Ich freue mich über das gerade erschienene neue Buch Modern Families: Parents and Children in New Family Forms von Susan Golombok, der Leiterin des Zentrums für Familienforschung an der Universität Cambridge. Professor Susan Golombok und ihre Kollegin Susanna Graham, die ebenfalls zu diesem Thema forscht, waren mir bei der Recherche zu meinem Buch eine wertvolle Hilfe.

In dem Buch geht es um alle neuen Familienformen – Regenbogenfamilien, Singleeltern, Familien, die durch künstliche Befruchtung, Samen- und/oder Eizellspende entstanden sind – und um die Entwicklung der Kinder in diesen Familien. Und, für mich wenig überraschend, kommen die Forscher zu der Schlussfolgerung, dass die Qualität der familiären Beziehungen eine weit größere Rolle für die gesunde psychische Entwicklung der Kinder spielt als die Anzahl, das Geschlecht, die sexuelle Orientierung der Eltern und die Tatsache, ob Eltern und Kinder biologisch miteinander verwandt sind.

Aus dem Covertext:

“An absolutely splendid book that provides an understanding of family relationships as a whole, and not just those in new family forms. The book reflects, with appropriate caveats on its limitations, a large research base, but it is written using engaging, non-technical language that is easy to follow.” (Michael Rutter, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology, King’s College London)

„MODERN FAMILIES brings together research on parenting and child devel-opment 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 fertilization (IVF), egg donation, sperm donation, embryo donation, and surrogacy. This research is examined in the con-text 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 orien-tation, or biological relatedness of their parents, or the method of their conception.“

Weiterlesen:

• Artikel „The Kids are Alright“ von Susan Golombok zum Erscheinen ihres Buches auf BioNews
• Rezension „Kids thrive just as well in non-traditional families, new book says“ auf mykawartha.com
• Link zum Verlag