Development and Factor Validation of the Motives towards Parenthood Scale

Matias, Marisa; Fontaine, Anne Marie

doi:10.1590/1982-43272354201303

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Articles • Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto) 23 (54) • Apr 2013 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-43272354201303 copy

Development and Factor Validation of the Motives towards Parenthood Scale¹ 1 Paper based on the first author's Doctoral Dissertation, under the second author's advice, defended in the Doctoral Program in Psychology at Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, in 2012. Funding: Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/35963/2007).

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To have a child is considered to be a decision influenced by several factors. This paper describes the process of development and validation of an instrument in Portuguese language to analyze the motives underlying this decision. The Motives toward Parenthood Scale was developed using a revision of previous studies and instruments. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed using different samples. The final scale is composed of 30 items and 4 factors: Emotional Enrichment, Social Recognition, Lifestyle Interference and Anticipation of Problems in the development of the child. All subscales showed good internal consistency and good factorial stability. This instrument is expected to allow for a more comprehensive analysis of the decision to have a child.

scaling (testing); motivation; fertility; decision making; children

Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia Av.Bandeirantes 3900 - Monte Alegre, 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto - São Paulo - Brasil, Tel.: (55 16) 3315-3829 - Ribeirão Preto - SP - Brazil
E-mail: paideia@usp.br

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[TFN04t04] Note. The factor loading in bold signal the factor that belongs to the item.

Items	Emotional Enrichment	Social Recognition	h ²

1. To have someone to love unconditionally.	0.79	0.08	0.56
2. Because being a father/mother makes/can make me a better person.	0.78	0.14	0.63
3. To experience the challenges of parenthood.	0.73	0.15	0.64
4. To have someone to take care of.	0.73	0.31	0.63
5. To have the affection and comfort of a family.	0.72	0.29	0.53
6. To have a richer/fulfilled life.	0.72	-0.08	0.60
7. To have someone to transmit my experience of life, my values and ideals to.	0.71	0.31	0.60
8. To be loved.	0.56	0.26	0.38
9. To give me financial support in my old age.	0.11	0.83	0.48
10. Because one is fully accepted in society only when one has children.	-0.02	0.77	0.51
11. Because a girl only turns into a women after she is a mother and a boy only turns into a man after he is a father.	0.24	0.72	0.44
12. For religious reasons.	-0.02	0.69	0.52
13. To try not to repeat the mistakes my parents made with me.	0.30	0.66	0.59
14. To continue the family name.	0.31	0.64	0.47
15. To have someone to inherit what I am building in life.	0.30	0.62	0.70
16. To have someone to achieve what I have not managed to.	0.25	0.62	0.57

% Explained Variance	28.57	26.59
Eigenvalues	6.41	2.41

Items	Lifestyle Interference	Anticipation of Problems	h ²

1. I would have to change my lifestyle.	0.78	0.11	0.57
2. There are other things I want to do first.	0.76	0.21	0.40
3. It would limit my freedom to do other things I like (travelling, spending time with friends, dating, etc.).	0.71	0.28	0.61
4. It is very costly.	0.69	0.25	0.53
5. I would have less time to spend with my partner.	0.68	0.33	0.53
6. It implies greater financial security than what I have.	0.66	0.10	0.62
7. It would be a lifetime responsibility.	0.64	0.34	0.56
8. I do not have the time needed to raise a child as (s)he deserves.	0.57	0.27	0.40
9. I feel that I am not mature enough yet.	0.56	0.12	0.32
10. (S)he could disappoint me.	0.13	0.78	0.63
11. The child might not be healthy.	0.25	0.74	0.62
12. It could raise tensions in the relationship with my partner.	0.25	0.72	0.54
13. I could transmit a disease to him/her.	0.17	0.71	0.59
14. I do not want to go through the discomfort and physical changes associated with pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding.	0.23	0.50	0.44

% Explained Variance	30.88	21.61
Eigenvalues	5.84	1.51

	Sample study 2 (n = 201)			Sample study 3 (n = 202)
Factors	M	SD	α	M	SD	α

Emotional Enrichment	4.02	1.19	0.89	3.98	1.20	0.87
Social Recognition	2.46	1.11	0.87	2.33	1.11	0.86
Lifestyle Interference	3.12	1.24	0.88	2.96	1.24	0.87
Anticipation of Problems	2.19	1.11	0.79	1.97	0.93	0.74