This research explores the relationship between the social and technological developments associated with infertility treatment and social media. First, it investigates the new kinds of relationships that emerge among children who share the same egg or sperm donor, and among the parents (and other relatives) of these "donor siblings." Second, it explores how important people think their genes are to understanding their relationships to other people. This exploration focuses on people's beliefs about how much genes shape and limit our characteristics and life outcomes. The proposed research will add to Sociology's theories of, and practical knowledge about, two related sets of issues: 1) how and why new forms of kinship are created and sustained in today's world; and 2) how individuals understand what social and biogenetic influences contribute to individual behavior and family dynamics. These issues will be explored among people who are part of various family types, people in different geographic regions, and people who represent different social, economic, and racial/ethnic groups.
The research is based on online surveys distributed to parents who have children conceived through gametes and to teens and adults who were conceived through gametes. The information from these surveys will be used to identify people who are appropriate for in-depth interviews and to provide background for what the researchers learn from those interviews. These interviews will involve parents and children from a range of family types, regions, and social positions.
This research has many broader impacts related to family and household development. It will also provide insight into new notions of considering and acting upon familial health histories. In additional to academic publishing, the investigators will enhance their own teaching about the sociology of the family and plan to design special materials about this topic that others who teach in relevant fields can adapt for their own use. Undergraduates at both Middlebury College and Wellesley College also will be involved in the research.
