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The Fertility Desires-Intentions Gap in the United States

Badolato, Luca
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4665-0370
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1680863698689791

Abstract Details

2023, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Sociology.
Following the striking decline in fertility rates across high-income countries, a growing body of research has focused on the correspondence between childbearing preferences and observed fertility, operationalizing the broader construct of fertility preferences using both fertility desires and intentions. A complementary body of research focused on whether and how individuals revise their fertility preferences. Although fertility desires and intentions are conceptualized as different constructs in leading theories of fertility preferences, they are often used interchangeably in empirical research and rarely analyzed simultaneously, in part because of limited data availability. This paper builds on these theoretical and empirical advancements to analyze a largely overlooked gap, the correspondence between fertility desires and intentions. Drawing on four waves from 2011 to 2018 of the National Survey of Family Growth, I show that a significant proportion of individuals who desire a(nother) child do not intend to have one. In particular, I compute age- and parity-specific estimates and show that the correspondence between fertility desires and intentions depends on key status attributes, including age, parity, gender, sexual orientation, family-related factors, and socioeconomic constraints. I conclude by discussing relevant implications for the theoretical understanding of the childbearing decision process, demographic estimations based on fertility preferences, and fertility trends and social policies.
John Casterline (Committee Member)
Sarah Hayford (Committee Chair)
Corinne Reczek (Committee Member)
43 p.
Demography; Sociology
fertility desires; fertility intentions; fertility gap; theory of planned behavior; traits-desires-intentions-behavior framework

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Badolato, L. (2023). The Fertility Desires-Intentions Gap in the United States [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1680863698689791

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Badolato, Luca. The Fertility Desires-Intentions Gap in the United States. 2023. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1680863698689791.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Badolato, Luca. "The Fertility Desires-Intentions Gap in the United States." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2023. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1680863698689791

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1680863698689791
340
© 2023, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.
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