Challenges to Family Science Research

  For my first week of my 160 Family Relations class, we discussed the different topics we are going to examine and how using research to do so is the most beneficial. However, when it comes to family science research most of the studies that are done are only done within the western hemisphere and the research it concludes are sometimes less than scientific. The studies of family science research are predominantly done within the United States which poses a few problems. If one is trying to further investigate a question they have about the family there is plentiful research, whether true or false, regarding the United States. However, information as to what other cultures believe are scarce and hard to come by when that’s not even considering the fact of if they hold any merit or not. 

    A very controversial topic concerning the family where family science research plays a big role is whether children raised in a homosexual household face disadvantages opposed to that of a heterosexual couple. In the supreme court case Hollingsworth v. Perry back in 2013 two same sex couples challenged California’s proposition 8. The Justices seemed to be split 4 to 4 liberals v. conservatives, but there was one swing vote who was Justice Kennedy. Justice Kennedy’s main concern was how would living in a same sex domestic family would affect the children. In order to to defend their case, the plaintiff used the APA brief that determines that there is no significant disadvantages to the children compared to those living in a heterosexual household. However, there are many problems with how the APA brief was conducted leading the results to a Type II error or a false negative. One of these factors was that the use of comparison groups were skewed. When observing lesbian couples they studied couples that were middle or higher class which would not prove to be a problem if they compared against a corresponding group. However they compared these lesbian couples to single mothers opposed to a heterosexual couple who are committed. This is not a fair comparison considering the fact the children of single mothers have already been proven that they face disadvantages that they would not have if they had both parents present. Therefore, the research should have concluded that the children fare just as well as those raised by a single mother. However, they stated that there are no differences of being raised by a same sex couple opposed to a heterosexual couple when in all actuality that wasn’t the data the research provided nor what they observed in the study. 

    Another flaw in their results was what they defined as their measurements to determine the children’s outcomes. The researchers’ measurements reflected the parent’s opinion of their relationship with the children than the outcomes of the children or at the very least the child’s opinion on their relationship with their parents. Instead they could have looked at their education and compared grades between children. Even for a long term outcome would be how is their family life, are they divorced, never married, or in a long relationship? Sometimes when studying the outcomes you have to let the outcomes develop.

    Those who wrote and endorsed the APA brief failed to see the numbers and the science behind their studies and were blinded by their bias. That is why it is so important for answer seekers to look for verified research, but like I proved in this post that sometimes that is not always enough. You need to be willing to get your hands dirty and conduct your own research and never take anything at face value. And always be willing to search through the research and question the evidence that is presented in front of you.