The Well-Being of Adolescents Conceived Through Medically Assisted Reproduction: A Population-Level and Within-Family Analysis

Medically assisted reproduction (MAR) plays an increasingly important role in the realization of fertility intentions in advanced societies, yet the evidence regarding MAR-conceived children’s longer-term well-being remains inconclusive. Using register data on all Finnish children born in 1995–2000,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of population 2022-12, Vol.38 (5), p.915-949
Main Authors: Remes, Hanna, Palma Carvajal, Maria, Peltonen, Riina, Martikainen, Pekka, Goisis, Alice
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Adolescence
Adolescents
Children
Demography
Dropping out
Education
Employment
Families & family life
Fertility
Health behavior
Health status
High risk
Home-leaving
Human Geography
IVF
Medically assisted reproduction
Mental disorders
Mental health
Methodology of the Social Sciences
Population Economics
Public Finance
Reproduction
Risk behavior
Risk taking
School dropouts
Siblings
Social Sciences
Sociodemographics
Sociology
Teenagers
Well being
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Summary:Medically assisted reproduction (MAR) plays an increasingly important role in the realization of fertility intentions in advanced societies, yet the evidence regarding MAR-conceived children’s longer-term well-being remains inconclusive. Using register data on all Finnish children born in 1995–2000, we compared a range of social and mental health outcomes among MAR- and naturally conceived adolescents in population-averaged estimates, and within families who have conceived both through MAR and naturally. In baseline models, MAR-conceived adolescents had better school performance and the likelihood of school dropout, not being in education or employment, and early home-leaving were lower than among naturally conceived adolescents. No major differences were found in mental health and high-risk health behaviours. Adjustment for family sociodemographic characteristics attenuated MAR adolescents’ advantage in social outcomes, while increasing the risk of mental disorders. The higher probability of mental disorders persisted when comparing MAR adolescents to their naturally conceived siblings. On average, MAR adolescents had similar or better outcomes than naturally conceived adolescents, largely due to their more advantaged family backgrounds, which underscores the importance of integrating a sociodemographic perspective in studies of MAR and its consequences.
ISSN:0168-6577
1572-9885
1572-9885
DOI:10.1007/s10680-022-09623-6