A framework for modelling fertility motivation in couples

Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, 2012

In previous research I have theorised that there is a three-step motivational sequence that drives fertility behaviour, beginning with motivational traits, continuing with fertility desires and concluding with fertility intentions. In this paper I focus on four properties of fertility desires and intentions, examining some recent research findings that bear on the similarities and differences between these two constructs. The four properties include the degree to which either construct has direct genetic antecedents, the degree to which either construct directly predicts behaviour, what type of dimension is used to measure each construct, and the effects that each construct has on the individual's satisfaction with being pregnant. The findings regarding these four properties suggest that fertility desires are intermediate between two evolutionally distinct motive systems that drive reproductive behaviour. The findings also suggest additional research questions that require further pursuit. Finally, the findings inform certain fertility-related policy issues, in particular the gap between desired or intended fertility and actual fertility. 1 This article is based on an invited presentation at the conference "From intentions to behaviour: reproductive decision-making in a macro-micro perspective" organised by the Vienna Institute of Demography and the international project REPRO and held in Vienna, Austria, on December 2-3, 2010.

2011

In previous research I have theorised that there is a three-step motivational sequence that drives fertility behaviour, beginning with motivational traits, continuing with fertility desires and concluding with fertility intentions. In this article I focus on four properties of fertility desires and intentions, examining some recent research findings that bear on the similarities and differences between these two constructs. The four properties include the degree to which either construct has direct genetic antecedents, the degree to which either construct directly predicts behaviour, what type of dimension is used to measure each construct, and the effects that each construct has on the individual's satisfaction with being pregnant. The findings regarding these four properties suggest that fertility desires are intermediate between two evolutionally distinct motive systems that drive reproductive behaviour. The findings also suggest additional research questions that require further pursuit. Finally, the findings inform certain fertility-related policy issues, in particular the gap between desired or intended fertility and actual fertility. 1 This article is based on an invited presentation at the conference "From intentions to behaviour: reproductive decision-making in a macro-micro perspective" organised by the Vienna Institute of Demography and the international project REPRO and held in Vienna, Austria, on December 2-3, 2010.

Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1995

The published literature on the relationship between behavioral intentions and fertility behavior exhibits four major problems: inconsistent and confusing use of theoretical constructs, limited use of different types of intentions, use of nonbehavioral outcomes, and failure to explore adequately the couple aspects of the intentions/behavior relationship. The study reported here addresses these problems by using a theoretical framework that characterizes the psychologicallbehavioral sequence leading to a pfanned conception, three different types of fertility intentions, a behavioral outcome variable, and data from 196 married couples with no children and 185 married couples with one child. Data analysis results in a simultaneous equation, constrained regression model which indicates that child-timing intentions are the most important predictors of proceptive behavior over a 3-1/2 year period and that childbearing intentions are next in importance; that behavioral intentions are the final common pathway through which fertility motivations, attitudes, beliefs, and desires affect behavior; that the use of proceptive behavior as an outcome variable improves the explanatory power of our models; and that the interaction of couple intentions do not demonstrate greater husband or wife influence over couple proceptive behavior but do demonstrate that disagreement has a delaying effect on the onset of that behavior.

2003

In the paper we outline two possible theoretical interpretations for the inconsistency often observed between fertility intentions and fertility behaviour. We draw on socio-psychological models of human behaviour which emphasise the role of normative-affective factors on decision-making processes. The first interpretation is based on the observation that family and fertility choices are gradually shifting from a zone where behaviour is

Family Relations, 2017

This is the author's version of the manuscript accepted for publication in Family Relations. Changes resulting from the publishing process, namely editing, corrections, final formatting for printed or online publication, and other modifications resulting from quality control procedures, may have been subsequently added. The published version can be found in: Matias, M., & Fontaine, A. (2017). Intentions to have a child: a couple-based process.

