Madam, - My article in your edition of April 15th ("Diversity debate cannot ignore fact that family form matters") was intended to demonstrate that family structure is important from a child welfare point of view and that children tend to do best when raised by their own two parents - ideally married, because marriage lends stability to a relationship.
In this context I quoted from a number of studies and organisations, including Unicef. Melanie Verwoerd of Unicef Ireland (April 17th) objects to me citing Unicef, but I believe the following quotation speaks for itself as regards the importance of family structure. It is from a document called "Unicef Report Card 7: an Overview of Child Wellbeing in Rich Countries". It reads as follows:
"The use of data on the proportion of children living in single-parent families and step-families as an indicator of wellbeing may seem unfair and insensitive. Plenty of children in two-parent families are damaged by their parents' relationship; plenty of children in single-parent and step-families are growing up happy and secure.
"Nor can the terms 'single-parent families' and 'step-families' do justice to the many different kinds of family unit that have become common in recent decades.
"But at the statistical level there is evidence to associate growing up in single-parent families and step-families with greater risk to well-being - including a greater risk of dropping out of school, of leaving home early, of poorer health, of low skills, and of low pay.
"Furthermore, such risks appear to persist even when the substantial effect of increased poverty levels in single-parent and step-families have been taken into account." The report goes on to note that most of these studies have been conducted in English-speaking countries.
What is clear from this passage is that family structure does indeed matter. The policy implications of this are apparent, no matter how much particular individuals, from whatever organisation, may wish to resist them.
My article of last Tuesday did not argue against gay civil unions per se.
The argument was directed at family diversity proponents in general who claim, incorrectly, that family structure does not matter. It does, and the Government must take account of this. It is in the interests of children that as many as possible are raised by their own mother and father. - Yours, etc,
PATRICIA CASEY,
Professor of Psychiatry,
Mater Misericordiae University Hospital,
Eccles Street,
Dublin 7.