Reproductive trajectories and social-biological dimensions in parenthood: Portuguese version of the Meaning of Parenthood scale.
assisted
infertility
parenthood status
psychometrics
reproductive health
reproductive techniques
Journal
Porto biomedical journal
ISSN: 2444-8672
Titre abrégé: Porto Biomed J
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 101707479
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Historique:
received:
08
05
2020
accepted:
27
05
2020
entrez:
1
8
2020
pubmed:
1
8
2020
medline:
1
8
2020
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Public meanings attributed to parenthood may shape individuals' family planning and how involuntary childlessness is supported by governmental policies. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of reproductive trajectories and gender in the meanings attributed to parenthood, and to assess the psychometric characteristics of the Portuguese version of the Meaning of Parenthood (MOP) scale. The sample comprised 754 participants: 246 young adults without children; 51 fathers and 159 mothers of adolescent children conceived spontaneously; and 149 infertile heterosexual couples. The scale was self-administered. Higher scores indicate attributing greater importance to parenthood to fulfill identity needs at individual, marital and social levels. Psychometric characteristics were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis; Cronbach alpha (α) assessed internal consistency. Two dimensions of the MOP scale emerged, with good internal consistency (α ≥ 0.70): biological (importance of parenthood to fulfill reproductive needs as a biological being); social (importance of parenthood arising from social reproduction). Young adults attributed less importance to parenthood to fulfill both biological and social needs. The biological dimension was valued more than the social dimension in all subsamples; men highly valued the biological dimension compared to women. Family planning needs to focus on a reasonable balance between biological and social dimensions of parenthood. The reinforcement of public policies providing the necessary conditions for human reproduction is essential to reverse declining fertility rates.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Public meanings attributed to parenthood may shape individuals' family planning and how involuntary childlessness is supported by governmental policies. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of reproductive trajectories and gender in the meanings attributed to parenthood, and to assess the psychometric characteristics of the Portuguese version of the Meaning of Parenthood (MOP) scale.
METHODS
METHODS
The sample comprised 754 participants: 246 young adults without children; 51 fathers and 159 mothers of adolescent children conceived spontaneously; and 149 infertile heterosexual couples. The scale was self-administered. Higher scores indicate attributing greater importance to parenthood to fulfill identity needs at individual, marital and social levels. Psychometric characteristics were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis; Cronbach alpha (α) assessed internal consistency.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Two dimensions of the MOP scale emerged, with good internal consistency (α ≥ 0.70): biological (importance of parenthood to fulfill reproductive needs as a biological being); social (importance of parenthood arising from social reproduction). Young adults attributed less importance to parenthood to fulfill both biological and social needs. The biological dimension was valued more than the social dimension in all subsamples; men highly valued the biological dimension compared to women.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
Family planning needs to focus on a reasonable balance between biological and social dimensions of parenthood. The reinforcement of public policies providing the necessary conditions for human reproduction is essential to reverse declining fertility rates.
Identifiants
pubmed: 32734016
doi: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000078
pii: PBJ-D-20-00038
pmc: PMC7386542
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
e078Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of PBJ-Associação Porto Biomedical/Porto Biomedical Society. All rights reserved.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
The authors declare no competing interests.
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