Review: parent-child relationships and child development in donor insemination families

The present article reviews the empirical research regarding the parent-child relationships and the development of children in donor insemination (DI) families. Over the years, follow-up studies have appeared sporadically and, despite the varying quality of the research methods, preliminary findings have emerged. Heterosexual DI parents were psychologically well adjusted and had stable marital relationships. DI parents showed a similar or higher quality of parent-child interaction and a greater emotional involvement with their children compared with naturally conceived families. The majority of studies which investigated several aspects of child development found that, overall, DI children were doing well. Findings with regard to emotional/behavioural development, however, were divergent in that some studies identified an increase of such problems while others did not. A steadily growing group within the DI population is lesbian mother families. More recently, follow-up studies have been carried out among DI children who were raised from birth by two mothers. Despite many concerns about the well-being of these children, no adverse effects of this alternative family structure on child development could be identified. As the DI children in all investigations were still young, our knowledge about the long-term effects of DI remains incomplete.     

Lesbian couples requesting donor insemination: an update of the knowledge with regard to lesbian mother families

Although a variety of ways exist of becoming a lesbian mother, an increasing number of lesbian couples have began to visit fertility centres requesting donor insemination (DI). The practice of inseminating lesbian couples remains a controversial issue within the reproductive medicine world. Lesbian mothers offer their children a familial context, which differs on a number of important characteristics from the traditional heterosexual family. In lesbian families, a father has been absent right from the start, and the child is raised by two mothers. The present article reviews whether there is any theoretical and/or empirical evidence for the most common assumptions with regard to lesbian motherhood. It also reports on a number of studies in which the practice of counselling lesbian couples is discussed. Although many important research questions have yet to be addressed, none of the investigations carried out so far could identify an adverse effect of lesbian motherhood on child development. Counselling lesbian couples for DI should aim to provide information about the practical aspects of the treatment. The requests of lesbian couples, however, differ substantially from those of single mothers and heterosexual couples. Counsellors should respect these differences and focus upon the specific living conditions of lesbian families.     

Planned lesbian families: their desire and motivation to have children

BACKGROUND: There is no information about the desire and motivation for children among planned lesbian families. The overall aim of this research was to examine whether planned lesbian families differ from heterosexual families in desire and motivation to have a child. The reason for studying this is that desire and motivation to have children are characteristics that are supposed to effect parenting and the parent-child relationship. METHODS: A total of 100 lesbian two-mother families were compared with 100 heterosexual families. All data were collected by means of questionnaires. RESULTS: Lesbian parents and heterosexual parents rank their parenthood quite similarly; however, happiness is significantly more important for lesbian mothers than it is for heterosexual parents and identity development is less important for lesbian mothers than it is for heterosexual parents. Furthermore, compared with heterosexual parents, lesbian parents had spent more time thinking about their motives for having children, and their desire to have a child was stronger. CONCLUSIONS: Lesbian parents especially differ from heterosexual parents in that their desire to have a child is much stronger. The study's findings may be helpful for counsellors in their work to inform and assist lesbian couples in their decision to have a child.     

Lesbian families and family functioning: an overview

OBJECTIVES: In the last 30 years a growing body of studies on lesbian parents and the development of children has been published. METHODS: Four computerized databases were identified studies for inclusion in this review of research on lesbian families, namely PsychInfo, Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC), Medline, and the Social Sciences Citation Index. RESULTS: Forty-four empirical studies on lesbian families published between 1978 and 2003 were reviewed. In the research on lesbian families two phases were identified. To begin with, systematic studies on lesbian families focused on lesbian families with children who were born in a previous heterosexual relationship. More recently, studies included lesbian families whose children were born to the lesbian couple (planned lesbian families). In both phases, articles reporting results on children's development (such as sexual identity, emotional/behavioral development, social relationships and cognitive functioning), and parental functioning (such as mental psychological health and parenting skills). This paper presents and discusses major finding of the reviewed articles. CONCLUSION: Studies in both phases have emphasized that lesbian and heterosexual families are very much alike. However, it is the stigma of lesbianism that makes the family situation of lesbian families different. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Healthcare workers should be informed about the similarities and differences between lesbian families and heterosexual families, and about the non-traditional family situation of planned lesbian families.     

