Children conceived by gamete donation: Psychological adjustment and mother-child relationships at age 7

Golombok, Susan; Readings, Jennifer; Blake, Lucy; Casey, Polly; Mellish, Laura; Marks, Alex; Jadva, Vasanti

Abstract

An increasing number of babies are being born using donated sperm, where the child lacks a genetic link to the father, or donated eggs, where the child lacks a genetic link to the mother. This study examined the impact of telling children about their donor conception 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 egg donation, 36 donor insemination, and 54 natural conception families with a 7-year-old child. Although no differences were found for maternal negativity or child adjustment, mothers in nondisclosing gamete donation families showed less positive interaction than mothers in natural conception families, suggesting that families may benefit from openness about the child's genetic origins. © 2011 American Psychological Association.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Jul 12, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Family Psychology
• Print ISSN: 0893-3200
• Electronic ISSN: 1939-1293
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 230-239
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022769
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7521280