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.

Product Description: Parenting: What Really Counts? examines the scientific evidence on what really matters for children's healthy psychological development.The first section considers whether it is necessary to have two parents, a father present, parents who have a genetic link with their child, or parents who are heterosexual...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Legal battles over same-sex marriage have drawn increasing public attention to the question of whether lesbian and gay families can raise happy, healthy children. Opponents of the legal recognition of homosexual unions have based their arguments in part on the premise that children brought up by parents of the same sex face significant social and psychological disadvantages...read more

Product Description: Gender Development is the first book to examine gender from a truly developmental perspective. It looks at the processes involved in the development of gender, addressing sensitive and complex questions. The authors provide an up-to-date integrative review of theory and research, tracing gender development from the moment of conception through adulthood and emphasizing the complex interaction for biology, socialization, and cognition...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)