The Sociology Seminar: Thursdays

Time: 12:00 am – 13:15 pm
Date: 12th of July 2018
Place: Room 3105, ENSAE.
Diederik BOERTIEN (Centre for Demographic Studies, Barcelona) – “Same-sex parent families and school progress of children: an association that disappeared over time“
Abstract :
Previous research is divided as to whether children living in same-sex parent families achieve better or worse child outcomes than their peers. Data from the American Community Survey waves 2008-2015 (N=1,952.490 including 7,792 children living with a same-sex couple) indicates that children living with a same-sex couple do not differ in their likelihood of being behind in school compared to children living with a different-sex couple. Analysis of these associations across years reveals that children living with same-sex couples were more likely to be behind in school in the past, but that this association disappeared over time. Interestingly, the changes observed in this study took place within areas with unfavorable laws and attitudes toward same-sex couples, and especially among children adopted by same-sex couples. Within more favorable contexts and among biological children, few differences in school progress were observed already at the start of our observation window. Altogether, the analysis shows that even though children living with same-sex couples were a disadvantaged group in terms of school progress in the past, this is no longer the case.
 
Organizers :
Marine HADDAD, Nicolas ROBETTE, Sander WAGNER (Laboratoire de sociologie quantitative – CREST)
Sponsors :
CREST