Pedagogiek - Volume 38, Issue 2, 2018

Wellbeing of gay fathers with children born through surrogacy

A study of parental wellbeing in the U.K., France, and the Netherlands compared parents in 38 gay father families, 61 lesbian mother families, and 42 heterosexual parent families. In all family types, the parents had just become parents for the first time and had an infant aged around 4 months. The infants in the gay father families were born through surrogacy, and those in the lesbian mother families were conceived after insemination with donor sperm. The heterosexual parent families had used in vitro fertilization without sperm or egg donation. Standardized measures of parental wellbeing (parental stress, psychological adjustment, and partner relationship satisfaction) were used to collect data via a password-protected online survey. Both parents in all families completed the survey. The parents’ scores on the studied variables were similar regardless of family type or caregiver role. The findings of the present study contribute to the theoretical understanding of the role of family type and caregiver role in families whose first child was conceived by means of assisted reproductive technologies, and especially our knowledge of gay fathers who became parents through surrogacy.

A population-based comparison of female and male same-sex parent and different-sex parent households

This investigation compared Dutch same-sex parent (both female same-sex and male same-sex) and different-sex parent households on children’s psychological well-being, parenting stress, and support in child rearing. It was also assessed whether associations among children’s well-being, parenting stress, and support in child rearing were different in the two household types. Data were based on a nationally representative survey. Matching was used to enhance similarity in background characteristics between both types of families, resulting in an analytic sample of 190 households (43 female same-sex parent, 52 male same-sex parent, and 95 different-sex parent households) with offspring between 5-18 years old. On children’s well-being, problems in the parent-child relationship, being worried about the child, or the use of formal and informal support, no significant differences were found between mothers in same-sex and different-sex parent households or for fathers in same-sex and different-sex parent households. Regarding one aspect of parenting stress, namely problems in rearing the child, fathers in same-sex parent households and mothers in different-sex parent households reported more problems than their counterparts (fathers and mothers in different-sex families). Neither the associations between children’s well-being and the predictors (parenting stress variables), nor those between support and the predictors (parenting stress and children’s well-being), differed along household type. The no differences that were found in this population-based study on child outcomes regardless of household type confirms the results of prior investigations based on convenience samples. These findings are relevant to family therapists, practitioners, court officials, and policymakers who seek information on gender diversity, parenting experiences and child outcomes in same-sex parent families.

Self-esteem and problem behavior in Dutch adolescents conceived through sperm donation in planned lesbian-mother families: Is donor type of importance?

Until 2004, Dutch women seeking donor insemination through medical facilities could opt for open-identity or anonymous donors. Currently, Dutch medical facilities are only allowed to use sperm from open-identity donors. Focusing on adolescents who were born before 2004, the present study provides a unique opportunity to compare the well-being of those conceived through different donor types: known, open-identity, or anonymous. The present study is based on 67 Dutch adolescents (meanage=16.04) conceived through sperm donation in lesbian-mother families. Participating adolescents were asked to complete the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Youth Self-Report, and to answer questions about their donor. Thirty-three adolescents were conceived through known, 22 through open-identity, and 12 through anonymous donors. No significant differences were found on self-esteem or problem behavior among adolescents conceived through the three donor types. Likewise, no significant differences were found on these variables for adolescents with known donors who indicated that these men did or did not play important roles in their lives. Feeling uncomfortable about not knowing one’s donor was associated with lower levels of self-esteem and more externalizing problem behavior. That donor type has no bearing on adolescent self-esteem and problem behavior may help in guiding the donor choices of prospective lesbian parents.

Single-mothers-by-choice: parent-child relationships, social support networks and the well-being of their children.

This study made a comparison between families of single mothers by choice (SMC) and heterosexual two parent families. 69 mothers from SMC families and 59 mothers from two parent families with at least one child between the ages of one and a half and six participated in the study. Mothers filled out questionnaires about the parent child relationship (emotional involvement and parental stress), the relationship of the parent with the environment (social support) and the psychological wellbeing of children. Differences were found for social support between family types with SMC receiving and wanting more social support than mothers from two parent families. No differences were found for emotional involvement or parental stress. Children’s psychological wellbeing didn’t differ between family types. Findings revealed that differences in family structure do not influence children’s psychological wellbeing.

Being a donor-child: wishes for parental support, peer support and counseling

Most studies on donor-conceived offspring have shown that secrets in families about the genetic origin of the child can harm the parent-child relationship and as a consequence early disclosure of donor conception is recommended. Data on whether donor-conceived offspring appreciate guidance to cope with their questions and feelings related to being a donor-child are not available. We held semi-structured in-depth interviews with male and female donor-conceived offspring (Mage = 26.9, range 17-41) born within father-mother (n = 11), two-mother (n = 7), or single mother families (n = 6). The majority of donor offspring (n = 20) were descendants of anonymous donors. The interviews were fully transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparative method. Donor-conceived offspring would have appreciated openness from their parents about being a donor-child and wished that their parents would have received specialist guidance before donor sperm treatment. They valued the availability of peer contact to exchange stories and would have liked assistance in getting access to trustful information about characteristics and identifying information of their donor. Donor-conceived offspring wished to know where to find counsellors for guidance when needed. Donor-conceived offspring missed guidance by their parents, appreciated peer-support and the availability of guidance by counsellors for themselves. Our findings demonstrate that peer support and guidance by counsellors for donor-conceived offspring should be available for those who need it. The findings also support counselling to intended parents before donor sperm treatment.

Present and Absent: Inclusion of Donor-conceived Families in the School Context from a Teachers’ and School Support Staff’s Perspective

Donor-conceived families, families by egg, sperm, or embryo donation, are seen as the “new families”, who until recently were hidden in society. This research project explores the way in which donor-conceived families are included within the school context and which class, school or teacher characteristics influence the implementation of the topic of donor conception/donor-conceived families in class. The project contains a quantitative, explorative study in which 151 teachers were inquired and two qualitative studies in which 16 teachers/student support staff were interviewed. Our results show that donor conception/donor-conceived families are very little included in the school context and that both school characteristics (multiculturalism) and teacher characteristics (lack of knowledge, being religious) hinder discussing the topic in class. Supporting teachers by offering them prepared teaching modules, facilitated the inclusion of the topic in the school curriculum and the acceptance to talk about it in class. This pioneering study offers an impulse for further research in which donor-conceived offspring themselves can be inquired about their school experiences.

Towards a legal framework of multiple parenthood? A case study of Belgium and the Netherlands

A child can have a maximum of two legal parents in Belgium and the Netherlands. This is a challenge for plus-two-parent families in which a child is raised by multiple parental figures. This article gives an overview of the (potential) legal measures taken to better accommodate plus-two-parent families, in respect of the recommendations of the Dutch Government Committee on the Reassessment of Parenthood.