This study reports on the questions, thoughts and feelings of children aged 4–9 conceived by donor insemination to single mothers. Fifty‐one mothers and 47 children from the same families were each administered a semi‐structured interview. Mothers generally reported that while children either lack understanding, or have not yet been told, about their donor conception, they may be thinking and talking about the absence of a father. Most children did not mention either donor conception or father absence and reported positive feelings about their families and friendships. Possible explanations for the discrepancy between mothers’ and children's reports are discussed.

中文翻译：

---

“捐赠者对四岁孩子意味着什么？”：对单亲家庭中幼儿观点的初步洞察

本研究报告了通过供体授精给单身母亲受孕的 4-9 岁儿童的问题、想法和感受。来自同一家庭的 51 位母亲和 47 位儿童均接受了半结构化访谈。母亲们普遍报告说，虽然孩子们对捐赠者的概念缺乏了解或尚未被告知，但他们可能正在考虑和谈论父亲的缺席。大多数孩子没有提到捐赠者受孕或父亲缺席，并报告了对他们的家庭和友谊的积极感受。讨论了对母亲和儿童报告之间差异的可能解释。