Yes, No, Maybe: Fertility Intentions and Reasons Behind Them Among Childless Finnish Men and Women

Abstract

In this paper we examine reproductive intentions among childless Finnish men and women aged 18 to 34 years. In Finland, as in other European countries, young adults are postponing parenthood to an ever-later age. Our intention is to investigate expressions of reproductive intentions, and particularly, to focus on the division of intentions between more positive and more hesitant expressions. We examine how education, factors related to economic security and values relate to childbearing hesitation among young adults. We also use information on the reasons that the young themselves have provided to examine differences in fertility intentions. Our study uses a sample of 724 men and women drawn from the PPA2 survey, which focused on Finns attitudes in 2002 toward family and children, family policy measures, values in life, and fertility intentions. We ? nd that education is related to postponement, and that unemployment increases hesitation. Partnership and the state of the relationship are clearly important preconditions for positive childbearing intentions among both men and women. Postponers are more likely to stress reasons that are related to present life situation and are more open to change, while persons who hesitate regarding future childbearing stress longer-standing reasons behind their intentions.

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