻。[11, 12, 13]兒童成長發展心理學理論已斷定，孩子要能健康成長，母親角色至為關鍵。更近期研究亦顯示，成長期間若父親缺席，孩童也受苦。無父的女生在學校表現往往較遜色，性關係會較隨便，青少年時期就懷孕的比率也較高。至於無父的男生，則表現懈怠、暴力，具侵略性的比率較高。[12, 13]

父母性別不同，育兒方式也各異，兩者有互補作用，並有保護孩子的功效。Erik Erikson是首批心理學家，留意到父愛與母愛在性質上有別；母愛在乎養育與情感表達，傾向無條件愛孩子。相對而言，父親更關乎期望與肯定。[13]後續研究亦顯示，撫養孩子時，父母既高度表達其愛意，同時高度提出對孩子要求，這種方式最有效，「令孩子既有被接納、與人結連的歸屬感，也有建立個性與追求獨立的動力；單靠男女其中一方，幾乎不可能達到這種效果」。[13]

性別之分野，也反映在父母觸碰孩子的方式上。母親常常撫摸孩子，以安慰他，使他冷靜下來；父親則愛在和孩子玩的時候觸摸他們，起著刺激、鼓勵作用。母親會屈身和孩子交談，讓他拿主意、作決定；父親則愛和孩子玩粗野遊戲，扮演教導角色，像個教練。父子間常打鬧著玩，有助青少年期的男生培養自制能力。[13]

男女之別亦見於父母的管教進路。「父親管教，傾向堅持，講規矩和原則；母親管教，則看孩子反應，會讓他討價還價，視乎孩子的情緒和場合，有商量餘地，且常基於對孩子當下情感需要的直覺理解。」[13]因此，父母一一起育兒，有助子女調節其與性別相關的性情。男孩偏向理性多於感性，規則過於關係；愛冒險，過於謹慎；講標準要求，過於同情心。女孩則更在乎情感、關係，做事較謹慎，有同情心。因父母展現了兩性的榜樣，假以時日，令男孩女孩有著截然不同的價值取向。

同性雙親研究

有些研究指，同性戀雙親養育孩子，其效果由中性至優於普通家庭，然而相關研究在設計上存在缺失，包括非縱向設計問題、受訪取樣範圍太小、取樣有預設立場、缺乏控制組、未考慮混淆變項，還有最大的問題在於－－全部聲稱都證實了虛無假設(null hypothesis)。[14, 15, 16]因此，這些研究根本不能引以支持同性雙親家庭，以為這對孩子是安全、有好處的。

關於孩子長期在同性雙親養育下的結果，其資料數據雖然不多，但仍引人疑慮。[17]有研究顯示，在此種家庭環境成長的孩子更容易有性別混淆問題，較容易參與玩票性質的性行為，長大更傾向認同同性戀者身分。[18, 19, 20, 21, 22]這實在令人關注，因為採取同性戀生活方式的青少年或青成年，其出現心理健康問題比率較高，這包括嚴重抑鬱、焦慮症、行為障礙、物質依賴，尤其容易有自殺傾向。[23]

同性戀生活模式對兒童之危害

最後，研究顯示同性戀生活模式令兒童增加各方面風險。同性戀雙親暴力問題，比婚內異性夫婦高二至三倍。[24, 25, 26, 27, 28]再者，同性伴侶比異性夫婦更容易離異，同性結合關係平均只維持二至三年。[29, 30, 31]男性和女性同性戀者濫交情況均一般較嚴重，其性伴侶眾多，所謂的「委身關係」定義也寬鬆，許多時候同時存在其他性伴。[32, 33, 34, 35, 36]此外，採取同性戀生活模式者，較異性戀者患精神病[37, 38, 39]、濫物[40]、具自殺傾向[41, 42]、短壽[43]等比率都較高。儘管有說上述種種問題原因，在於美國社會給同性戀者壓力，但在同性戀更為人接受的其他文化裡，上述問題比率依然高企。[44]

總結

總言之，無論傳統與科學皆認為，父母因兩性生、心理之別，這對孩子而言有保護作用。家庭環境往往影響孩子塑造其性別身分及安全感，培養情緒，甚至學業成就。過去數十年許多社會科學研究文獻顯示，孩子由婚姻關係正常的身生父母育養，其效果最佳。近年雖有少數研究提倡同性雙親也可養育孩子，但相關研究方式存在嚴重限制；將孩子置於同性戀生活方式環境下，是冒著重大風險的。按上述論據，美國兒科學院認為，同性戀者養育孩子，無論經領養、助養，或人工受孕方式得子，這種種做法均不適當，且對孩子有害；社會一直以來禁止此種行徑有理，改變此例實屬危險地不負責任；而上述立場有充足科學印證。

主要作者：Michelle Cretella, MD, FCP 和 Den Trumbull, MD, FCP

原刊載在2004年1月22日

修訂於2013年3月

參考資料

1. American Academy of Pediatrics, “Co parent or Second-Parent Adoption by Same-Sex Parents,” Pediatrics. 109(2002): 339-340.