Lesbian mothers who conceived after donor insemination: a follow-up study

This study investigated the development of family relationshipsin lesbian families who conceived after donor insemination (DI).The main characteristics of this unknown family structure wereanalysed. An anonymous donor was used to conceive, the familyunit consisted of two mothers and a father was non-existent,and both women had a homosexual orientation. A total of 50 lesbiancouples who conceived after DI with children aged between 1and 2 years participated in this study, using a standardizedinterview created for this study. After the birth of their child,56% of the lesbian mothers (n = 100) would have wanted the identityof the donor to be registered, while 10% would have done soat the time of the insemination. Opinions differed in 12 ofthe 50 couples: the biological mother was in favour of identityregistration while the social mother was not. Both women consideredthemselves a parent of the child with equally shared responsibilities.Mothers were open about the special features of their familystructure with children and within their immediate social network.Only 30% disclosed their lesbian identity in a broader socialenvironment. The features of these newly created families mayinfluence the psychological development of the children andtherefore make long-term follow-up studies indispensable.     

Solo mothers and their donor insemination infants: follow-up at age 2 years

BACKGROUND: Findings are presented of the second phase of a longitudinal study of solo-mother families created through donor insemination (DI). METHODS: At the time of the child's second birthday, 21 solo DI mother families were compared with 46 married DI families on standardized interview and questionnaire measures of the psychological well being of the mothers, mother-child relationships and the psychological development of the child. RESULTS: The solo DI mothers showed greater pleasure in their child and lower levels of anger accompanied by a perception of their child as less 'clingy'. Fewer emotional and behavioural difficulties were shown by children of solo than married DI mothers. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this first cohort of solo DI families to be studied lend further weight to the view that these women represent a distinct subgroup of single parents, who, out of a strong desire for a child, have made the active choice to go it alone. Moreover, this route to parenthood does not necessarily seem to have an adverse effect on mothers' parenting ability or the psychological adjustment of the child.     

Choosing identity-release sperm donors: the parents' perspective 13-18 years later

BACKGROUND: A growing number of donor insemination (DI) programmes offer 'open-identity' sperm donors, who are willing to have their identity released to adult offspring. We report findings from parents who chose such donors and whose children are now adolescents. METHODS: Using mail-back questionnaires, parents from 45 households (40% headed by lesbian couples, 38% by single women, 22% by heterosexual couples) reported their experience with using an open-identity donor and disclosure about it, as well as their child's plans for donor identity-release(sm). RESULTS: Almost no parents regretted using an open-identity donor. Almost all parents had told their child about his or her DI conception early on and reported a neutral to moderately positive impact. Finally, of those who had told, almost all expected their child to obtain the donor's identity. We also discuss differences found between birth mothers and co-parents and among single women, lesbian couples, and heterosexual couples. CONCLUSIONS: Families were relatively open and positive about their use of DI and that their child could obtain the donor's identity. Disclosure did not appear to have a negative impact on the families, regardless of parental sexual orientation and relationship status.     

Children's Responses to Conflict Between Their Different Parents: Mothers,Stepfathers, Nonresident Fathers,and Nonresident Stepmothers

Children who have experienced parental separation have potentially 3 sets of parents whose relationships may impact on them: mother and former partner, mother and stepfather, and father and new partner. Children's accounts of their response to conflict between these different parental dyads were studied, in relation to the quality of their relationships with these parents assessed with child interviews and questionnaires, and to maternal reports of the children's adjustment, in a sample of 159 children growing up in different family settings. Involvement in conflict within 1 parental dyad was chiefly unrelated to such involvement in conflict between the other parental dyads. In contrast, there was evidence for "spillover" effects in relationships within families; for instance, high frequencies of conflict between parents were linked to more troubled parent–child relationships. Children were more likely to side with the parent to whom they were biologically related than with stepparents. Involvement in mother–nonresident father conflict and in mother–stepfather conflict were both associated with adjustment problems, independent of the qualities of positivity and conflict in the relationship between child and parent. Implications for views on "family boundaries" are considered.     

