New research out of Australia has found children raised by same-sex parents are healthier and happier than their peers who are not.
The findings come from the University of Melbourne in a study called the Australian Study of Child Health in Same Sex Families or ACHESS for short.
The report is the largest of its kind, surveying 315 same-sex parents on topics like family's cohesion, social adjustment, mental health, and general physical health of their 500 children.
The results were checked against a larger database representing the country's general population, factoring in things like the parents' education and household income. Children in same-sex families scored six per cent higher when it came to general health and family cohesion.
"It appears that same-sex parent families get along well and this has a positive impact on health," Dr Simon Crouch from the Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program, Centre for Health Equity at the University of Melbourne told CNBC.
When it came to behaviour, mental health and self-esteem of children, the study showed there was no different between children regardless of their parents' sexual orientation. However, Couch did point out with the happier and healthier life comes a stigma children will mostly likely have to over come.
"For these families it might be something as simple as a letter coming home from school addressed to Mr and Mrs, which wouldn't be appropriate for these families, but it can be more overt and damaging such as bullying in the playground," Crouch told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The study concludes that this stigma could have a mental impact on children, but Couch hopes that the study will diminish the stigma against same-sex families and in turn, boost children's overall health.
For more details on the study, check out the video above.
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