2018

Abstract: This study investigates how childbearing intentions of both partners in couples affect actual childbearing the coming years, with the intention to investigate whether women’s or men’s intentions may be more important. The study is set in Sweden, a country known for ranking high on gender equality and also a country with relatively high fertility. We use the Young Adult Panel Study (YAPS) which gives information about both partners’ attitudinal orientations and childbearing plans in 2009, and we then follow these couples for five years with register data on childbearing. In 30 percent of the couples both partners plan to have a child, and out of these about three quarters get a child. A fair share of the couples where partners do not completely agree also have a child. The results show that in general both partners need to agree on intentions for the couple to have a child, but that women’s intentions are more important among the couples who already have become parents, tha...

Demography, 1983

Longitudinal survey data from 509 couples who at Time 1 interview had recently married or had their first child did not support the hypothesis that demographic factors influence fertility intentions, decisions, and outcomes only indirectly through their effects on attitudes and motivations. Husbands' and wives' attitudes exerted reciprocal influence on one another. However, while husbands' sex-role traditionalism and motivation for parenthood strongly influenced wives' traditionalism and motivation in the case of recently married couples, this pattern was reversed for dew parents. Birth control use was directly affected by wives' fertility intentions, but not by husbands' intentions. Difficulties in examining couple interaction variables such as relative power and the possible limitations of fitting these data to a complex theoretical model using LISREL are discussed.

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 2018

In heterosexual couples, both partners' intentions to have a baby (or not) are associated with the likelihood of a subsequent birth, yet most studies only measure women's intentions. Therefore, little is known about the potential association of couple agreement or disagreement on intentions or on such values as importance of parenthood, career, and leisure and the implications for childbearing. The goal of this article is to assess whether couple-level agreement or disagreement in fertility intentions and values are associated with the likelihood of a subsequent birth. Guided by the Theory of Conjunctural Action, we use couple data from two waves of the U.S. National Survey of Fertility Barriers for our analysis. Based on logistic regression analysis, we find that if either partner intends a child, the odds of having a baby within 3 years are higher than if neither partner intends and that the odds are substantially higher when both partners intend a child. Couples in whom both partners and couples in whom only the woman has a high value on career success are less likely to have a baby. Our findings suggest that agreement on fertility intentions is associated with considerably higher birth probability and that values about digitalcommons.unl.edu

Demography, 1976

To test a recent model of social behavior, a questionnaire was designed and administered to 270 married women in a midwestern city. A stratified random sample was obtained, comprising a 2 × 3 factorial design (Catholic vs. Protestant and high vs. middle vs. low socioeconomic status). It was hypothesized that an individual’s intention to engage in a fertility-related behavior would be highly correlated with (a) her beliefs about the consequences of performing that behavior weighted by the value of those consequences, and/or (b) her beliefs about what relevant others think she should do and her motivation to comply with those others. The data strongly supported this hypothesis for each of three different behaviors. Analysis of variance revealed a significant religious differential for intentions to have a two-child family (Catholics were less likely to intend to have a two-child family than Protestants). This differential was further examined in terms of the proposed model of behavior.

The American Journal of Family Therapy, 1991

Three groups of yaung adult couples without children-were studied. They were assessed to be highly motivated to have children, moderately motivated to have children, and disinterested in having children. The groups did not differ in degree of mensured feminist sympathies nor in their memories of their own parents' degree of nurturance, de mandingness, or attention. An extreme group analysis of those couples particularly motivated and unmotivated revealed differenct!s in levels of narcissism. There were no intracouple significant correlations for these variables with the exception of a significant correlation for femi nism between partners i/1 highly and moderately motivated couples. There were some intercouple significant differences in the value as cribed to having children, notably that low motivation women were concerned about their ability to parent and low motivation men were worried about their emotional immaturity. Decision making with regard to having children has become a major and difficult task of young adulthood. Research on fertility patterns has indicated that in the past, the decision to remain childless was generally made by default; delaying became actuality . However, changes in sex-role norms as a result of the feminist revolution have resulted in more and more couples actively struggling with the feasibility