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Biomedical subjects

S Golombok

Publications and source records attributed to S Golombok.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Non-genetic and non-gestational parenthood: consequences for parent-child relationships and the psychological well-being of mothers, fathers and children at age 3.

BACKGROUND: Findings are presented of the third phase of a longitudinal study of children conceived by assisted reproduction procedures involving surrogacy and/or donor conception. METHODS: At the time of the child's third birthday, 34 surrogacy families, 41 donor insemination families and 41 oocyte donation families were compared with 67 natural conception families on standardized interview and questionnaire measures of the psychological well-being of the parents, mother-child relationships and the psychological well-being of the child. RESULTS: The differences found between family types reflected higher levels of warmth and interaction between mothers and their 3-year-old children in assisted reproduction families than in families with a naturally conceived child. A higher proportion of surrogacy parents than donor conception parents had told their children about the nature of their birth. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that the absence of a genetic and/or gestational link between parents and their child does not have a negative impact on parent-child relationships or the psychological well-being of mothers, fathers or children at age 3.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Solo mothers and their donor insemination infants: follow-up at age 2 years.

BACKGROUND: Findings are presented of the second phase of a longitudinal study of solo-mother families created through donor insemination (DI). METHODS: At the time of the child's second birthday, 21 solo DI mother families were compared with 46 married DI families on standardized interview and questionnaire measures of the psychological well being of the mothers, mother-child relationships and the psychological development of the child. RESULTS: The solo DI mothers showed greater pleasure in their child and lower levels of anger accompanied by a perception of their child as less 'clingy'. Fewer emotional and behavioural difficulties were shown by children of solo than married DI mothers. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this first cohort of solo DI families to be studied lend further weight to the view that these women represent a distinct subgroup of single parents, who, out of a strong desire for a child, have made the active choice to go it alone. Moreover, this route to parenthood does not necessarily seem to have an adverse effect on mothers' parenting ability or the psychological adjustment of the child.

Child Behavior↗
PubMed2005

School-aged children of donor insemination: a study of parents' disclosure patterns.

BACKGROUND: A major concern in relation to donor insemination (DI) is whether children should be told about their genetic origins. This study compared the thoughts, feelings and experiences of DI parents who were inclined towards openness with those who were inclined towards non-disclosure. METHODS: Forty-six families with a 4- to 8-year-old DI-conceived child were interviewed about their decision, their reasons and subsequent concerns regarding disclosure. RESULTS: Thirty-nine percent of parents were inclined towards disclosure whilst the remaining 61% were not. The two main reasons for favouring disclosure were to avoid accidental discovery and a desire for openness. Non-disclosing parents felt that there was no reason to tell and wished to protect family members. The children who had been told reacted with either curiosity or disinterest. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of donor anonymity, parents who were intending to tell their child in the future had optimistic expectations of their child's reaction. Parents who had already told their child generally described the telling experience as a positive one.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Families created by gamete donation: follow-up at age 2.

BACKGROUND: Findings are presented of the second phase of a longitudinal study of families created through gamete donation. METHODS: At the time of the child's second birthday, 46 donor insemination families and 48 egg donation families were compared with 68 natural conception families on standardized interview and questionnaire measures of the psychological well being of the parents, parent-child relationships and the psychological development of the child. RESULTS: The gamete donation mothers showed a trend towards greater pleasure in their child accompanied by a perception of their child as more vulnerable, with egg donation mothers tending towards greater pleasure and donor insemination mothers tending towards greater concern. The fathers did not differ on any of the variables under study. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this recent cohort add further weight to the growing body of research showing that the absence of a genetic link between a parent and a child does not necessarily jeopardize the development of a positive relationship between them.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2002

The European study of assisted reproduction families: the transition to adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Findings are presented of the second phase of a European longitudinal study of families created by assisted reproduction. The present investigation reports on data obtained during the child's transition to adolescence. METHODS: A total of 102 IVF families, 94 donor insemination (DI) families, 102 adoptive families, and 102 families with a naturally conceived child were compared on standardized interview and questionnaire measures of parenting and children's psychological well-being. RESULTS: The assisted reproduction families were similar to the adoptive and natural conception families for many of the measures of the quality of parent-child relationships. To the extent that differences were found between the assisted reproduction families and the other family types, these reflected mainly more positive functioning among the assisted reproduction families, with the possible exception of the overinvolvement with their children of a small proportion of assisted reproduction mothers and fathers. The assisted reproduction children were functioning well and did not differ from the adoptive or naturally conceived children on any of the measures of psychological adjustment. However, only 8.6% had been told about their genetic origins. CONCLUSIONS: IVF and DI families with an early adolescent child appear to be functioning well.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

An evaluation of a thicker versus a standard condom with gay men.

