Zadeh S, Jones C M, Basi T, Golombok S
Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, Free School Lane, Cambridge, UK.
Hum Reprod. 2017 Apr 1;32(4):868-875. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dex016.
What is the relationship between children's thoughts and feelings about their donor and their security of attachment to their solo mothers in middle childhood?
Children with higher levels of secure-autonomous attachment to their mothers were more likely to have positive perceptions of the donor, and those with higher levels of insecure-disorganized attachment to their mothers were more likely to perceive him negatively.
There is limited understanding of the factors that contribute to children's thoughts and feelings about their donor in solo mother families. In adolescence, an association was found between adolescents' curiosity about donor conception and their security of attachment to their mothers.
STUDY DESIGN SIZE, DURATION: 19 children were administered the Friends and Family Interview and Donor Conception Interview between December 2015 and March 2016 as part of the second phase of a longitudinal, multi-method, multi-informant study of solo mother families.
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS SETTING METHODS: All children were aged between 7 and 13 years and had been conceived by donor insemination to solo mothers. Interviews were conducted in participants' homes. The Friends and Family Interview was rated according to a standardized coding scheme designed to measure security of attachment in terms of secure-autonomous, insecure-dismissing, insecure-preoccupied and insecure-disorganized attachment patterns. Quantitative analyses of the Donor Conception Interview yielded two factors: interest in the donor and perceptions of the donor. Qualitative analyses of the Donor Conception Interview were conducted using qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis.
Statistically significant associations were found between the perception of the donor scale and the secure-autonomous and insecure-disorganized attachment ratings. Children with higher levels of secure-autonomous attachment to their mothers were more likely to have positive perceptions of the donor (r = 0.549, P = 0.015), and those with higher levels of insecure-disorganized attachment to their mothers were more likely to perceive him negatively (r = -0.632, P = 0.004). Children's narratives about the donor depicted him as a stranger (n = 8), a biological father (n = 4), a social parent (n = 3), or in ambivalent terms (n = 4).
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Findings are limited by the wide age range of children within a small overall sample size. Participants were those willing and able to take part in research on donor conception families. The statistical significance of correlation coefficients was not corrected for multiple comparisons.
Findings highlight the importance of situating children's ideas about the donor within family contexts. It is recommended that those working with donor conception families consider this when advising parents about whether, what and how to tell children about donor conception.
STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): This study was funded by the Wellcome Trust [097857/Z/11/Z]. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
童年中期，儿童对捐赠者的想法和感受与他们对单亲母亲的依恋安全感之间有什么关系？
与母亲有较高安全自主依恋水平的儿童更有可能对捐赠者有积极的看法，而与母亲有较高不安全混乱依恋水平的儿童更有可能对捐赠者有消极的看法。
对于单亲母亲家庭中影响儿童对捐赠者想法和感受的因素，人们了解有限。在青少年中，发现青少年对捐赠受孕的好奇心与他们对母亲的依恋安全感之间存在关联。
研究设计、规模、持续时间：2015年12月至2016年3月期间，对19名儿童进行了朋友和家庭访谈以及捐赠受孕访谈，这是对单亲母亲家庭进行的纵向、多方法、多信息源研究第二阶段的一部分。
参与者/材料、环境、方法：所有儿童年龄在7至13岁之间，通过捐赠者人工授精出生于单亲母亲家庭。访谈在参与者家中进行。朋友和家庭访谈根据标准化编码方案进行评分，该方案旨在从安全自主、不安全回避、不安全焦虑和不安全混乱的依恋模式方面衡量依恋安全感。捐赠受孕访谈的定量分析产生了两个因素：对捐赠者的兴趣和对捐赠者的看法。捐赠受孕访谈的定性分析采用定性内容分析和主题分析。
在捐赠者看法量表与安全自主和不安全混乱依恋评分之间发现了具有统计学意义的关联。与母亲有较高安全自主依恋水平的儿童更有可能对捐赠者有积极的看法（r = 0.549，P = 0.015），而与母亲有较高不安全混乱依恋水平的儿童更有可能对捐赠者有消极的看法（r = -0.632，P = 0.004）。儿童关于捐赠者的叙述将其描述为陌生人（n = 8）、生物学父亲（n = 4）、社会父母（n = 3）或态度矛盾（n = 4）。
局限性、谨慎原因：研究结果受到总体样本量小且儿童年龄范围广的限制。参与者是愿意且能够参与捐赠受孕家庭研究的人。相关系数的统计学显著性未针对多重比较进行校正。
研究结果突出了在家庭背景中理解儿童对捐赠者看法的重要性。建议与捐赠受孕家庭打交道的人在就是否、告知什么以及如何告知儿童有关捐赠受孕的问题向父母提供建议时考虑这一点。
研究资金/利益冲突：本研究由惠康信托基金资助[097857/Z/11/Z]。作者声明无利益冲突。
