Single mothers by choice: Mother–child relationships and children’s psychological adjustment.

Golombok, Susan; Zadeh, Sophie; Imrie, Susan; Smith, Venessa; Freeman, Tabitha

doi:10.1037/fam0000188

Cited by 89 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Similar to findings of research with donor‐conceived children in two‐mother families (Raes and others, ; Van Parys and others, ; Vanfraussen and others, ), it seems that the social world of the children in this study may be characterised by assumptions about what families are and/or ought to be like. Although the children who participated were found to be generally well‐adjusted (Golombok and others, ), amendments to the school syllabus that emphasise family diversity, and the implementation of teaching resources about single‐parent families akin to those developed about same‐sex parents (Guasp, ), may now be helpful.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘What Does Donor Mean to a Four‐Year‐Old?’: Initial Insights into Young Children's Perspectives in Solo Mother Families

2016

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This study reports on the questions, thoughts and feelings of children aged 4–9 conceived by donor insemination to single mothers. Fifty‐one mothers and 47 children from the same families were each administered a semi‐structured interview. Mothers generally reported that while children either lack understanding, or have not yet been told, about their donor conception, they may be thinking and talking about the absence of a father. Most children did not mention either donor conception or father absence and reported positive feelings about their families and friendships. Possible explanations for the discrepancy between mothers’ and children's reports are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘What Does Donor Mean to a Four‐Year‐Old?’: Initial Insights into Young Children's Perspectives in Solo Mother Families

2016

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“…One answer is found in Walker et al's (:173) suggestion that anchoring arguments about ARTs in ‘archaic’ structures of meaning enables evasion of the ‘opprobrium of being unjust and discriminatory’. With regard to single mothers by sperm donation, it is clear that media representations bear little relation to the psychological literature that has shown that this user group – and their children – are psychologically well‐adjusted, and their families are characterised by positive mother–child relationships (Golombok, Zadeh, Imrie, Smith, & Freeman, ). It is also noteworthy that such representations proliferate despite regulatory changes that now explicitly permit the use of donor sperm by single women (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From ‘Virgin Births’ to ‘Octomom’: Representations of Single Motherhood via Sperm Donation in the UK News

Zadeh

Foster

2016

Community & Applied Soc Psy

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The use of sperm donation by single women has provoked public, professional and political debate. Newspapers serve as a critical means of both broadcasting this debate and effecting a representation of this user group within the public sphere. This study uses the theory of social representations to examine how single motherhood by sperm donation has been represented in the UK news over time. The study sampled news coverage on this topic in eight British newspapers during three 4‐year periods between the years 1988 and 2012. The dataset of news reports (n = 406) was analysed using a qualitative approach. Findings indicated that UK media reports of single women using donor sperm are underpinned by conventional categories of the ‘personal’, the ‘traditional’ and the ‘natural’ that when paired with their corollaries produce a representation of this user group as the social ‘other’. The amount of coverage on this topic over time was found to vary according to the political orientation of different media sources. Using key concepts from social representations theory, this article discusses the relationship between themata and anchoring in the maintenance of representations of the social ‘other’ in mass mediated communication. Findings are explained in relation to theoretical conceptions of the mass media and its position within the public sphere. It is argued that the use of personal narratives in news reports of single mothers by sperm donation may have significant implications for public understandings of this social group. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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“…Findings from a section of the interview that focused on the mother–child relationship and the psychological adjustment and experiences of the child are reported elsewhere (Golombok et al., 2016). All mothers gave written informed consent to participate in the study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disclosure of sperm donation: a comparison between solo mother and two-parent families with identifiable donors

Freeman

Zadeh

Smith

et al. 2016

Reproductive BioMedicine Online

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Disclosure of donor conception to children was compared between solo mother and two-parent families with children aged 4–8 years conceived since the removal of donor anonymity in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 heterosexual solo mothers and 47 heterosexual mothers with partners to investigate their decisions and experiences about identifiable donation and disclosure to their children. No significant difference was found in the proportion of mothers in each family type who had told their children about their donor conception (solo mothers 54.8%; partnered mothers 36.2%). Of those who had not told, a significantly higher proportion of solo mothers than partnered mothers intended to disclose (P < 0.05). Partnered mothers were more likely than solo mothers to feel neutral, ambivalent or negative about having used an identifiable donor (P < 0.05), and were less likely to consider children's knowledge of their genetic origins as extremely important (P < 0.05). These findings are relevant to provision of counselling services as it cannot be assumed that parents will tell their children about their origins or their entitlement to request the identity of their donor at the age of 18 years. Further qualitative research would increase understanding of solo mothers' attitudes towards disclosure.

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Single mothers by choice: Mother–child relationships and children’s psychological adjustment.

Cited by 89 publications

References 52 publications

‘What Does Donor Mean to a Four‐Year‐Old?’: Initial Insights into Young Children's Perspectives in Solo Mother Families

‘What Does Donor Mean to a Four‐Year‐Old?’: Initial Insights into Young Children's Perspectives in Solo Mother Families

From ‘Virgin Births’ to ‘Octomom’: Representations of Single Motherhood via Sperm Donation in the UK News

Disclosure of sperm donation: a comparison between solo mother and two-parent families with identifiable donors

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