Quality of parenting in families created by the new reproductive technologies: a brief report of preliminary findings.
The creation of families by means of the new reproductive technologies has raised important questions about the consequences for parent-child relationships, particularly where gamete donation has been used to conceive the child. Preliminary findings are presented of a study of the quality of parenting in families created as a result of the two most widely used reproductive technologies, in vitro fertilization and donor insemination, in comparison with a control group of families with a naturally conceived child and a control group of adoptive families. The quality of parenting was assessed using a standardized interview with the mother, and mothers and fathers completed questionnaire measures of stress associated with parenting. The results showed that the quality of parenting in families with a child conceived by assisted conception is superior to that shown by families with a naturally conceived child. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the role of genetic ties in parent-child relationships.
Golombok
S
S
Clinical and Health Psychology Research Centre, City University, London, UK.
Cook
R
R
Bish
A
A
Murray
C
C
D000300:Adoption / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007246:Infertility / Q000523:psychology*; D007316:Insemination, Artificial, Heterologous / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010552:Personality Assessment