ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the attitudes to same-sex marriage and families, challenges to well-being, and the evidence for the well-being of children in same-sex stepfamilies. The majority of same-sex stepfamilies are formed when one parent brings children to the household who were born in a formerly heterosexual union. The discussion will be restricted to those stepfamilies formed after a heterosexual union, and which contain a child or children from that union since, as discussed above, families formed as a result of artificial reproduction techniques have more in common with adoptive first families. Same-sex couples, in comparison with heterosexual couples, are more highly educated, more likely to be in professional roles, and to have higher incomes than heterosexual couples. The majority of gay and lesbian individuals are born to heterosexual parents, who often do not understand the stigma their children face.
