ABSTRACT
The psychosocial implications of assisted reproductive technology (ART)
can begin for families many years prior to the birth of a child. Any type of
assisted reproductive therapy may be associated with long periods of
parental stress, compared to natural conception, which could influence
adaptation to the parental role, parental relationships, parent-child rela-
tionships and children's socioemotional development. Investigations of
families created by A R T have focused much of their attention on identify-
ing potential risks to child development, mediated by parental stress, asso-
ciated parental mental health problems, problematic family relationships,
difficulties with parenting and distorted parental cognitions. To put it sim-
ply, it has been assumed that the significant and increasingly common
stressor - infertility - and the ensuing in vitro fertilization (IVF) or other
A R T experience may disrupt early parenting styles and impact in a num-
ber of ways on family life and consequently on children's development 1.
This is evident in a recently developed measure, the Parenting After Infer-
