Psychosocial Adjustment among Children Conceived via Donor Insemination by Lesbian and Heterosexual Mothers

Chan, Raymond W.; Raboy, Barbara; Patterson, Charlotte J.

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06201.x

Cited by 226 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Most of the empirical research on this topic has focused on single women who used donor sperm in their path to parenthood. This growing literature has generally shown that solo mother families do not differ in terms of family functioning or child adjustment from those headed by opposite-sex or same-sex couples (Chan et al ., 1998; Murray and Golombok, 2005a,b; Golombok et al ., 2016). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children's thoughts and feelings about their donor and security of attachment to their solo mothers in middle childhood

et al. 2017

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STUDY QUESTIONWhat is the relationship between children's thoughts and feelings about their donor and their security of attachment to their solo mothers in middle childhood?SUMMARY ANSWERChildren with higher levels of secure–autonomous attachment to their mothers were more likely to have positive perceptions of the donor, and those with higher levels of insecure–disorganized attachment to their mothers were more likely to perceive him negatively.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYThere is limited understanding of the factors that contribute to children's thoughts and feelings about their donor in solo mother families. In adolescence, an association was found between adolescents’ curiosity about donor conception and their security of attachment to their mothers.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION19 children were administered the Friends and Family Interview and Donor Conception Interview between December 2015 and March 2016 as part of the second phase of a longitudinal, multi-method, multi-informant study of solo mother families.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSAll children were aged between 7 and 13 years and had been conceived by donor insemination to solo mothers. Interviews were conducted in participants’ homes. The Friends and Family Interview was rated according to a standardized coding scheme designed to measure security of attachment in terms of secure–autonomous, insecure–dismissing, insecure–preoccupied and insecure–disorganized attachment patterns. Quantitative analyses of the Donor Conception Interview yielded two factors: interest in the donor and perceptions of the donor. Qualitative analyses of the Donor Conception Interview were conducted using qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCEStatistically significant associations were found between the perception of the donor scale and the secure–autonomous and insecure–disorganized attachment ratings. Children with higher levels of secure–autonomous attachment to their mothers were more likely to have positive perceptions of the donor (r = 0.549, P = 0.015), and those with higher levels of insecure–disorganized attachment to their mothers were more likely to perceive him negatively (r = −0.632, P = 0.004). Children's narratives about the donor depicted him as a stranger (n = 8), a biological father (n = 4), a social parent (n = 3), or in ambivalent terms (n = 4).LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTIONFindings are limited by the wide age range of children within a small overall sample size. Participants were those willing and able to take part in research on donor conception families. The statistical significance of correlation coefficients was not corrected for multiple comparisons.WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGSFindings highlight the importance of situating children's ideas about the donor within family contexts. It is recommended that those working with donor conception families consider this when advising parents about whether, what and how to tell children about donor conception.STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)Th...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children's thoughts and feelings about their donor and security of attachment to their solo mothers in middle childhood

et al. 2017

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“…Research on non-traditional family forms enables the impact of different family structures, and the relative influence of family structure and family processes, on family functioning and children’s adjustment to be examined (Chan, Raboy, & Patterson, 1998; Dunn, Deater-Deckard, Pickering, O’Connor, Golding, & The ALSPAC Study Team, 1998; Golombok, 2000; Lansford, Ceballo, Abbey, & Stewart, 2001; Biblarz & Stacey, 2010). Whereas studies of adoptive families allow the investigation of the impact of the absence of both a gestational and genetic relationship between the parents and the child, studies of families with children conceived by egg, sperm or embryo donation allow the absence of a genetic relationship only between one or both parents and the child to be explored.…”

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confidence: 99%

Families created through surrogacy: Mother–child relationships and children's psychological adjustment at age 7.

Golombok¹,

Readings²,

Blake³

et al. 2011

Developmental Psychology

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Each year, an increasing number of children are born through surrogacy and thus lack a genetic and/or gestational link with their mother. This study examined the impact of surrogacy on mother-child relationships and children’s psychological adjustment. Assessments of maternal positivity, maternal negativity, mother-child interaction and child adjustment were administered to 32 surrogacy, 32 egg donation and 54 natural conception families with a 7-year-old child. No differences were found for maternal negativity, maternal positivity or child adjustment, although the surrogacy and egg donation families showed less positive mother-child interaction than the natural conception families. The findings suggest that both surrogacy and egg donation families function well in the early school years.

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“…In addition, Tasker and Golombok (1997) discovered that children of gay and lesbian parents were more likely to discuss their sexuality with parents. Finally, Chan, Brooks, Raboy, and Patterson (1998) found an overall greater involvement by both partners in parenting processes in gay and lesbian families. The unique openness and involvement of gay and lesbian parents would be of special and unique value to children facing similar discrimination within society.…”

Section: Parenting Characteristics That Enhance Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 91%

Gay and Lesbian Family Building: A Strengths Perspective of Transracial Adoption

Ausbrooks

Russell

2011

Journal of GLBT Family Studies

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In this article the authors explore transracial adoption in concert with gay and lesbian parenting and family building. Analyzing the transracial adoption knowledge base, gay and lesbian fostering/adoption trends, and research findings, the authors present areas that suggest gay and lesbian families may be better prepared than heterosexual individuals to parent children of color. Gay and lesbian parents may be more sensitive to and capable of creating skills a transracial adoptee requires due to similar oppression experiences. Using a framework of family resilience theory, the authors demarcate those characteristics that enhance outcomes for transracial gay and lesbian family building.

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Psychosocial Adjustment among Children Conceived via Donor Insemination by Lesbian and Heterosexual Mothers

Cited by 226 publications

References 40 publications

Children's thoughts and feelings about their donor and security of attachment to their solo mothers in middle childhood

Children's thoughts and feelings about their donor and security of attachment to their solo mothers in middle childhood

Families created through surrogacy: Mother–child relationships and children's psychological adjustment at age 7.

Gay and Lesbian Family Building: A Strengths Perspective of Transracial Adoption

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