One of the tenets of those who appose same-sex marriage is that the children of gay couples fare worse as they are deprived of a parent of the opposite gender. However, the bulk of studies on the welfare of children brought-up in same-sex households do not support this view, and is further echoed by another study, in which a team of researchers assessed data from the 2013 to 2015 US National Health Interview Survey, compiling information on the emotional and mental health difficulties of more than 21,000 children aged 4 to 17. Published in the journal Child Development, the researchers were unable to find any indication of increased emotional or psychological difficulties among children of homosexual parents, but did find that those with bisexual parents had slightly poorer questionnaire scores. Once the researchers took into account the parent's level of psychological distress, the observed differences vanished, concluding that any potential variation in the children's mental wellbeing was probably due to challenges that parents face from a society that stigmatises their sexual orientation and non-traditional relationships, and not as a direct consequence of their sexualities. The study provides further evidence to refute claims that the children of same-sex couples are disadvantaged, and suggests that negative consequences are more likely to be the result of the stigma itself. To find out more check out Parental Sexual Orientation and Children’s Psychological Well-Being:2013–2015 National Health Interview Survey.