Attachment in donor conception: curiosity, search, and contact

Lozano, Elizabeth Barlow

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/101735 Copy

Description

Title

Attachment in donor conception: curiosity, search, and contact

Author(s)

Lozano, Elizabeth Barlow

Issue Date

2018-07-20

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Fraley, R. Chris

Department of Study

Psychology

Discipline

Psychology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• curiosity
• identity
• attachment
• donor conception

Abstract

Donor conceived (DC) people represent a unique population with atypical family structures. The present study examined whether individual differences in attachment predict adults’ self-reported curiosity about their donor conception identity, as well as attempts to find the donor and establish contact. Data were collected from 488 donor conceived people from the Donor Sibling Registry (DSR). People who were high in attachment-related anxiety were more curious than others about their donor conception. Despite this curiosity, however, highly anxious people were more disengaged from donor conception and were not more likely than others to search for or have made contact with their donor. These findings suggest that insecure attachment – in particular, attachment anxiety – may contribute to peoples’ willingness to incorporate donor conception into their identities.

Graduation Semester

2018-08

Type of Resource

text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101735

Copyright and License Information

© 2018 Elizabeth Barlow Lozano

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