Tutkimuksen "Discussion"-osiossa spekuloidaan muuten asioilla jotka osittain saattavat selittää hyvät tulokset.
Lyhyesti sanottuna tutkimukseen osallistuneet äidit osallistuivat enemmän, käyttivät enemmän verbaalista rajojenasettelua ja käyttivät vähemmän rankaisua kasvatuskeinona kuin heteroseksuaalit isät.
Tämän kaltaisilla kasvatusmenetelmillä on useissa tutkimuksissa osoitettu olevan positiivinen vaikutus lasten henkiselle hyvinvoinnille.
"The NLLFS adolescents demonstrated higher levels of social, school/academic, and total competence than gender-matched normative samples of American teenagers. These findings may be explained in part by the NLLFS mothers’ commitment even before their offspring were born to be fully engaged in the process of parenting. During pregnancy, the prospective mothers took classes and formed support groups to learn about childrearing. They were actively involved in the education of their children and aspired to remain close to them, however unique their interests, orientations, and preferences may be. To the extent that the NLLFS mothers may have achieved this goal, numerous studies showed that having a satisfying relationship with one’s parents is associated with a more favorable adolescent adjustment.
The lower levels of externalizing problem behavior among the NLLFS adolescents may be explained by the disciplinary styles used in lesbian mother households. The NLLFS mothers reported using verbal limit-setting more often with their children. Other studies have found that lesbian mothers use less corporal punishment and less power assertion than heterosexual fathers. Growing up in households with less power assertion and more parental involvement has been shown to be associated with healthier psychological adjustment."