Fertility Desires of Childless Poles: Which Childbearing Motives Matter for Men and Women?

Abstract

In modern societies, a growing number of people choose to remain childless. As childlessness has fundamental consequences for individuals and societies, it is of paramount importance to understand this choice. We investigate which childbearing motives are related to low-fertility desire of Poles, deterring them from wanting to have children? We look at the motivations of 939 nulliparous men and women, aged 25 to 44 years, who completed the Childbearing Questionnaire as a part of the study on reasons for childlessness. Individuals who were concerned about the negative aspects of child care (time, energy, financial costs) had the least desire to have children. Other motives were gender-specific: for women emotional aspects, especially related to pregnancy and infancy were important; for men—satisfactions of child rearing and traditional values of children. The role of fears and worries related to parenthood is discussed in details, as under certain circumstances it may concur with strong childbearing desire.

Predictor Variables of Childbearing Motivations in Brazilian Women and Men

“…The variables having or not having children and age were presented as predictor variables for both PCM and NCM, corroborating the results of other studies (Irani & Khadivzadeh, 2019;Miller & Pasta, 1995;Mynarska & Rytel, 2020). The variable not having children showed greater predictive power for NCM.…”

“…It is important to mention that labor market participation is an unstable variable over the life course, since multiple entries and exits from the labor market may occur for personal reasons or superseded by the economic situation of the country at the time of job search (Smeha & Calvano, 2009). On the other hand, women presented higher levels of NCM than men, corroborating findings of studies conducted in other contexts (Alexander et al, 2019;Mynarska & Rytel, 2020). With women's access to education, insertion in the labor market and the reduced participation of men in domestic activities, educational practices and parenting tasks, women presented greater difficulties in reconciling family and professional life, which makes it understandable that the negative aspects of motherhood are more heavily weighted (Miranda-Ribeiro et al, 2019).…”

“…Considering Brazil as a large country in extension and inequalities, it becomes fundamental to analyze the different socioeconomic, individual and relational nuances that impact TFR and autonomy in reproductive decisions. That said, based on the antecedents of CM proposed by Miller (1994) and Miller, Severy and Pasta (2004) and on studies conducted around the world on variables that influence CM (Alexander, Perrin, Jennings, Ellen, & Trent, 2019;Ghazanfarpour et al, 2018;Irani & Khadivzadeh, 2019;Mynarska & Rytel, 2020;Varas & Borsa, 2019), This study aimed to analyze the relationships between the motivations for positive childbearing (PCM), negative childbearing (NCM) and psychological, sociodemographic, family of origin and partner relationship variables in a Brazilian sample. The following specific objectives were pursued:…”

Childbearing intention and its associated factors: A systematic review

“…Among women, two positive motives, "feeling needed and connected" and "joys of pregnancy, birth, and infancy" were identified as being predictive of stronger childbearing desire. Among men, the significant predictors of stronger childbearing desire were "satisfaction of child-rearing" and "traditional parenthood" (Mynarska & Rytel, 2020). In societies like India, the sex composition of children is associated with the desire for an additional child.…”

Exploring the concept of intensive parenting in a three-country study

“…In turn, these large parental investments, which increase the overall cost of having children, can be posited as influencing decisions around having children. For instance, a recent study in Poland showed that men and women who perceive childrearing as demanding in terms of time, energy, and money express a weaker desire for parenthood (Mynarska and Rytel 2020). Further refinement of the measurement of intensive parenting norms is certainly needed.…”