Modern Families: Parents and Children in New Family Forms
Author(s): Susan Golombok
🚚 Free UK delivery on books (excluding sale). T&Cs apply.
Free click & collect on all orders.
Modern Families brings together research on parenting and child development in new family forms including lesbian mother families, gay father families, families headed by single mothers by choice and families created by assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), egg donation, sperm donation, embryo donation and surrogacy. This research is examined in the context of the issues and concerns that have been raised regarding these families. The findings not only contest popular myths and assumptions about the social and psychological consequences for children of being raised in new family forms but also challenge well-established theories of child development that are founded upon the supremacy of the traditional family. It is argued that the quality of family relationships and the wider social environment are more influential in children's psychological development than are the number, gender, sexual orientation, or biological relatedness of their parents or the method of their conception.
- Integrates research from a diverse range of new family forms including: lesbian mother families, gay father families, families headed by single mothers by choice and families created by assisted reproductive technologies such as IVF, egg donation, sperm donation, embryo donation and surrogacy
- Challenges popular assumptions and prejudices about these new family forms and addresses ethical concerns about the creation of such families
- Empirical research demonstrates that family structure matters less for children's psychological development and wellbeing than the quality of family relationships