Attachment in donor-conceived adults: Curiosity, search, and contact

Donor-conceived (DC) people represent a unique population with atypical family structures. This study examined whether individual differences in attachment predict adults' self-reported curiosity about their donor conception identity, as well as attempts to find the donor and establish contact. Data were collected from 488 DC people from the Donor Sibling Registry (DSR). People who were high in attachment-related anxiety were more curious than others about their donor conception. Despite this curiosity, however, highly anxious people were more disengaged from donor conception and were not more likely than others to search for or have made contact with their donor. These findings suggest that insecure attachment—particularly attachment anxiety—may contribute to people's willingness to incorporate donor conception into their identities.