Using the theory of planned behavior to predict parents’ disclosure of donor conception to their children: a longitudinal study
Authors: Paulin Johan , Sorjonen Kimmo , Sydsjö Gunilla , Lampic Claudia 
Published: April 2024

STUDY QUESTION

Can the application of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) help predict heterosexual parents’ disclosure of donor conception to their children?

SUMMARY ANSWER

Parents with a stronger will to act in accordance with social norms favoring disclosure were more likely to start the disclosure process within the next 5–9 years.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

In contrast to single mothers by choice and same-sex couples, heterosexual couples need to make an active decision to disclose their use of donor conception to their child. While disclosure at an early age is encouraged by international guidelines, many heterosexual-couple parents struggle with this. A previous study has found an association between parental scores of TPB factors and disclosure intention, but so far, no study has applied the TPB to predict parents’ disclosure behavior.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION

The present study is based on the fourth and fifth waves of data collection (T4 and T5) in a nation-wide longitudinal study. Participating parents had conceived through identity-release oocyte donation (n = 68, response rate 65%) and sperm donation (n = 62, response rate 56%) as part of a heterosexual couple.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS

The present study is part of the prospective longitudinal Swedish Study on Gamete Donation (SSGD). Consecutive recruitment of couples starting oocyte or sperm donation treatment was conducted at all seven fertility clinics providing gamete donation in Sweden during a 3-year period (2005–2008). Participants were requested to complete postal surveys at five time points. The present study includes heterosexual-couple parents following oocyte or sperm donation who participated at the two latest time points when their children were 7–8 years old (T4), and 13–17 years old (T5). At T4, participants completed the study-specific TPB Disclosure Questionnaire (TPB-DQ) measuring attitudes and intentions to disclose the donor conception to the child, and disclosure behavior was assessed at both T4 and T5. Data from those participants who had not yet disclosed at T4 were analyzed using survival analysis with Cox regressions.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

Forty participants had not disclosed the donor conception to their children at T4 and, out of these, 13 had still not disclosed at T5. We found a significant association between scores of the TPB factor Subjective norms at T4 and their subsequent disclosure behavior at T5 (HR = 2.019; 95% CI: 1.36–3.01). None of the other factors were significantly associated with disclosure behavior.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION

The present study concerns heterosexual-couple parents with children conceived following treatment with gametes from open-identity donors, which limits the generalizability of our findings to other groups and contexts. Other limitations include the risk of systematic attrition due to the longitudinal study design and decreased statistical power due to few participants.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

Our findings highlight the importance of perceived subjective norms for parents’ disclosure behavior and indicate that the co-parent’s opinion about disclosure is of particular relevance in this regard. Counselors should focus on supporting prospective parents to initiate and maintain a healthy and open dialogue about concerns around building a family with donor conception.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)

The study was funded by the Swedish Research Council. The authors have no competing interests to declare.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

N/A.