A University of Southern California analysis of studies on children raised by heterosexual and homosexual couples has shown that the children have different attitudes toward gender roles and sexual preferences, according to a Reuters report.

The study revealed that children of lesbians and gays are more likely to depart from traditional gender roles than children of heterosexual couples.

Sociologists Timothy Biblarz and Judith Stacey had examined 21 studies on the subject dating back to 1980 and their findings were published in the American Sociological Review.

In a Reuters interview, Biblarz said that the study found that information on the subject had previously been stifled and the differences played down.

"One of the things we are calling for in the paper is that sometimes a difference really is a difference and we ought to be exploring them and acknowledging them,'' he said.

His study found that teenage boys with homosexual parents were more sexually restrained then their counterparts who were raised by heterosexual couples. And boys raised by lesbian couples exhibited less aggressive and more nurturing social behavior then boys raised in heterosexual families.

Teenage girls however showed an opposite trend. Girls raised by lesbians appeared to be more sexually adventurous than girls raised by heterosexuals and gravitated toward less stereotypically feminine dress, play and occupations.

While the study also showed that more children from homosexual households gravitated toward same-sex relationships, they were not statistically more likely to identify themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual.

Biblarz also reported that there seemed to be no difference in the mental and emotional health of children based on whether their parents were homosexual or heterosexual, or in the quality of the parent-child relationships.

"There's no evidence that in terms of their adjustment and development and well being ... that kids (from homosexual families) are suffering greater harm. Children brought up by lesbians and gay men are well adjusted, have good levels of self esteem, are as likely to have high educational attainments as children raised in more traditional heterosexual families."

Biblarz said that there seemed to be advantages to lesbian over heterosexual parenting in that co-mothers tend to be more involved in their childrens' lives and more nurturing than heterosexual couples and also exhibited greater harmony in their parenting approaches. He attributed that to a function of gender differences.

He noted that the study focused mainly on children raised by lesbians, because fewer studies of co-fathers exist.