Understanding parental decisions and regrets in the context of hypospadias surgery

This paper examines parental regret studies, taking a psychosocial approach to considering what research evidence supports hypospadias surgery and what evidence brings that surgery into question. This paper draws out the implications for engaging parents in a meaningful process of deciding whether or not a surgical pathway is the best option for their child.

Katrina Roen is Professor of Sociology at the University of Waikato (Aotearoa New Zealand). Her academic research relating to intersex/variations in sex characteristics draws from critical psychology and gender and sexuality studies. Some of this research has been undertaken within the SENS Project, a series of empirical studies carried out in Scotland, England, Norway and Sweden. Katrina’s current research investigates how New Zealand is responding to the human rights claims that have been presented by the United Nations to the New Zealand government in relation to the medical treatment of intersex children. In her work, Katrina prioritises building dialogue between health professionals, researchers and intersex advocates. Katrina is one of the founding members of EuroPSI and currently chairs the organising committee of PSI-I.