A systemic perspective on children’s emotional insecurity in relation to father: links to parenting,interparental conflict and children’s social well-being

ABSTRACT

Focusing on the father-child-relationship in a family systems perspective, this paper investigates longitudinal links of parenting, interparental conflict, and positive regard by both parents, to their emotional insecurity with father and mother. Furthermore, to clarify fathers’ contribution to children’s social development, aspects of the relationship to both parents are jointly considered. The sample was drawn from the German family panel pairfam and included 372 family triads with parents’ and children’s self-reports. Findings revealed consistent associations between interparental conflict and lack of positive regard and emotional insecurity, while parenting had no independent links with children’s emotional insecurity or social adjustment. Controlling for the stability of child outcomes, interparental conflict predicted children’s lower prosocial behavior and higher peer rejection. In addition, peer rejection was predicted by children’s emotional insecurity with father. The findings are in line with the emotional security hypothesis and highlight the importance of the father-child-relationship for developing positive peer relationships.     

Children's responses to conflict between their different parents: mothers, stepfathers, nonresident fathers, and nonresident stepmothers.

Children who have experienced parental separation have potentially 3 sets of parents whose relationships may impact on them: mother and former partner, mother and stepfather, and father and new partner. Children's accounts of their response to conflict between these different parental dyads were studied, in relation to the quality of their relationships with these parents assessed with child interviews and questionnaires, and to maternal reports of the children's adjustment, in a sample of 159 children growing up in different family settings. Involvement in conflict within 1 parental dyad was chiefly unrelated to such involvement in conflict between the other parental dyads. In contrast, there was evidence for "spillover" effects in relationships within families; for instance, high frequencies of conflict between parents were linked to more troubled parent-child relationships. Children were more likely to side with the parent to whom they were biologically related than with stepparents. Involvement in mother-nonresident father conflict and in mother-stepfather conflict were both associated with adjustment problems, independent of the qualities of positivity and conflict in the relationship between child and parent. Implications for views on "family boundaries" are considered.     

Donor insemination: Dutch parents' opinions about confidentiality and donor anonymity and the emotional adjustment of their children

Results from a comparative study investigating 38 donor insemination (DI) Dutch families with 4-8 year old children are presented. The aims of this study were to investigate parents' opinions on the issues of confidentiality and donor anonymity, to assess the emotional development of the children, and to examine in DI families the association between secrecy with regard to the use of a donor and the emotional adjustment of the children. The DI families were compared to families with a child conceived by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and to families with a naturally conceived child. Secrecy appeared to be associated with DI and not with IVF: 74% of the DI parents intended not to inform the child about the way in which she/he was conceived, whereas none of the IVF parents intended to keep the secret. Only one set of DI parents and two sets of IVF parents had actually told the child. As to donor anonymity, a spread of opinions appeared among DI parents; 57% preferred an anonymous donor, 31% would have liked non- identifying information about the donor, 9% preferred the donor's identity to be registered and 3% remained unsure. Parents' major concern was to know more about the medical/genetic background of the donor. Mothers and fathers in the DI families differed in their opinions concerning the issues of confidentiality and donor anonymity: fathers, more often than mothers, were secretive with regard to the use of a donor and husbands, more often than their wives, were in favour of donor anonymity. With regard to the emotional development of the children, more emotional/behavioural problems were revealed among DI children than among children who were naturally conceived. No association was found between secrecy and the emotional/behavioural adjustment of the children.      

