FAMILIES CREATED BY THE NEW REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES - QUALITY OF PARENTING AND SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILDREN

The creation of families by means of the new reproductive technologies has raised important questions about the psychological consequences f or children, particularly where gamete donation has been used in the c hild's conception. Findings are presented of a study of family relatio nships and the social and emotional development of children in familie s created as a result of the 2 most widely used reproductive technolog ies, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and donor insemination (DI), in comp arison with control groups of families with a naturally conceived chil d and adoptive families. The quality of parenting was assessed using a standardized interview with the mother, and mothers and fathers compl eted questionnaire measures of stress associated with parenting, marit al satisfaction, and emotional state. Data on children's psychiatric s tate were also obtained by standardized interview with the mother, and by questionnaires completed by the mothers and the children's teacher s. The children were administered the Separation Anxiety Test, the Fam ily Relations Test, and the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence an d Social Acceptance. 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. No group d ifferences were found for any of the measures of children's emotions, behavior, or relationships with parents. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the role of genetic tie s in family functioning and child development.