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Childbearing Motivations Scale: Construction of a New Measure and its Preliminary Psychometric Properties

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Abstract

Given recent shifts in fertility patterns, the assessment of childbearing motivations is important for understanding reproductive decision-making. To overcome previous methodological and conceptual flaws, a self-report scale was developed to assess positive and negative childbearing motivations and their respective subdimensions. The present study aimed to construct the final version of the Childbearing Motivations Scale (CMS) and examine its factorial structure and preliminary psychometric properties. A sample of 614 participants from the general population, aged 19–49 years, provided sociodemographic information and completed the experimental version of the CMS. Preliminary analyses were performed to refine the item pool. The final version of the CMS consisted of two parts: a positive childbearing motivations subscale (26 items) and a negative childbearing motivations subscale (21 items). The factorial structure of the CMS was analyzed using a split-half validation method. Exploratory factor analyses provided evidence for a four-factor model for the positive childbearing motivations subscale (i.e., socioeconomic aspects, personal fulfillment, continuity and the couple relationship) and a five-factor model for the negative childbearing motivations subscale (i.e., childrearing burden and immaturity, social and ecological worry, marital stress, financial problems and economic constraints, and physical suffering and body-image concerns). Confirmatory factor analyses supported the stability of both models. The CMS demonstrated good internal consistency. The CMS may be a useful tool to better understand contemporary fertility patterns and prepare adequate familial policies and psychosocial interventions in reproductive health care systems. Future studies are needed to corroborate the psychometric properties of the CMS.

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Acknowledgments

This study is part of the research project “Transition to parenthood in advanced maternal age: Individual, marital and parental adaptation”, conducted by the Relationships, Development & Health Research Group of the R&D Unit of the Institute of Cognitive Psychology, Vocational and Social Development of the University of Coimbra (PEst-OE/PSI/UI0192/2011). Maryse Guedes, Marco Pereira, Raquel Pires and Paula Carvalho are supported by scholarships from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/68912/2010, SFRH/BPD/44435/2008, SFRH/BD/63949/2009 and SFRH/BD/37685/2007, respectively).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua do Colégio Novo, Apartado 6153, 3001-802, Coimbra, Portugal

    Maryse Guedes, Marco Pereira, Raquel Pires & Maria Cristina Canavarro

  2. Department of Psychology and Education, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

    Paula Carvalho

Authors
  1. Maryse Guedes
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  2. Marco Pereira
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  3. Raquel Pires
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  4. Paula Carvalho
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  5. Maria Cristina Canavarro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maryse Guedes.

Appendix

Appendix

Childbearing Motivations Scale (CMS)

Positive Childbearing Motivations Sub-Scale

  1. 1.

    Strengthening the bond with my partner.

  2. 2.

    Continuing my family name.

  3. 3.

    Listening to the demands of my biological clock.

  4. 4.

    Giving a meaning to my life.

  5. 5.

    Feeling the familial spirit.

  6. 6.

    Fulfilling a moral obligation.

  7. 7.

    Being connected to a child through blood ties.

  8. 8.

    Being socially valued.

  9. 9.

    Conveying my family heritage.

  10. 10.

    Showing that I am responsible.

  11. 11.

    Meeting my family’s expectations.

  12. 12.

    Taking a step forward in the relationship with my partner.

  13. 13.

    Having a source of economic support.

  14. 14.

    Creating a person, a personality.

  15. 15.

    Making real a project that I share with my partner.

  16. 16.

    Realizing my maternal or paternal instinct.

  17. 17.

    Fulfilling my woman’s or man’s role.

  18. 18.

    Creating my own family.

  19. 19.

    Enjoying the experience of pregnancy.

  20. 20.

    Affirming me as an adult.

  21. 21.

    Ensuring my familial lineage.

  22. 22.

    Making real a project of my partner.

  23. 23.

    Ensuring that my partner and I are recognized as a family.

  24. 24.

    Conveying my family’s values.

  25. 25.

    Feeling useful and important for a child.

  26. 26.

    Continuing family relationships.

Negative Childbearing Motivations Sub-Scale

  1. 1.

    Facing the labor of childcare.

  2. 2.

    Having no required qualities (e.g., patience, …) to become a mother or a father.

  3. 3.

    Being afraid of suffering (being afraid that my partner will suffer) complications during birth.

  4. 4.

    Fearing that a child might lead us to separate as a couple.

  5. 5.

    Facing financial sacrifices.

  6. 6.

    Worrying about the future of a child in the current world.

  7. 7.

    Assuming increased expenses with a child.

  8. 8.

    Feeling unprepared to assume the mother’s or father’s role.

  9. 9.

    Dealing with the constant needs of a child.

  10. 10.

    Fearing that my child loses himself/herself in deviant trajectories (e.g., drug dependence, delinquency, …).

  11. 11.

    Being afraid of suffering (being afraid that my partner will suffer) negative changes in my (her) body.

  12. 12.

    Changing our routines as a couple.

  13. 13.

    Being afraid of exposing a child to the social dangers of the world.

  14. 14.

    Losing autonomy as a couple.

  15. 15.

    Having constant worries with a child.

  16. 16.

    Being afraid of suffering (being afraid that my partner will suffer) the physical discomforts (e.g., nausea, …) of pregnancy.

  17. 17.

    Abdicating my financial well-being.

  18. 18.

    Assuming a lifelong responsibility for a child.

  19. 19.

    Being afraid of exposing a child to environmental degradation.

  20. 20.

    Being afraid of facing financial difficulties.

  21. 21.

    Losing proximity with my partner.

Coding

For the positive childbearing motivations sub-scale and the negative childbearing motivations sub-scale, items are presented on a scale ranging from 1 – Not at all to 5 – Completely.

Positive Childbearing Motivations Sub-Scale

Socioeconomic aspects: 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 17, 20, 23.

Personal fulfillment: 3, 4, 7, 14, 16, 18, 19, 25.

Continuity: 2, 5, 9, 21, 24, 26.

The couple relationship: 1, 12, 15, 22.

Negative Childbearing Motivations Sub-Scale

Childrearing burden and immaturity: 1, 2, 8, 10, 15, 18.

Social and ecological worry: 6, 9, 13, 19.

Marital stress: 4, 12, 14, 21.

Financial problems and economical constraints: 5, 7, 17, 20.

Physical suffering and body image worry: 3, 11, 16.

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Guedes, M., Pereira, M., Pires, R. et al. Childbearing Motivations Scale: Construction of a New Measure and its Preliminary Psychometric Properties. J Child Fam Stud 24, 180–194 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9824-0

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