Medical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral outcomes in school-age children conceived by In-Vitro Fertilization

• Published in: Journal of clinical child psychology Vol. 27; no. 3; pp. 320 - 329
• Main Authors: Levy-Shiff, Rachel, Vakil, Eli, Dimitrovsky, Lilly, Abramovitz, Miriam, Shahar, Norith, Har-Even, Dov, Gross, Schlomo, Lerman, Maya, Levy, Izhak, Sirota, Lea, Fish, Benjamin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc 01.10.1998
• Subjects: Affective Symptoms - diagnosis; Affective Symptoms - psychology; Child; Child Behavior Disorders - diagnosis; Child Behavior Disorders - psychology; Child, Exceptional - psychology; Child, Preschool; Children; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognition Disorders - psychology; Conception; Developmental aspects; Developmental Disabilities - diagnosis; Developmental Disabilities - psychology; Embryo Transfer - psychology; Female; Fertilization in Vitro - psychology; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; In vitro fertilization; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Intelligence; Male; Personality Assessment; Pregnancy; Social Adjustment
• ISSN: 0047-228X; 1532-7639
• DOI: 10.1207/s15374424jccp2703_8

Assessed long-term effects of assisted reproduction technologies of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and related techniques of embryo transfer (ET) on children's adjustment. 51 school-age Israeli children conceived by IVF'ET were compared with 51 control- matched children conceived spontaneously. The assessment includeda comprehensive medical evaluation, a psychological examination, teachers' reports, parents' reports, and children's self-reports. As compared with controls, NF/ET children did not reveal significant differences in physical and neurological status or on cognitive measures of IQ, visual-motor coordination, visual memory, and verbal comprehension. Nevertheless, the IVFET children were scored lower by teachers on measures of socioemotional adjustment in school and on self-report measures of anxiety, aggression, and depression. Among NFET children, the tendency to be at a greater risk for emotional disturbances was exacerbated among boys and among children whose parents were older.