Childbearing Challenges in Youth with Emphasis on Psychological Components: A Qualitative Study

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

2 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

3 Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the childbearing challenges in youth with emphasis on psychological components. The study was conducted based on the qualitative approach, using an interpretive phenomenological method. The research sample consisted of 18 married youth aged 18 to 35 living in Tehran in 2023, who were selected in a purposeful way, after going through the ethical stages of the research. In-depth, individual semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, and the interviews continued until data saturation. Finally, the extracted data were analyzed based on the hermeneutic approach using the analysis method proposed by Diekelmann et al. (1989). The findings revealed 5 main themes and 16 subthemes. The main themes included “motivational factors”, “cognitive factors”, “affective/emotional factors”, “behavioral factors” and “beyond psychological determinants of psychological components related to childbearing”. Based on the findings, it is concluded that motivational, cognitive, affective/emotional and behavioral factors in interaction with the macro systems outside the family affect the desire of couples to bring child and treat them. Consequently, it is necessary to pay attention to these factors in premarital counseling, individual and family interventions by counselors, social workers, and psychologists.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Abma, J. C., & Martinez, G. M. (2006). Childlessness among older women in the United States: Trends and profiles. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 1045-1056.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211.
Asghari Nekah, S. M. (2021). Childbearing and the psychological, social, and cultural challenges of the Iranian Islamic family. The 1st National Conference on Social and Cultural Issues and Challenges of the Iranian Muslim Family, Birjand, Iran. (In Persian)
Bodenmann, G., Meuwly, N., Bradbury, T. N., Gmelch, S., & Ledermann, T. (2010). Stress, anger, and verbal aggression in intimate relationships: Moderating effects of individual and dyadic coping. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27(3), 408-424.
Claxton, A., & Perry‐Jenkins, M. (2008). No fun anymore: Leisure and marital quality across the transition to parenthood. Journal of marriage and family, 70(1), 28-43.
Deave, T., & Johnson, D. (2008). The transition to parenthood: what does it mean for fathers?. Journal of advanced nursing, 63(6), 626-633.
Diekelmann, N., Allen, D., & Tanner, C. (1989). A hermeneutic analysis of the NLN criteria for the appraisal of baccalaureate programs. The NLN criteria for appraisal of baccalaureate programs: A critical hermeneutic analysis, 11-34.
Fauser, B. C., Adamson, G. D., Boivin, J., Chambers, G. M., de Geyter, C., Dyer, S., ... & Zegers-Hochschild, F. (2024). Declining global fertility rates and the implications for family planning and family building: an IFFS consensus document based on a narrative review of the literature. Human reproduction update, 30(2), 153-173.
Foroutan, Y., Razeghi, N., & Davoudi, M. R. (2022). A sociological study of generational differences in childbearing patterns in Esfarayen County (A case study of men and women aged 15 and over in Esfarayen County). The 8th National Conference on Modern Studies and Research in the Field of Educational Sciences, Psychology and Counseling of Iran, Tehran, Iran. (In Persian)
Halford, W. K., Petch, J., Creedy, D., Halford, W. K., Petch, J., & Creedy, D. (2015). Couples Becoming Parents. Clinical Guide to Helping New Parents: The Couple CARE for Parents Program, 1-19.
Hipp, L. E., Kane Low, L., & van Anders, S. M. (2012). Exploring women’s postpartum sexuality: social, psychological, relational, and birth-related contextual factors. The journal of sexual medicine, 9(9), 2330-2341.
Imanzadeh, A. and Alipour, S. (2019). Lived Experience of Loneliness by Tabriz’s labor Children: A Phenomenological Study. Quarterly of Social Studies and Research in Iran8(2), 279-304. (In Persian) doi: 10.22059/jisr.2019.268727.770
Kahrizi, M., Hosseini Zadeh, S. A., & Bostan, H. (2014). Ethical challenges of feminism in childbearing from the perspective of Islam and its solutions. Ethics Research Journal, 7(24), 7-24. (In Persian)
Kanani, M. A., & Bakhshi, S. (2014). Spread of individualization and the problem of childbearing reduction: a study in the city of Rasht. Journal of Population Association of Iran9(18), 1-25. (In Persian)
