Modern Families Wins British Psychological Book Society Award

Modern Families: Parents and Children in New Family Forms by Susan Golombok has won a 2016 British Psychological Society Book Award for best academic monograph . Promoting excellence in psychology, the awards are made in four categories: Academic Monograph, Popular Science, Practitioner Text and Textbook.

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. 

Professor Golombok is Director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge and Professorial Fellow at Newnham College, Cambridge.

Professor Daryl O’Connor, Chair of the BPS Research Board, says:

“It was a great honour to chair the BPS Book Award committee this year. The number, the breadth and standard of submissions were incredibly impressive. We were particularly pleased to receive a large number of nominations in each of four categories. As a result, the committee had a difficult and challenging task in choosing the winners. Well done to the winning authors and many congratulations.”

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