Personal Growth of New Fathers following Assisted Reproductive Technology or Spontaneous Pregnancy

SYNOPSIS

Objective: The study aimed at comparing personal growth between fathers whose infants were conceived with the aid of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and those whose infants were conceived spontaneously and to examine associations with personal resources. Design: We examined associations between personal growth on the one hand and optimism, positive and negative emotions, and parenting stress on the other, among fathers whose infants were conceived with the aid of ART and those whose infants were conceived spontaneously. One hundred and seventy-two Israeli first-time fathers (76 following ART and 96 following spontaneous pregnancies) whose infants were 5–18 months old completed a series of self-report questionnaires. Results: No difference was found in personal growth between the two research groups. For all men, lower economic status, older age of the child, higher optimism, higher positive and negative emotions, and parenting stress were all associated with greater growth. Conclusions: Although a certain level of stress and negative affect is a prerequisite for personal growth, it is made possible by positive resources, such as optimism and positive emotions. In addition, the manner in which the pregnancy was achieved appears to have no long-term consequences for men’s experience of personal growth in the transition to fatherhood. Professionals should relate to the present needs and emotional states of new fathers rather than their fertility history.

ARTICLE INFORMATION

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Each author signed a form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No authors reported any financial or other conflicts of interest in relation to the work described.

Ethical principles: The authors affirm having followed professional ethical guidelines in preparing this work. These guidelines include obtaining informed consent from human participants, maintaining ethical treatment and respect for the rights of human or animal participants, and ensuring the privacy of participants and their data, such as ensuring that individual participants cannot be identified in reported results or from publicly available original or archival data.

Funding: This work was not supported by any grant.

Role of the Funders/Sponsors: None of the funders or sponsors of this research had any role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their comments on prior versions of this manuscript. The ideas and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors alone, and endorsement by the authors’ institutions is not intended and should not be inferred.

Additional information

Funding

This work was not supported by any grant.