The current study explored whether and to what extent different procreative options (natural conception, adoption, homologous techniques, and heterologous techniques) were perceived as enriching or threatening to young adults’ expectation of identity motives fulfillment. Our sample consisted of 1380 Italian young adults (62.9% women) aged between 18 and 33 years who participated in a national online survey on young adulthood. Results showed that participants expect natural conception to be more enriching to their identity, whereas they expected heterologous techniques to be more threatening to their identity compared to all other procreative options. Moreover, participants perceived adoption in the event of one’s partner’s sterility to be more enriching to their identity compared to both homologous and heterologous assisted reproductive techniques. Data were also analyzed taking into account the participants’ sex, age, and religious beliefs.
AbramowitzJ. (2018). Planning parenthood: The affordable care act young adult provision and pathways to fertility. Journal of Population Economics, 31(4), 1097–1123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-017-0676-6.
BaumeisterR. F.LearyM. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497–529. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497.
4.
BelangerKCopelandSCheungM (2008). The role of faith in adoption: Achieving positive adoption outcomes for African American children. Child Welfare, 87(2), 99–123.
5.
BelskyJ.KellyJ. (1994). The transition to parenthood: How a first child changes a marriage why some couples grow closer and others apart. Dell.
6.
BestMSleasmanMHegedusESchlubTE (2019). Protestant Christian attitudes to ART. Human Reproduction Open, 2019(3), hoz018. https://doi.org/10.1093/hropen/hoz018.
7.
BleidornW.Buyukcan-TetikA.SchwabaT.Van ScheppingenM. A.DenissenJ. J. A.FinkenauerC. (2016). Stability and change in self-esteem during the transition to parenthood. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7(6), 560–569. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550616646428.
8.
BostK. K.CoxM. J.BurchinalM. R.PayneC. (2002). Structural and supportive changes in couples' family and friendship networks across the transition to parenthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64(2), 517–531. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00517.x.
9.
Brauner-OttoS. R.GeistC. (2018). Uncertainty, doubts, and delays: Economic circumstances and childbearing expectations among emerging adults. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 39(1), 88–102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-017-9548-1.
10.
BulcroftR.TeachmanJ. (2004). Ambiguous constructions: Development of a childless or child-free life course. In ColemanM.GanongL. H. (Eds), Handbook of contemporary families: Considering the past, contemplating the future (pp. 116-135). Sage.
11.
CanziE.AccordiniM.FacchinF. (2019). “Is blood thicker than water?” Donor conceived offspring’s subjective experiences of the donor: A systematic narrative review. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 38(5), 797–807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2018.11.033.
12.
CanziE.DanioniF.RosnatiR.ScabiniE.BarniD. (2020). Attitudes towards procreative options in the event of infertility: The role of personal values and religiosity. The Open Psychology, 13(1), 341–350. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874350102013010341.
13.
CanziE.RosnatiR.PalaciosJ.RománM. (2018). Internationally adopted children's cognitive and social-emotional development during the first post-adoption year: A longitudinal study. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 15(5), 517–530. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2017.1316257.
14.
CarràE.LanzM.TagliabueS. (2014). Transition to adulthood in Italy: An intergenerational perspective. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 45(2), 235–248. https://doi.org/10.3138/jcfs.45.2.235.
15.
ChenE. Y.-J.EnrightR. D.TungE. Y.-L. (2016). The influence of family unions and parenthood transitions on self-development. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(3), 341–352. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000154.
16.
CigoliV.ScabiniE. (2007). The family identity. Ties, symbols and transitions. Erlbaum.
CohenJ.McMahonC.TennantC.SaundersD.LeslieG. (2000). Psychosocial outcomes for fathers after IVF conception: A controlled prospective investigation from pregnancy to four months postpartum. Reproductive Technologies, 10, 126–130.
19.
CowanC. P.CowanP. A. (1992). When partners become parents: The big life change for couples. Basic Books.
20.
CrocettiE.TagliabueS.SugimuraK.NelsonL. J.TakahashiA.NiwaT., et al (2015). Perceptions of emerging adulthood. Emerging Adulthood, 3(4), 229-243. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696815569848.
21.
DanilukJ. C.KoertE. (2012). Childless Canadian men’s and women’s childbearing intentions, attitudes towards and willingness to use assisted human reproduction. Human Reproduction, 27(8), 2405–2412. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/des190.
22.
Delle FaveA.MassiminiF. (2004). Parenthood and the quality of experience in daily life: A longitudinal study. Social Indicators Research, 67(1-2), 75–106. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SOCI.0000007335.26602.59.
ErolR. Y.OrthU. (2011). Self-esteem development from age 14 to 30 years: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(3), 607–619. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024299.
25.
FerrariL.ManziC.Benet-MartinezV.RosnatiR. (2019). Social and family factors related to intercountry adoptees and immigrants' bicultural identity integration. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 50(6), 789–805. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022119850339.
26.
FisherJ. R. W.RoweH.HammarbergK. (2012). Admissions for early parenting difficulties among women with infants conceived by assisted reproductive technologies: A prospective cohort study. Fertility and Sterility, 97(6), 1410–1416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.02.050.
27.
FurstenbergF. F. (2014). Fifty years of family change. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 654(1), 12–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716214524521.
28.
GadsdenV. L.FordM.BreinerH. (2016). Parenting matters: Supporting parents of children ages 0-8. The National Academies Press. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
29.
GibsonF. L.UngererJ. A.TennantC. C.SaundersD. M. (2000). Parental adjustment and attitudes to parenting after in vitro fertilization. Fertility and Sterility, 73(3), 565–574. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0015-0282(99)00583-X.
30.
