TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychosocial outcomes for parents and children after in vitro fertilization
T2 - a review
AU - McMahon, Catherine A.
AU - Ungerer, Judy A.
AU - Beaurepaire, Janet
AU - Tennant, Christopher
AU - Saunders, Douglas
PY - 1995/1/1
Y1 - 1995/1/1
N2 - Descriptive writings and empirical research on the longterm effects of infertility and in vitro fertilization (IVF) on the psychosocial adjustment of parents and children are reviewed in three major areas: the experience of pregnancy, the quality of parenting, and the cognitive, social and emotional development of the children. Contrary to prior speculation, overall findings indicate that parents who conceive by IVF do not differ from comparison groups on adjustment to pregnancy, and they do not demonstrate dysfunctional parenting styles. Furthermore, there is no evidence that children conceived by IVF differ on either cognitive or social/emotional indices of development. However, the number of empirical studies is small and significant methodological shortcomings limit the conclusions which can be drawn from the research. More prospective empirical work is needed to clarify outcomes and to document the process of psychological adjustment over time in IVF families.
AB - Descriptive writings and empirical research on the longterm effects of infertility and in vitro fertilization (IVF) on the psychosocial adjustment of parents and children are reviewed in three major areas: the experience of pregnancy, the quality of parenting, and the cognitive, social and emotional development of the children. Contrary to prior speculation, overall findings indicate that parents who conceive by IVF do not differ from comparison groups on adjustment to pregnancy, and they do not demonstrate dysfunctional parenting styles. Furthermore, there is no evidence that children conceived by IVF differ on either cognitive or social/emotional indices of development. However, the number of empirical studies is small and significant methodological shortcomings limit the conclusions which can be drawn from the research. More prospective empirical work is needed to clarify outcomes and to document the process of psychological adjustment over time in IVF families.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0003039396&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02646839508403227
DO - 10.1080/02646839508403227
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0003039396
SN - 0264-6838
VL - 13
SP - 1
EP - 16
JO - Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
JF - Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
IS - 1
ER -