OBJECTIVES: Although thicker (stronger) condoms are advocated in western Europe for anal intercourse between men, empirical evidence supporting their greater efficacy is lacking. The present study aimed to determine whether a thicker condom is less likely to fail (break or slip off) than a standard (regular thickness) condom, and to establish factors associated with condom failure among gay men. DESIGN: A total of 283 homosexual couples participated in a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial of a standard and a thicker condom. METHODS: Each couple was allocated nine of either condom type. Data were collected on user characteristics, and a questionnaire completed immediately after the use of each condom. The thicker and the standard condoms were used by 142 and 141 couples, respectively. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the two condom types with respect to either clinical or non-clinical definitions of failure (breakage and slippage). With instances of inappropriate use removed, failure rates for the standard and the thicker condom were low at 2.5 and 2.3%, respectively. User characteristics associated with breakage were lower educational achievement, lack of confidence in condom use, and a history of condom breakage. Behaviours associated with breakage were unrolling the condom before fitting to the penis, longer penis length, absence of additional lubricant, the use of inappropriate lubricant, and longer duration of intercourse. CONCLUSION: Breakage and slippage rates were low for both condom types. There is no evidence from the present investigation to support the use of stronger (thicker) condoms over standard strength condoms among gay men. The appropriate use of additional lubricant should be encouraged.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

The role of brothers and sisters in the gender development of preschool children.

The study examined whether the sex of older siblings influences the gender role development of younger brothers and sisters of age 3 years. Data on the Pre-School Activities Inventory, a measure of gender role behavior that discriminates within as well as between the sexes, were obtained in a general population study for 527 girls and 582 boys with an older sister, 500 girls and 561 boys with an older brother, and 1665 singleton girls and 1707 singleton boys. It was found that boys with older brothers and girls with older sisters were more sex-typed than same-sex singletons who, in turn, were more sex-typed than children with other-sex siblings. Having an older brother was associated with more masculine and less feminine behavior in both boys and girls, whereas boys with older sisters were more feminine but not less masculine and girls with older sisters were less masculine but not more feminine.

Birth Order↗
PubMed2000

Oocyte and semen donation: a survey of UK licensed centres.

In view of the difficulties encountered by licensed clinics in the recruitment of oocyte and semen donors, the present survey was commissioned by the National Gamete Donation Trust (NGDT) to provide systematic information on current practice as a basis for planning future recruitment strategies. Sixty-four clinics agreed to participate in the survey, of which 55 recruited oocyte donors, 30 recruited semen donors, and 24 recruited both oocyte and semen donors. Almost all of the clinics had experienced difficulty in obtaining a sufficient supply of donated oocytes, and many patients requiring treatment with donated oocytes were placed on a waiting list for more than one year. Three-quarters of potential donors changed their mind about donating after receiving information on the procedures involved. The difficulties in recruiting semen donors were generally less acute. In this case, the greatest problem was the high proportion of potential semen donors who were deemed unsuitable after completing the screening process. Clinics also reported a shortage of both oocyte and semen donors from specific ethnic groups.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1999

Social versus biological parenting: family functioning and the socioemotional development of children conceived by egg or sperm donation.

By investigating egg donation families, donor insemination families, adoptive families, and families created by in vitro fertilization, the aim of the present study was to examine parents' emotional well-being, the quality of parenting, and childrens' socioemotional development in families with a child who is genetically unrelated to the mother or the father. The differences that were found to exist between families according to the presence or absence of genetic ties between parents and their children reflected greater psychological well-being among mothers and fathers in families where there was no genetic link between the mother and the child. The families did not differ with respect to the quality of parenting or the psychological adjustment of the child.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

A preliminary study of parental stress and child behaviour in families with twins conceived by in-vitro fertilization.

This paper reports on a preliminary study of parenting quality, parental stress and child behaviour in families with twins conceived by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in comparison with families with naturally conceived twins. No differences were found between the types of family in parenting quality or child behaviour. However, parents whose children were conceived by IVF reported greater stress associated with parenting than parents with naturally conceived twins.

Child Behavior↗
PubMed1997

Donor insemination: child development and family functioning in lesbian mother families.

Findings are presented of a comparative study investigating the family relationships and the emotional and gender development of children raised in lesbian mother families. A total of 30 lesbian mother families with 4-8 year old children created as a result of donor insemination (DI) were compared with 38 heterosexual families with a DI child and with 30 heterosexual families who had a naturally conceived child. A variety of assessment measures, including a standardized interview and questionnaires from the parents and psychological testing of the child were used to collect the data. The quality of the couples' relationships and the quality of the mother-child interaction did not differ between lesbian mother families and either of the heterosexual family groups. The quality of the interaction between the social mother and the child in lesbian families was superior to that between the father and the child in both groups of heterosexual families. Childrens' own perception of their parents was similar in all family types; the social mother in lesbian families was regarded by the child to be as much a 'parent' as the father in both types of heterosexual families. With regard to their emotional/behavioural development, boys and girls raised in lesbian mother families were well adjusted and their gender role development did not differ from that of children raised in heterosexual families. These results indicate that child and family development in lesbian mother families is similar to that of heterosexual families.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Donor insemination: Dutch parents' opinions about confidentiality and donor anonymity and the emotional adjustment of their children.

