Study finds homosexuals less healthy, happy than heterosexuals
SYDNEY, Australia, July 20, 2015 ( – A major study
funded by the Australian government has found that homosexuals are less
personally fulfilled, have more health problems, and are not as happy in their
relationships as "straight" people.
In fact, the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia
(HILDA) surveys reveal a marked difference in people's experiences based on
their sexual identity. Participants are followed over time, and in-depth
interviews are conducted annually with all adult members of each
household.
For the first time in the study's 12-year history, respondents'
sexual identity was researched as it relates to life satisfaction. The results
were striking. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual people fare far worse than
heterosexual people on literally all well-being and social support measures
studied, and such homosexuals consistently reported significantly lower
"life satisfaction."
Dr. Roger Wilkins of Melbourne's Institute of Applied Economic
and Social Research said the negative experience of gay people paralleled
people living with a learning difficulty, chronic pain, or limited use of their
limbs. "The difference in average life satisfaction between gay, lesbian
and bisexual people compared with heterosexual people is comparable in
magnitude to the difference you see between people with a moderate disability
and people who are not disabled," said professor Wilkins, who authored the
study.
The HILDA report compiled responses from 12 "waves" of
Australians between 2001 and 2012. The wave 1 panel consisted of 7,682
households and 19,914 individuals. In wave 11, this was topped up with an
additional 2,153 households and 5,477 individuals.
The survey asked respondents to rank their friendships, feelings
of loneliness and happiness, and ability to get help in times of
trouble. It asked about general health and mental health. It asked
about smoking, relationships living up to expectations, partner satisfaction,
and family dynamics, among other topics.
Gay people were less likely to live with a partner and, when
they did, were more likely to wish they had never entered the relationship.
In every single one of those social and personal area, homosexuals
responded with measurably lower scores than "straight" men and women.
"It's really striking that [the health and well-being of
gay people] is markedly lower than heterosexual people," professor Wilkins
said. "You wouldn't have expected that in the sense that there's nothing
inherent about sexual identity that should have direct implications for health
and wellbeing."
Professor Wilkins, who supports homosexual "marriage,"
does not see the data as showing an intrinsic problem with
homosexuality. Instead, he attributed the clear difference to societal
discrimination toward gays. "I personally see this as an indictment on our
society," he said. He also speculated that lower relationship satisfaction
levels may be influenced by gay people's inability to access marriage in
Australia.
However, Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans For Truth About
Homosexuality, disputed Wilkins' conclusions. "Dr. Wilkins
interprets this data through his politically-correct glasses and essentially
blames society--not homosexual lifestyles--for the results," LaBarbera
charged. "Nothing new there."
"It's getting really old in this era of mass-media-promoted
acceptance of all things 'gay' to blame ANY negative outcome for homosexuality
on 'homophobia' and 'discrimination' against homosexuals," he said.
"The differences between heterosexuals and homosexuals in
this Australian study are actually less dramatic,
compared to some other social science surveys," he added.
"However, it did find noteworthy differences, such as a lower level
of self-described 'health and well-being' among homosexual people surveyed
compared to straights."
