This book analyzes how the increasing number of same-sex couples is changing the traditional concepts of family and parenthood, and how these changes affect the psychological studies of family, couple relationships and human development. The majority of chapters included in this contributed volume present results of research conducted with LGBTQ+ people in Brazil, a country where same-sex couples have been recognized by the national legislation since 2011, but is currently facing a conservative wave which threatens much of the victories gained by the LGBTQ+ movement in recent years. That's why this book aims to provide both updated theoretical and methodological contributions as well as ethically and political engaged reflections to the field of psychological studies of LGBTQ+ parenting and couple relationships. Chapters in this volume analyze different aspects of LGBTQ+ parenting and couple relationships, such as changes in the concept of family; the role of the family of origin in the coming out process of young adults; risk and protective factors in couple relationships between lesbians and gay men; vulnerabilities experienced by trans couples during the COVID-19 pandemic; how lesbians, gays, trans and non-binaries are approaching parenting and raising their families; factors that shape the reproductive decisions of LGBTQ+ individuals; adoption and coparenting in families composed of gay and lesbian couples, among other topics. Parenting and Couple Relationships Among LGBTQ+ People in Diverse Contexts will be of interest to social, developmental and family psychologists and social workers researching and working with same-sex couples and families, and with the LGBTQ+ population in general.

This book presents the method developed by Dr. Silvia Helena Koller and her students and collaborators to apply Urie Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Theory of Human Development to empirical studies with children and adolescents. Although Bronfenbrenner's theory, in different stages of development, has been widely cited by several researchers, surprisingly little has been written about the theory itself, its evolution or about the methods that should be used to test it. This book fills this gap by presenting both an overview of Bronfenbrenner's theory and a method to apply it to empirical research, the Ecological Engagement method. The book also shows how this method can be applied in practice by bringing together a series of research reports of studies carried out in different regions of Brazil and in Angola that used the Ecological Engagement method to study children and adolescent development in different contexts, such as street situation, sexual exploitation, institutional reception, family reintegration, school and emergency and disasters, among others. Ecological Engagement - Urie Bronfenbrenner's Method to Study Human Development will be a valuable tool for psychologists and other social scientists interested in child and adolescent development looking for a solid an innovative methodology that allows researchers to directly interact with their research subjects in their own social contexts in order to fully understand their problems and issues. "The methodology of Ecological Engagement, that is explained and richly empirically illustrated in this book, is a singularly significant extension of [Urie Bronfenbrenner's] bioecological model. Indeed, in my view it is a brilliant empirical instantiation of the PPCT component of the model. (...) Ecological Engagement methodology is the scientific means through which Urie's legacy can be furthered." - Excerpt from the Foreword to the International Edition by Dr. Richard M. Lerner, director of the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University

This book analyzes how the increasing number of same-sex couples is changing the traditional concepts of family and parenthood, and how these changes affect the psychological studies of family, couple relationships and human development. The majority of chapters included in this contributed volume present results of research conducted with LGBTQ+ people in Brazil, a country where same-sex couples have been recognized by the national legislation since 2011, but is currently facing a conservative wave which threatens much of the victories gained by the LGBTQ+ movement in recent years. That's why this book aims to provide both updated theoretical and methodological contributions as well as ethically and political engaged reflections to the field of psychological studies of LGBTQ+ parenting and couple relationships. Chapters in this volume analyze different aspects of LGBTQ+ parenting and couple relationships, such as changes in the concept of family; the role of the family of origin in the coming out process of young adults; risk and protective factors in couple relationships between lesbians and gay men; vulnerabilities experienced by trans couples during the COVID-19 pandemic; how lesbians, gays, trans and non-binaries are approaching parenting and raising their families; factors that shape the reproductive decisions of LGBTQ+ individuals; adoption and coparenting in families composed of gay and lesbian couples, among other topics. Parenting and Couple Relationships Among LGBTQ+ People in Diverse Contexts will be of interest to social, developmental and family psychologists and social workers researching and working with same-sex couples and families, and with the LGBTQ+ population in general.

This book presents the method developed by Dr. Silvia Helena Koller and her students and collaborators to apply Urie Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Theory of Human Development to empirical studies with children and adolescents. Although Bronfenbrenner's theory, in different stages of development, has been widely cited by several researchers, surprisingly little has been written about the theory itself, its evolution or about the methods that should be used to test it. This book fills this gap by presenting both an overview of Bronfenbrenner's theory and a method to apply it to empirical research, the Ecological Engagement method. The book also shows how this method can be applied in practice by bringing together a series of research reports of studies carried out in different regions of Brazil and in Angola that used the Ecological Engagement method to study children and adolescent development in different contexts, such as street situation, sexual exploitation, institutional reception, family reintegration, school and emergency and disasters, among others. Ecological Engagement - Urie Bronfenbrenner's Method to Study Human Development will be a valuable tool for psychologists and other social scientists interested in child and adolescent development looking for a solid an innovative methodology that allows researchers to directly interact with their research subjects in their own social contexts in order to fully understand their problems and issues. "The methodology of Ecological Engagement, that is explained and richly empirically illustrated in this book, is a singularly significant extension of [Urie Bronfenbrenner's] bioecological model. Indeed, in my view it is a brilliant empirical instantiation of the PPCT component of the model. (...) Ecological Engagement methodology is the scientific means through which Urie's legacy can be furthered." - Excerpt from the Foreword to the International Edition by Dr. Richard M. Lerner, director of the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University