Can a magic wand plausibly be used in serious psychological research? The complications of researching the ideal age at which to be a parent through the eyes of the child
Abstract
The recent increase in the use of ART puts the issue of an acceptable childbearing age in current society under question. The ART legislation takes into account the preferences of potential parents; children's preferences, however, are not ascertained.
This article discusses a research method used in a survey on older children and young adults. The objective of that survey was to answer following questions: What age of their parents would children prefer, if they could choose it? What would be their reasons? Respondents were asked the following question: "How old would you like your mother and father to be when you are 20 (version for respondents younger than 16 years) or 25 (version for those older than 16) if you had a magic wand?" Furthermore, their reasons for wishing for a change were identified through an open question "Why would you like to change the age of their parents?".