Study suggests early disclosure doesn't harm family dynamics
Psychological Adjustment in Disclosing and Non-disclosing Heterosexual-couple Families (Widbom, 2022)
Widbom, A., Sydsjö, G., & Lampic, C. (2022). Psychological adjustment in disclosing and non-disclosing heterosexual-couple families following conception with oocytes or spermatozoa from identity-release donors. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 45(5), 1046-1053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2022.06.011
Geographic Region: Sweden
Research Question: Is there a relationship between disclosure and psychological adjustment in heterosexual-couple families following oocyte donation and sperm donation when the child is 7 years old?
Design: This study is part of the fourth wave of data collection for Swedish Study on Gamete Donation, prospective longitudinal study. Questionnaires distributed via mail. Measures included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), ENRICH marital inventory, Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire (SPSQ), and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-Swe). Factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Sample: 196 parents representing 110 couples total. For oocyte donation families, 83 parents responded out of all possible participants (56%). For sperm donation families, 113 parents responded out of possible participants (65%). The families were studied when the children were 7-8 years old.
Key Findings
About half of parents had disclosed donor conception to their child (61% of oocyte donation 61%, 58% of sperm donation).
No significant differences found between disclosing and non-disclosing families in parents' psychological well-being, relationship quality, parental stress, or children's psychological adjustment.
Majority of participants showed normal range scores for anxiety and depression.
Children showed good psychological adjustment with low levels of emotional and behavioral problems.
Limitations: Study-specific measurement of disclosure status may not capture nuances in disclosure process ("Yes, I have started talking about it" was the only response that qualified as disclosure). Possible influence of repeated surveys on parents' awareness of disclosure issues. Self-reported data. Cross-sectional design limits causal conclusions.
Applications: Suggests early disclosure does not negatively impact family functioning
Funding Source: Not explicitly stated in the provided excerpt
Lead Author: Andreas Widbom is a clinical psychologist working within reproductive medicine, specializing in psychosocial aspects of treatments with donated sperm and oocytes.
Regulatory Context
Only altruistic gamete donation is allowed. Donors can receive compensation for expenses and inconvenience, but not payment for the gametes themselves. Donors must be 18 years or older.
Legislation allowed donor insemination through the public healthcare system for heterosexual couples in 1985, and IVF treatment with donor eggs or sperm were also permitted to heterosexual couples in 2003. Sperm donation treatment became accessible to lesbian couples in 2005. In 2016, legislation was passed to allow access to assisted reproductive treatments, including procedures with donor eggs and donor sperm, for single women and lesbian couples. A separate change occurred in 2019, allowing both private and public clinics to perform treatments with donated eggs, and a double donation (using both a donated egg and donated sperm) became legal.
In Sweden, a donor can contribute to a maximum of six families. A central register of all donor treatments is maintained by the National Board of Health and Welfare. This register helps to connect donor-conceived individuals, donors, and their relatives.Thanks for reading Donor Conception Journal Club! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.