Parenting and child development in families created through embryo donation
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Psychology
Abstract
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Organisations
Publications
MacCallum F
(2008)
Embryo donation families: a follow-up in middle childhood.
in Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43)
MacCallum F
(2012)
Disclosure patterns of embryo donation mothers compared with adoption and IVF.
in Reproductive biomedicine online
| Description | The findings of this follow-up showed that the embryo donation families were still generally doing well. Embryo donation parents demonstrated warm relationships with their children, as well as providing the children with appropriate disciplinary boundaries. The child assessments supported the parents' reports, with no group differences in children's ratings of the strength of family relationships. The lack of a genetic link between parents and children did not seem to be affecting the quality of parenting, with no differences between the embryo donation and the IVF parents. Moreover, there were no differences in parental warmth between the adoptive and embryo donation parents, implying that the experience of pregnancy is not vital for parent-child bonding. However, in one aspect of parenting, embryo donation families did differ from both the adoptive and the IVF families. Embryo donation mothers were rated as more emotionally over-involved with their child, meaning they were more overprotective and overanxious, and that family life revolved around the child to a greater extent. In line with this, the embryo donation parents were less likely to have disclosed the method of famiyl creation to their child. Over-involvement can be detrimental when at extreme levels if children are not allowed to develop age-appropriate independence. However, the levels of emotional over-involvement seen in the embryo donation families were only moderate, so consequent problems would not necessarily be expected. In terms of child development, there was no sign that embryo donation children were at increased risk of developing psychological problems. The only difference between family types from parental reports was that the adopted children had more problems related to hyperactivity, such as an inability to concentrate. This is in line with previous research findings that some adopted children show adjustment problems when they reach middle childhood. Once again, the children's reports matched those of the parents. Adopted children perceived themselves as being less competent than either embryo donation or IVF children with regard to tasks requiring mental abilities, an expected outcome of concentration difficulties. |
| Exploitation Route | Reports sent to parents to help provide information as to what other families are experiencing. Findings disseminated through journal articles and book chapters. |
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