Results from a comparative study investigating 38 donor insemination (DI) Dutch families with 4-8 year old children are presented. The aims of this study were to investigate parents' opinions on the issues of confidentiality and donor anonymity, to assess the emotional development of the children, and to examine in DI families the association between secrecy with regard to the use of a donor and the emotional adjustment of the children. The DI families were compared to families with a child conceived by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and to families with a naturally conceived child. Secrecy appeared to be associated with DI and not with IVF: 74% of the DI parents intended not to inform the child about the way in which she/he was conceived, whereas none of the IVF parents intended to keep the secret. Only one set of DI parents and two sets of IVF parents had actually told the child. As to donor anonymity, a spread of opinions appeared among DI parents; 57% preferred an anonymous donor, 31% would have liked non-identifying information about the donor, 9% preferred the donor's identity to be registered and 3% remained unsure. Parents' major concern was to know more about the medical/genetic background of the donor. Mothers and fathers in the DI families differed in their opinions concerning the issues of confidentiality and donor anonymity: fathers, more often than mothers, were secretive with regard to the use of a donor and husbands, more often than their wives, were in favour of donor anonymity. With regard to the emotional development of the children, more emotional/behavioural problems were revealed among DI children than among children who were naturally conceived. No association was found between secrecy and the emotional/behavioural adjustment of the children.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1997

Children raised in fatherless families from infancy: family relationships and the socioemotional development of children of lesbian and single heterosexual mothers.

The aim of the study was to investigate family functioning and the psychological development of children raised in fatherless families from their first year of life. Thirty lesbian mother families and 42 families headed by a single heterosexual mother were compared with 41 two-parent heterosexual families using standardised interview and questionnaire measures of the quality of parenting and the socioemotional development of the child. The results show that children raised in fatherless families from infancy experienced greater warmth and interaction with their mother, and were more securely attached to her, although they perceived themselves to be less cognitively and physically competent than their peers from father-present families. No differences were identified between families headed by lesbian and single heterosexual mothers, except for greater mother-child interaction in lesbian mother families.

Child↗
PubMed1997

The European study of assisted reproduction families: a comparison of family functioning and child development between Eastern and Western Europe.

Developments in reproductive technology over the past 20 years have given infertile couples new opportunities to have children. Although assisted reproduction does not appear to lead to negative consequences with respect to parent-child relationships or the socioemotional development of the child, the outcome for children and their parents may well differ according to the social and cultural environment. The aim of the present study was to compare family functioning and the social and emotional development of children in families created as a result of assisted reproductive techniques in Western Europe with assisted reproduction families in an Eastern European country (Bulgaria) where there is a history of specific pronatalist interventions. The findings indicate greater difficulties in parental adjustment and child behavior in assisted conception families in Eastern Europe. In addition, Eastern European parents were more uncertain than Western European parents about whether they would tell the child, and Eastern European parents were much more secretive with respect to telling others. Thus the outcomes of assisted reproduction for family functioning and child development appear to be independent, to some extent at least, on the social context in which these techniques are carried out.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1996

The European study of assisted reproduction families: family functioning and child development.

Findings are presented of a European study (conducted in the UK, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands) of family relationships and the social and emotional development of children in families created as a result of the two most widely used reproductive technologies, in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and donor insemination (DI), in comparison with control groups of families with naturally conceived child and adoptive families. Mothers of children conceived by assisted reproduction expressed greater warmth towards their child, were more emotionally involved with their child, interacted more with their child and reported less stress associated with parenting than mothers who conceived their child naturally. Similarly, assisted reproduction fathers were found to interact more with their child and to contribute more to parenting than fathers with a naturally conceived child. With respect to the children themselves, no group differences were found for either the presence of psychological disorder or for children's perceptions of the quality of family relationships. The findings relating to the quality of parenting and the socio-emotional development of the children were similar in each of the four countries studied.

Adoption↗
PubMed1996

The role of coping strategies in protecting individuals against long-term tranquillizer use.

This research examined the influences of social circumstances, coping and level and length of drug intake on dependence and withdrawal from benzodiazepine use. A sample of long-term benzodiazepine users were followed up over a period of six months. At first interview the participants' drug intake and anxiety and depression levels were established and the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (LEDS) was administered. At follow up these measures were repeated and individuals' coping strategies for dealing with dependence were also assessed. By the time of the follow-up interview slightly more than half of the participants (57 per cent) had either withdrawn completely from benzodiazepine medication or had reduced their daily dose. Analyses showed that reduction was unrelated to factors associated with the drugs themselves, to the severity of life-events and difficulties, to lessening of difficulties or to the occurrence of positive life-events. Significant associations, however, were found between participants' coping responses in relation to long-term benzodiazepine use and the individuals' reduction or cessation of benzodiazepine use in the six month study period. The study showed that in the absence of positive life-events and in spite of ongoing difficulties actively confronting the problems of benzodiazepine use can have a positive effect on outcome. The findings suggest that interventions which encourage cognitive, behavioural and affective aspects of coping are those which would appear to be most likely to succeed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