Children: The European study of assisted reproduction families: family functioning and child development

Findings are presented of a European study (conducted in theUK, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands) of family relationshipsand the social and emotional development of children in familiescreated as a result of the two most widely used reproductivetechnologies, in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and donor insemination(DI), in comparison with control groups of families with a naturallyconceived child and adoptive families. Mothers of children conceivedby assisted reproduction expressed greater warmth towards theirchild, were more emotionally involved with their child, interactedmore with their child and reported less stress associated withparenting than mothers who conceived their child naturally.Similarly, assisted reproduction fathers were found to interactmore with their child and to contribute more to parenting thanfathers with a naturally conceived child. With respect to thechildren themselves, no group differences were found for eitherthe presence of psychological disorder or for children's perceptionsof the quality of family relationships. The findings relatingto the quality of parenting and the socio-emotional developmentof the children were similar in each of the four countries studied.     

Does parental ADHD bias maternal reports of ADHD symptoms in children?

Within families, co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in parents and children may be common. The authors evaluated the hypothesis that parental ADHD may lead to a reporting bias of ADHD symptoms in offspring. They combined 2 family case-controlled studies of ADHD using structured interviews. They compared rates of maternal reported ADHD symptoms among 3 groups of ADHD children: no parental ADHD (n = 231), mother with ADHD (n = 63), and father with ADHD (n = 57). With the exception of 1 symptom, the rates of reporting between groups did not differ. There was no evidence that the discrepancy between maternal reports and self-reports of symptoms differed by parental ADHD. Results were similar across child gender or referral status. These results do not support the notion that parental ADHD affects maternal reports of offspring ADHD.     

The European study of assisted reproduction families: the transition to adolescence

BACKGROUND: Findings are presented of the second phase of a European longitudinal study of families created by assisted reproduction. The present investigation reports on data obtained during the child's transition to adolescence. METHODS: A total of 102 IVF families, 94 donor insemination (DI) families, 102 adoptive families, and 102 families with a naturally conceived child were compared on standardized interview and questionnaire measures of parenting and children's psychological well-being. RESULTS: The assisted reproduction families were similar to the adoptive and natural conception families for many of the measures of the quality of parent-child relationships. To the extent that differences were found between the assisted reproduction families and the other family types, these reflected mainly more positive functioning among the assisted reproduction families, with the possible exception of the overinvolvement with their children of a small proportion of assisted reproduction mothers and fathers. The assisted reproduction children were functioning well and did not differ from the adoptive or naturally conceived children on any of the measures of psychological adjustment. However, only 8.6% had been told about their genetic origins. CONCLUSIONS: IVF and DI families with an early adolescent child appear to be functioning well.     

Correlates of child–father and child–mother attachment in the preschool years

The increase in fathers’ involvement in childrearing, particularly beyond infancy, warrants research exploring factors influencing the quality of child–father attachment relationships, and the impact of these relationships on children’s social development. The current investigation explored various correlates of preschoolers’ child–father attachment security to both parents, including contextual factors (i.e., socioeconomic status, child temperament, parenting stress), parental play sensitivity, and child social adaptation. Participants included 107 preschool-aged children (59 girls; M = 46.67 months, SD = 8.57) and their fathers and mothers. Results revealed that both mothers’ and fathers’ play sensitivity were associated with child attachment security after controlling for different contextual factors. Furthermore, the magnitude of the association between child conduct problems and child–father attachment insecurity was stronger than the corresponding association with child–mother attachment insecurity. Findings provide important information on caregiving factors associated with child–father attachment security in the preschool years and the importance of this bond to children’s social adaptation.     

Families Surviving Childhood Cancerf: A Comparison of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms with Families of Healthy Children

Compared posttraumatic stress symptoms in 309 8-to 20-year-oldsurvivors of childhood cancer and their parents with healthychildren and their parents who responded to child-related stressors.The relationship of child demographic, cancer and treatment,and family and social support factors with posttraumatic stresssymptoms was analyzed also. Results indicate that mothers andfathers of childhood cancer survivors showed significantly higherlevels of posttraumatic stress symptoms than comparison parents.The survivors themselves did not differ from their healthy counterparts.Past perceived life threat and family and social support resourcescontributed to posttraumatic stress symptoms in survivors andtheir parents. Survivor mother and child and survivor fatherand child symptoms were associated. Implications for the long-termfunctioning of families of survivors and suggestions for preventiveinterventions are discussed.     

