This UK longitudinal study of families formed through Assisted Reproduction began at the turn of the century and has been following up families with a child born through surrogacy, egg donation, sperm donation from infancy into adulthood. The study took place over 7 phases, when the target child was aged 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 14 and 20 years of age. All families were headed by two parent heterosexual couples at the start of the study. Data has been collected using interviews, questionnaires and observational assessments. The study is one of the longest follow-up studies of ART families and has shown that ART families function well, and that children in these families are similar to families with a child born following unassisted conception.

Selected publications can be found below:

Golombok, S., Jones, C., Hall, P., Foley, S., Imrie, S., & Jadva, V. (2023). A longitudinal study of families formed through third-party assisted reproduction: Mother–child relationships and child adjustment from infancy to adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 59(6), 1059–1073. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001526

Golombok, S., Jones, C., Hall, P., Foley, S., Imrie, S. and Jadva, V. (2023). A longitudinal study of families formed through third-party assisted reproduction: Mother–child relationships and child adjustment from infancy to adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 59(6), pp. 1059-1073. doi:10.1037/dev0001526

Jadva, V., Jones, C., Hall, P., Imrie, S. and Golombok, S. (2023). ‘I know it’s not normal but it’s normal to me, and that’s all that matters’: experiences of young adults conceived through egg donation, sperm donation, and surrogacy. Human Reproduction, 38(5), pp. 908-916. doi:10.1093/humrep/dead048

Ilioi, E., Blake, L., Jadva, V., Roman, G. and Golombok, S. (2017). The role of age of disclosure of biological origins in the psychological wellbeing of adolescents conceived by reproductive donation: a longitudinal study from age 1 to age 14. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58(3), pp. 315-324. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12667

Casey, P., Jadva, V., Blake, L. and Golombok, S. (2013). Families Created by Donor Insemination: Father–Child Relationships at Age 7. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75(4), pp. 858-870. doi:10.1111/jomf.12043

Golombok, S., Blake, L., Casey, P., Roman, G. and Jadva, V. (2013). Children born through reproductive donation: a longitudinal study of psychological adjustment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(6), pp. 653-660. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12015

Blake, L., Casey, P., Jadva, V. and Golombok, S. (2012). Marital stability and quality in families created by assisted reproduction techniques: a follow-up study. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 25(7), pp. 678-683. doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2012.09.006