Khodabakhsh, R., Navabakhsh, M., Kaldi, A. and Savadian, P. (2023). Sociological Analysis of the Effects of Five-Year Development Programs on the Family Institution: Emphasizing its Harms. Islamic lifestyle with a focus on health7(2), 238-255. (In Persian)
Lawrence, E., Nylen, K., & Cobb, R. J. (2007). Prenatal expectations and marital satisfaction over the transition to parenthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(2), 155.
Mahmoudian, H., Abbasi-Shavazi, M. J. and Hajihashemi, H. (2023). Consciousness, Rationality and Attitude Structure in Fertility Regimes: A Cognitive Approach to Childbearing. Journal of Population Association of Iran17(34), 39-72. (In Persian) doi: 10.22034/jpai.2023.542972.1206
Medina, A. M., Lederhos, C. L., & Lillis, T. A. (2009). Sleep disruption and decline in marital satisfaction across the transition to parenthood. Families, Systems, & Health, 27(2), 153.
Mitnick, D. M., Heyman, R. E., & Smith Slep, A. M. (2009). Changes in relationship satisfaction across the transition to parenthood: a meta-analysis. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(6), 848.
Moradian, M. and Zarei, E. (2022). Mate Selection in People with Physical-Motor Disabilities in Borujen: Goals, Criteria and Challenges; A Phenomenological Study. Journal of Family Research18(2), 333-354. (In Persian) doi: 10.48308/jfr.18.2.333
Pantazis, A., & Clark, S. J. (2018). A parsimonious characterization of change in global age-specific and total fertility rates. PloS one, 13(1), e0190574.
Rafiei Moqaddam, F., & Fathi Ashtiani, A. (2021). Discovery of the Factors Inhibiting Couples from Childbearing in the Last Decade (A Systematic Review). The Women and Families Cultural-Educational15(53), 155-175. (In Persian)
Rajan, S., Nanda, P., Calhoun, L. M., & Speizer, I. S. (2018). Sex composition and its impact on future childbearing: a longitudinal study from urban Uttar Pradesh. Reproductive Health, 15, 1-9.
Razeghi Nasrabad, H. B., & Alimondegari, M. (2019). Gender Preference and its Influence on Fertility Intention in the Low-Fertility Context of Tehran, Iran. Journal of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, 7(4), 1972-1980. doi: 10.22038/jmrh.2019.38096.1422
Robinson, O. C. (2023). Probing in qualitative research interviews: Theory and practice. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 20(3), 382-397.
Senasi, V., & Na, J. (2024). Factors Influencing Decline Marriage and Childbearing Rates in China: A Review Paper. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Organizational Studies, Special Issue.
Seyyedkarimi, S. (2020). A study of the psychological challenges of spouses in the transition to parenthood [Master's thesis, Khatam Non-profit University]. (In Persian)
Seyed Karimi, S., Khodabakhshi-Koolaee, A., Falsafinejad, M. R. (2021). Psychological Challenges of Transition to Parenthood in First-time Parents. Journal of Practice in Clinical Psychology, 9(2), 81-92.
Shahhosseini, Z., Nikbakht, R., Hajipour, L., Jafari, F., Nourollahpour Shiadeh, M., & Hosseini Tabaghdehi, M. (2024). Factors Related to the Motivation of Childbearing in Married Couples of Mazandaran Province Using Mixed Regression Model. Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences34(232), 100-108. (In Persian) URL: http://jmums.mazums.ac.ir/article-1-20364-en.html
Shakerinejad, G. (2017). Views of Khuzestani’s men and women with single child about childbearing: a qualitative study. Tolooebehdasht15(5), 81-94. (In Persian) URL: http://tbj.ssu.ac.ir/article-1-1653-fa.html
Shams Gahfarokhi, F., Askari-Nodoushan, A., Eini-Zeinab, H., Ruhani, A. and Abbasi-Shavazi, M. J. (2022). At the Crossroad of Decision to Have Children: An Analysis of Individual and Social Childbearing Challenges in the Context of Low Fertility in Isfahan. Journal of Applied Sociology33(4), 1-28. (In Persian) doi: 10.22108/jas.2022.132711.2269
Smith, J. A., & Nizza, I. E. (2022). Essentials of interpretative phenomenological analysis. American Psychological Association.
Sun, Y., Yoshitake, N., Sugawara, M., Matsumoto, S., Sakai, A., Takaoka, J., & Goto, N. (2019). Quality of life in Japanese couples during the transition to parenthood. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 37(2), 161-175.
Taubman–Ben-Ari, O. (2019). Blossoming and growing in the transition to parenthood. Pathways and Barriers to Parenthood: Existential Concerns Regarding Fertility, Pregnancy, and Early Parenthood, 271-290.
Van Manen, M. (2023). Phenomenology of practice: Meaning-giving methods in phenomenological research and writing. Routledge.
Zartler, U., Schmidt, E. M., Schadler, C., Rieder, I., & Richter, R. (2021). “A Blessing and a Curse” Couples Dealing with Ambivalence Concerning Grandparental Involvement During the Transition to Parenthood—A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Family Issues, 42(5), 958-983.