Individualism and Fertility Intentions

To prevent the enduring below-replacement fertility and its consequences requires our understanding of the determinants of wanting no (more) children. Inspired by the Second Demographic Transition theory and Giddens’ concept of “pure relationship”, this study examined the link between individualism and fertility intentions. To do so, a self-administered survey was designed and administered on a sample of 375 prospective grooms and brides, residing in the city of Tehran (Iran) in 2016. Of the total respondents, 87% intended to have children after marriage, 39% reported no or one child as an ideal number of children to have, 54% intended to postpone childbearing by three or more years. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that individuals entering a marital relationship not on the basis of familial and social motivations, were less likely to intend to have children and more likely to report less than two children as an ideal number, and to postpone childbearing for three or more years. Moreover, individuals who selected their spouse independently and more freely were more likely to report zero or one child as an ideal number. A more equitable spousal relationship was associated with the intention to postpone childbearing for a longer period. The results suggest that individualism is an important basis of low fertility intentions among young couples, which needs to be considered seriously by policy makers when designing or tailoring the population policies addressing low fertility in the country.