New reproductive technology and the family: the parent-child relationship following in vitro fertilization.
Parent-child relationships and the parents' psychosocial functioning were assessed in families with a 24-30-month-old, single born child conceived by homologous in vitro fertilization (IVF) and in a control group of families with a naturally conceived child. The investigation included behavioural observations of mother-child interactions in the home, and self-rated questionnaires. No significant multivariate group effects were found for indicators of the parent-child relationship, nor for the parents' psychosocial functioning. However, in the case of IVF the employment status of the mother was associated with her behaviour towards her child: employed IVF-mothers showed less respect for their child's autonomy compared with both nonemployed IVF-mothers and employed control mothers.
Colpin
H
H
Centre for Family Pedagogy, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.
Demyttenaere
K
K
Vandemeulebroecke
L
L
D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000523:psychology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010553:Personality Development; D014931:Women, Working / Q000523:psychology