Disclosure of donor insemination to the child: the impact of Swedish legislation on couples' attitudes

The question whether or not parents of children conceived after donor insemination (DI) tell their offspring about its biological background was addressed. Swedish legislation from 1985 gives the child born after DI the right, when grown up, to receive identifying information about the sperm donor. Until now no information about compliance with the law has been available. All parents who gave birth to a child by DI after the new legislation in two major Swedish fertility centres (Stockholm and Umea) received a questionnaire containing questions about the issue of informing the child. The response rate was 80%. The majority of parents (89%) had not informed their children, whereas 59% had told someone else. As a response to an open question, 105/132 parents chose to comment on their answer about not having informed their child. Of these families, 61 intended to tell their child later, 16 were not sure and 28 were not going to inform the child. Compliance with the law must be regarded as low since only 52% of the parents had told or intended to tell their child. In addition, concern is raised about the children who run the risk of being informed by someone other than their parents.     

Attachment, self-worth, and peer-group functioning in middle childhood

We evaluated links between peer-group functioning and indicators of attachment security in relation to both mother and father in middle childhood, among 73 10-year-olds (37 girls). Children's perceptions of security with both parents, coping styles with mother, and self-worth were assessed. Classmates, teachers, and mothers evaluated the participants' peer-related behavioral characteristics. Children's perceptions of security to both parents were related to others' appraisals of their social competence; perceptions of security to father were related to lower aggression. We did not find child gender effects, but children had higher security scores in relation to mother than to father. Self-worth perceptions mediated the relation between attachment and social competence.     

EXPLAINING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ADOLESCENT PARENTING AND PRESCHOOLERS’ SCHOOL READINESS: A RISK PERSPECTIVE

This study examined whether mother and father risk, child risk, family risk, and mother and father cognitive stimulation mediated the association between adolescent age status of co‐residential mothers and fathers and 48‐month child school readiness. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study‐Birth cohort, it was found that the children of adolescent mothers and fathers scored lower on emerging literacy and math than those born to adult parents. The findings showed that individual mother and father cumulative risk and cumulative family risk at various times during early childhood partially mediated the associations between adolescent parent status and child outcomes as well as between young adult parent status and child outcomes. These findings indicated that multiple domains of risk, including father, mother, and family risk should be taken into account in order to gain a fuller understanding of the effects of adolescent parenting (and young adult parenting) on child outcomes.     

父母养育方式与大学生性别角色特质期待的相关性

目的探究父母养育方式与大学生性别角色特质期待的关系。方法采用父母养育方式量表(EMBU)和自编性别角色特质期待问卷,对192名大学生进行研究。结果 1男女大学生对自我性别角色特质期待除无私、真诚、宽容、勤俭外,其余特质差异显著(P0.05或P0.001);异性性别角色期待中除善良、细心、体贴、无私、真诚、现实、宽容、健谈外,其余特质差异显著(P0.001);2男女大学生在父亲温暖理解(t=-2.077,P0.05)、母亲温暖理解(t=-2.567,P0.05)、父亲过度保护(t=2.216,P0.05)3个因子上差异显著,城镇被试和农村被试在父亲偏爱被试(t=-2.280,P0.05)和母亲偏爱被试(t=-2.077,P0.05)两个因子上差异显著;3自我性别角色特质期待中,母亲拒绝否认与细心、体贴、善良、上进、真诚等特质呈显著负相关;父亲偏爱被试与细心、温柔特质呈显著负相关;4异性性别角色特质期待中,父母拒绝否认与善良、上进、真诚、稳重、温柔、宽容、体贴、理性等特质呈显著负相关,父母温暖理解与勇敢、稳重等特质期待呈显著正相关。结论父母养育方式对大学生性别角色特质期待有影响。