Families

Children smiling and hugging their father.

A kinship unit consisting of a group of individuals united by blood or by marital, adoptive, or other intimate ties. Although the family is the fundamental social unit of most human societies, its form and structure vary widely.

Adapted from the APA Dictionary of Psychology

Resources from APA

The many pathways of empty nesting

This stage can free parents to pursue their goals and passions

Family caregivers resolution

Approved by APA Council of Representatives, August 2026

Speaking of Psychology: Why listening well is harder—and more powerfulv than you think, with Guy Itzchakov, PhD

Why listening well is harder—and more powerful—than you think

Guy Itzchakov, PhD, talks about what distinguishes high-quality listening from just staying quiet while someone else talks

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Call for papers: Close relationships in an interdependent social world

JPSP: IRGP invites papers on how family, social, and societal contexts shape close relationships

More resources about families

What APA is doing

Advocacy

Children, youth, and families

APA Services advocates for policies to prevent children’s exposure to violence and expand access to treatment and essential services for children who have experienced violence.

Offices

Children, youth, and families portfolio

The Children, Youth, and Families office aims to advance the creation, communication, and application of psychological knowledge on child development issues to benefit society and improve the lives of all children and their families.

teacher and student in preschool classroom

Divisions

Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice

APA’s Division 37 is committed to the application of psychological knowledge to advocacy, social justice, service delivery, and public policies affecting children, youth, and families in a diverse and inclusive society.

Divisions

Society for Couple and Family Psychology

APA’s Division 43 provides a home for psychologists interested in families in their many forms. Clinical, scientific, educational, and public policy perspectives are well represented in the wide range of divisional activities.

APA books

Helping First-Generation College Students Succeed

$49.99

Pediatric Gender Health Care 2ed

$54.99

Systemic Treatment of Trauma-Impacted Families

$49.99

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy With Families

$51.99

Functional Family Therapy

$51.99

More books

Magination Press children’s books

Henry Gets Homesick

Waiting for Iced Tea

One Red Thread

Jeff O'Lantern

This Is Who I Am

More children's books

Journal special issues

Resilience Processes in the Family Stress Model

$24.95

Consequences of Immigration Policies on Children, Youth, and Families Who Experience Migration-Related Trauma

$24.95

Cover of Collaborative and Participatory Research to Promote Engagement, Empowerment, and Resilience for Immigrant and Refugee Youth, Families, and Communities

Collaborative and Participatory Research to Promote Engagement, Empowerment, and Resilience for Immigrant and Refugee Youth, Families, and Communities

$24.95