2. Heuveline, Patrick, et.al. “Shifting Childrearing to Single Mothers: Results from 17 Western Countries, “Population and Development Review 29, no.1 (March 2003) p. 48.

3. Kristen Andersen Moore, et.al. “Marriage from a Child’s Perspective: How Does Family Structure Affect Children and What Can We Do about It?” (Washington, D.C.: Child Trends, Research Brief, June 2002) pp.1-2.

4. Sara McLanahan and Gary Sandfeur, Growing Up with a Single Parent: What Hurts, What Helps (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994), p. 45.

5. Sotirios Sarantakos, “Children in Three Contexts: Family, Education, and Social Development,” Children Australia, vol. 21 (1996): 23-31.

6. Jeanne M. Hilton and Esther L. Devall, “Comparison of Parenting and Children’s Behavior in Single-Mother, Single-Father, and Intact Families,” Journal of Divorce and Remarriage 29 (1998): 23-54.

7. Elizabeth Thomson et al., “Family Structure and Child Well-Being: Economic Resources vs. Parental Behaviors,” Social Forces 73 (1994): 221-42.

8. David Popenoe, Life without Father (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996), pp. 144, 146.

9. Glenn Stanton Why Marriage Matters (Colorado Springs: Pinon Press, 1997) p. 97-153.

10. Schneider B, Atteberry A, Owens A. Family Matters: Family Structure and Child Outcomes. Birmingham, AL: Alabama Policy Institute; 2005: 1-42. Available at www.alabamapolicyinstitute.org/PDFs/currentfamilystructure.pdf.

11. Sax, Leonard. Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences (New York: Doubleday, 2005).

12. Blankenhorn, David. Fatherless America. (New York: Basic books, 1995).

13. Byrd, Dean. “Gender Complementarity and Child-rearing: Where Tradition and Science Agree,” Journal of Law & Family Studies, University of Utah, Vol. 6 no. 2, 2005. http://narth.com/docs/gendercomplementarity.html.

14. Robert Lerner, Ph.D., Althea Nagai, Ph.D. No Basis: What the Studies Don’t Tell Us About Same Sex Parenting, Washington DC; Marriage Law Project/Ethics and Public Policy Center, 2001.

15. P. Morgan, P. Morgan Children as Trophies? Examining the Evidence on Same-Sex Parenting, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; Christian Institute, 2002.

16. J. Paul Guiliani and Dwight G. Duncan, “Brief of Amici Curiae Massachusetts Family Institute and National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality,” Appeal to the Supreme Court of Vermont, Docket No. S1009-97CnC.

17. American Academy of Pediatrics, Perrin, EC, and the committee on psychosocial aspects of child and family health. “Technical report: Co parent or Second-Parent Adoption by Same-Sex Parents,” Pediatrics. 109(2002): 343. The Academy acknowledges that the “small, non-representative samples … and the relatively young age of the children suggest some　reserve.”

18. F. Tasker and S. Golombok, “Adults Raised as Children in Lesbian Families,” American Journal of Orthopsychiatric Association, 65 (1995): 213.

19. J. Michael Bailey et al., “Sexual Orientation of Adult Sons of Gay Fathers,” Developmental Psychology 31 (1995): 124-129.

20. Ibid., pp.127,　128.

21. F. Tasker and S. Golombok, “Do Parents Influence the Sexual Orientation of Their Children?” Developmental Psychology 32 (1996): 7.

22. Judith Stacey and Timothy J. Biblarz, “(How) Does the Sexual Orientation of Parents Matter,” American Sociological Review 66 (2001): 174, 179.

23. Judith Stacey and Timothy J. Biblarz, “(How) Does the Sexual Orientation of Parents Matter,” American Sociological Review 66 (2001): 174, 179.

