 The group says that children do best when raised by a mother and father, citing a study by Douglas Allen and others published in the journal "Demography" in 2012.This position has been challenged by groups such as the American Psychological Association, whose stated position is that "the evidence to date suggests that home environments provided by lesbian and gay parents are as likely as those provided by heterosexual parents to support and enable children’s psychosocial growth".The Iona Institute has been accused of misrepresenting the research which underpins its position opposing same-sex marriage.