Impact of New Family Forms on Parenting and Child Development

Imrie, Susan; Golombok, Susan

doi:10.1146/annurev-devpsych-070220-122704

Cited by 42 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 150 publications

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“…Overall, no differences were found between the three family types, and variance in child adjustment was explained by parenting stress. This provides support for the hypothesis that highly involved fathers would show a comparable quality of parenting to highly involved mothers, and that family processes, such as parental psychological health, are more important for child adjustment than family type (Imrie & Golombok, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Parenting and child adjustment in families with primary caregiver fathers.

Jones¹,

Foley

Golombok³

2022

Journal of Family Psychology

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Although greater attention has been paid to fathers' involvement in caregiving in recent decades, there is limited understanding of families with primary caregiver fathers, particularly in terms of parental psychological health and parenting quality. Findings are presented from a study of 41 primary caregiver father, 45 primary caregiver mother and 41 dual-earner families in the UK with children aged 3-6 years. Standardized interviews and questionnaires on parental psychological wellbeing, parenting and child adjustment were completed by fathers, mothers, and teachers. No differences were found between family types on any of the measures. However, multi-level modelling showed that increased parental stress was associated with greater child difficulties across all families. Overall, the findings revealed that the primary caregiver fathers were well-adjusted to their parenting role and showed no differences in quality of parenting to primary caregiver mothers. The study findings challenge the assumption that women are more suited to primary caregiving than men. Policy implications for fathers and their families are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Parenting and child adjustment in families with primary caregiver fathers.

Jones¹,

Foley

Golombok³

2022

Journal of Family Psychology

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“…Nevertheless, families created using egg donation have generally been found to be functioning well, with a high quality of parenting found across studies and few differences in child psychological adjustment, parent–child relationship quality or parental psychological well-being when compared to families formed using other types of assisted reproduction or unassisted conception (see Imrie and Golombok, 2018 , 2020 for reviews). Specifically, a UK longitudinal study that compared family functioning in egg donation families to sperm donation and unassisted conception families found more positive parent–child relationship quality in the gamete donation families compared to the unassisted conception families in the child’s first 3 years ( Golombok et al , 2004 , 2005 , 2006 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parent–child relationship quality and child psychological adjustment in families created using egg donation: children’s perspectives at age 5 years

Imrie

Lysons

Jadva³

et al. 2021

Human Reproduction

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STUDY QUESTION What are children’s perspectives of the quality of their relationships with their parents and their own psychological well-being in families created using egg donation? SUMMARY ANSWER Children’s scores indicated good parent–child relationship quality and high levels of psychological well-being, with children in families created using egg donation rating their relationships with their mothers as higher in warmth/enjoyment than children in a comparison group of families created using IVF. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Little is known about how children in families created through egg donation view their family relationships and their own psychological well-being. Research with 7-and-10-year-olds in anonymous egg donation families has indicated good parent–child relationship quality from children’s perspectives, but studies have not involved younger children or those conceived following identity-release egg donation. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION This study included 50 children who had been born through egg donation and a comparison group of 43 children conceived through IVF with the parents’ own gametes. Data were collected between April 2018 and December 2019. The sample forms part of a larger longitudinal study examining family functioning in families created through fertility treatment. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Children were aged 5 years old and had been born into families with different-sex couple parents. All families were visited at home. Children were administered the Berkeley Puppet Interview, a standardized assessment of parent–child relationship quality and psychological well-being. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Children in egg donation families rated their relationships with their mothers as higher in warmth and enjoyment than did children in IVF families. No differences were found between the two family types in children’s ratings of the father–child relationship, or in children’s ratings of their own psychological well-being. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION It is possible that children who did not consent to take part in the research had less positive perceptions of their family and themselves than children who participated. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS The findings are relevant to UK clinics offering identity-release egg donation, to parents who have used egg donation to create their family and to individuals and couples considering their fertility treatment options. That children in egg donation families were more similar than different to children in IVF families in their self-concept and perception of their family relationships should prove reassuring. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This research was supported by a Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award [208013/Z/17]. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER N/A.

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“…In the article, I integrate findings from the six phases of the U.K. Longitudinal Study of Assisted Reproduction Families from a developmental perspective. (For a broader discussion of the research and information on the experiences of the families, see Golombok, 2020a, 2020b; Imrie & Golombok, 2020. )…”

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confidence: 99%

Love and Truth: What Really Matters for Children Born Through Third‐Party Assisted Reproduction

Golombok

2021

Child Dev Perspectives

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Ever since the birth of the first baby born through in vitro fertilization in 1978, advances in reproductive technologies have raised new concerns about the outcomes for children. In this article, I summarize research on children born through assisted reproduction involving a third party, that is, children born through egg donation, sperm donation, and surrogacy, with particular attention to the findings of a longitudinal study of children born to heterosexual couples in the United Kingdom. The assisted reproduction families generally showed high levels of family functioning and children's adjustment from early childhood through to adolescence, suggesting that biological relatedness is less important than positive parent–child relationships for the well‐being of children conceived by third‐party assisted reproduction. Similarly, studies of families created by third‐party reproduction with two mothers, single mothers, two fathers, and single fathers have shown that these families function well.

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Impact of New Family Forms on Parenting and Child Development

Cited by 42 publications

References 150 publications

Parenting and child adjustment in families with primary caregiver fathers.

Parenting and child adjustment in families with primary caregiver fathers.

Parent–child relationship quality and child psychological adjustment in families created using egg donation: children’s perspectives at age 5 years

Love and Truth: What Really Matters for Children Born Through Third‐Party Assisted Reproduction

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