Self-reported behavioral and socioemotional functioning of 11- to 18-year-old adolescents conceived by in vitro fertilization

ObjectiveTo evaluate the self-reported psychosocial well-being of 11- to 18-year-old adolescents who were conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) and examine the role of IVF conception on behavior.DesignYouth Self-Report (YSR) of 86 IVF and 97 control adolescents.SettingVU University Medical Center, Amsterdam.Patient(s)Adolescents of ages 11 to 18 years; mean age 15.71 (± 2.06) years in IVF and 15.07 (± 2.11) years in controls.Intervention(s)None.Main Outcome Measure(s)Behavior and socioemotional functioning reported by the children themselves.Result(s)The YSR scores were all within the normal range. No statistically significant differences were found between the IVF and control groups on the different scales.Conclusion(s)Behavior and socioemotional functioning as reported by 11- to 18-year-old adolescents conceived by IVF were found to be normal. Previously found reduced behavior of externalizing nature and more withdrawn/depressed behavior reported by parents and teachers could not be reproduced in this study. We found no significant influence of IVF conception on behavior in adolescence.