GrasmickH. G.WilcoxL. P.BirdS. R. (1990). The effects of religious fundamentalism and religiosity on preference for traditional family norms. Sociological Inquiry, 60(4), 352–369. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.1990.tb00154.x.
31.
GreilA.McQuillanJ.BenjaminsM.JohnsonD. R.JohnsonK. M.HeinzC. R. (2010). Specifying the effects of religion on medical helpseeking: The case of infertility. Social Science & Medicine, 71(4), 734–742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.04.033.
HammarbergK.FisherJ. R. W.WynterK. H. (2008). Psychological and social aspects of pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting after assisted conception: A systematic review. Human Reproduction Update, 14(5), 395–414. https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmn030.
34.
HollandJ. A.KeizerR. (2015). Family attitudes and fertility timing in Sweden. European Journal of Population, 31(3), 259–285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-014-9333-x.
35.
HollingsworthL. D. (2000). Who seeks to adopt a child?Adoption Quarterly, 3(3), 1–23.
Koropeckyj‐CoxT.PendellG. (2007). The gender gap in attitudes about childlessness in the United States. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(4), 899–915. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00420.x.
38.
LambK. A. (2008). Exploring adoptive motherhood: Adoption-seeking among hispanic and non-hispanic white women. Adoption Quarterly, 11(3), 155–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926750802421974.
39.
LaneyE. K.HallM. E. L.AndersonT. L.WillinghamM. M. (2015). Becoming a mother: The influence of motherhood on women’s identity development. Identity, 15(2), 126–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2015.1023440.
40.
LevittM. J (2005). Social relations in childhood and adolescence: The convoy model perspective. Human Development, 48(1-2), 28–47. https://doi.org/10.1159/000083214.
41.
LindheimS. R.CoyneK.Ayensu-CokerL.O’LearyK.SinnS.JaegerA. S. (2014). The impact of assisted reproduction on socio-cultural values and social norms. Advances in Anthropology, 04(04), 227–242. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/aa.2014.44025.
42.
ManziC.VignolesV. L.RegaliaC.ScabiniE. (2006). Cohesion and enmeshment revisited: Differentiation, identity, and well-being in two European cultures. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68(3), 673–689. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2006.00282.x.
43.
McMahonC. A. (1999). Does assisted reproduction make an impact on the identity and self-esteem of infertile women during the transition to parenthood?Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 16(2), 59–62. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022508604606.
44.
McMahonC.GibsonF. (2002). A special path to parenthood: Parent-child relationships in families giving birth to singleton infants through IVF. Reproductive Biomedicine Online, 5(2), 179–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1472-6483(10)61622-7.
45.
NelsonS. K.KushlevK.EnglishT.DunnE. W.LyubomirskyS. (2013). In defense of parenthood. Psychological Science, 24(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612447798.
46.
NelsonS. K.KushlevK.LyubomirskyS. (2014). The pains and pleasures of parenting: When, why, and how is parenthood associated with more or less well-being?Psychological Bulletin, 140(3), 846–895. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035444.
47.
O’LaughlinE. M.AndersonV. N. (2001). Perceptions of parenthood among young adults: Implications for career and family planning. American Journal of Family Therapy, 29(2), 95–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926180125728.
48.
ParkN. K.Wonch HillP. (2014). Is adoption an option? The role of importance of motherhood and fertility help-seeking in considering adoption. Journal of Family Issues, 35(5), 601–626. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X13493277.
49.
RindfussR. R. (1991). The young adult years: Diversity, structural change, and fertility. Demography, 28(4), 493–512. https://doi.org/10.2307/2061419.
50.
RobinsR. W.TrzesniewskiK. H. (2005). Self-esteem development across the lifespan. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(3), 158–162. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00353.x.
51.
SallamHNSallamNH (2016). Religious aspects of assisted reproduction. Facts, Views & Vision in ObGyn, 8(1), 33–48.
SimonR. W. (1992). Parental role strains, salience of parental identity and gender differences in psychological distress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 33(1), 25–35. https://doi.org/10.2307/2136855.
54.
Stöbel-RichterY.GoldschmidtS.BrählerE.WeidnerK.BeutelM. (2009). Egg donation, surrogate mothering, and cloning: Attitudes of men and women in Germany based on a representative survey. Fertility and Sterility, 92(1), 124–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.05.015.
55.
StraussR.GoldbergW. A. (1999). Self and possible selves during the transition to fatherhood. Journal of Family Psychology, 13(2), 244–259. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.13.2.244.
56.
Taubman-Ben-AriO. (2012). Becoming and developing: Personal growth in the wake of parenthood and grandparenthood. In ShaverP. R.MikulincerM. (Eds.), Meaning, mortality, and choice: The social psychology of existential concerns (pp. 163–181). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13748-009.
57.
ThomanS. E.StephensA. K.RobnettR. D. (2021). “Squeezing the life out of each day”: Emerging adult women’s work-family expectations in STEM. Emerging Adulthood. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696821990910.
58.
Van LaninghamJ. L.ScheubleL. K.JohnsonD. R. (2012). Social factors predicting women’s consideration of adoption. Michigan Family Review, 16(1), 1–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/mfr.4919087.0016.101.
59.
van ScheppingenM. A.DenissenJ. J. A.ChungJ. M.TambsK.BleidornW. (2018). Self-esteem and relationship satisfaction during the transition to motherhood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(6), 973–991. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000156.
60.
VignolesV. L.ManziC.RegaliaC.JemmoloS.ScabiniE. (2008). Identity motives underlying desired and feared possible future selves. Journal of Personality, 76(5), 1165–1200. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00518.x.
61.
VignolesV. L.RegaliaC.ManziC.GolledgeJ.ScabiniE. (2006). Beyond self-esteem: Influence of multiple motives on identity construction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(2), 308–333.