24. Gwat Yong Lie and Sabrina Gentlewarrier, “Intimate Violence in Lesbian Relationships: Discussion of Survey Findings and Practice Implications,” Journal of Social Service Research 15 (1991): 41-59.

25. D. Island and P. Letellier, Men Who Beat the Men Who Love Them: Battered Gay Men and Domestic Violence (New York: Haworth Press, 1991), p. 14.

26. Lettie L. Lockhart et al., “Letting out the Secret: Violence in Lesbian Relationships,” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 9 (1994): 469-492.

27. “Violence between Intimates,” Bureau of Justice Statistics Selected Findings, November 1994, p. 2.

28. Health Implications Associated With Homosexuality (Austin: The Medical Institute for Sexual Health, 1999), p. 79.

29. David P. McWhirter and Andrew M. Mattison, The Male Couple: How Relationships Develop (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1984), pp. 252-253.

30. Saghir and E. Robins, Male and Female Homosexuality (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1973), p. 225; L.A. Peplau and H. Amaro, “Understanding Lesbian Relationships,” in Homosexuality: Social, Psychological, and Biological Issues, ed. J. Weinrich and W. Paul (Beverly Hills: Sage, 1982).

31. M. Pollak, “Male Homosexuality,” in Western Sexuality: Practice and Precept in Past and Present Times, ed. P. Aries and A. Bejin, translated by Anthony Forster (New York, NY: B. Blackwell, 1985), pp. 40-61, cited by Joseph Nicolosi in Reparative Therapy of Male Homosexuality (Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson Inc., 1991), pp. 124, 125.

32. A. P. Bell and M. S. Weinberg, Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), pp. 308, 309; See also A. P. Bell, M. S. Weinberg, and S. K. Hammersmith, Sexual Preference (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981).

33. Paul Van de Ven et al., “A Comparative Demographic and Sexual Profile of Older Homosexually Active Men,” Journal of Sex Research 34 (1997): 354.

34. A. A. Deenen, “Intimacy and Sexuality in Gay Male Couples,” Archives of Sexual Behavior, 23 (1994): 421-431.

35. “Sex Survey Results,” Genre (October 1996), quoted in “Survey Finds 40 percent of Gay Men Have Had More Than 40 Sex Partners,” Lambda Report, January 1998, p. 20.

36. Marie Xiridoui, et al., “The Contribution of Steady and Casual Partnerships to the Incidence of HIV infection among Homosexual Men in Amsterdam,” AIDS 17 (2003): 1029-1038。注：據此項研究，所謂的「穩定關係」者，除固定的性伴外，每年平均仍有八名其他「非正式」性伴。（頁1032）

37. J. Bradford et al., “National Lesbian Health Care Survey: Implications for Mental Health Care,” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 62 (1994): 239, cited in Health Implications Associated with Homosexuality, p. 81.

38. Theo G. M. Sandfort, et al., “Same-sex Sexual Behavior and Psychiatric Disorders,” Archives of General Psychiatry 58 (January 2001): 85-91.

39. Bailey, J. M. Commentary: Homosexuality and mental illness. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 56 (1999): 876-880。作者指，「相關研究參考了有關同性戀與心理學關聯、可能最詳盡的出版資料，都有著不樂觀的結論－即同性戀者在某幾種情緒問題上屬高危一族，包括自殺傾向、嚴重抑鬱、焦慮問題、行為障礙，倚靠尼古丁等…。」

40. Joanne Hall, “Lesbians Recovering from Alcoholic Problems: An Ethnographic Study of Health Care Expectations,” Nursing Research 43 (1994): 238-244.

41. R. Herrell et al., “Sexual Orientation and Suicidality, Co-twin Study in Adult Men,” Archives of General Psychiatry 56 (1999): 867-874.

42. Vickie M. Mays, et al., “Risk of Psychiatric Disorders among Individuals Reporting Same-sex Sexual Partners in the National Comorbidity Survey,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 91 (June 2001): 933-939.

43. Robert S. Hogg et al., “Modeling the Impact of HIV Disease on Mortality in Gay and Bisexual Men,” International Journal of Epidemiology 26 (1997): 657.

44. Sandfort, T.G.M.; de Graaf, R.; Bijl, R.V.; Schnabel. Same-sex sexual behavior and psychiatric disorders. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 58 (2001): 85-91.

（文章來自Facts About Youth, 網路連結：http://factsaboutyouth.com/posts/homosexual-parenting-is-it-time-for-change )