Desire to have a child in young adults:impact of sociodemographic context and self-esteem

Abstract

Background: The Portuguese Synthetic Fertility Index (ISF) is among the lowest in Europe. However, the desire of each young individual to have a child without any restriction is higher than the reference value for the replacement of generations. Objective: Understand the relationship between sociodemographic variables and self – esteem variables with the desire to have a child. Methods: Quantitative, descriptive-correlational study. A non-probabilistic for convenience sampling, composed of 398 participants with an average age of 20.79 years (sd = 2.785). The research protocol was questionnaire that characterizes the sociodemographic sample. Also included, the Questionnaire about desire to have a child (Cameira, Cabral, Leal, and Pais-Ribeiro, 2000), with three dimensions (parenting, needs of the couple and ego needs) and Rosenberg Self – esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965, adap.). Results: It is amog women and in the age group ≤ 19 years that the desire to have a child is higher. Having a boyfriend, belonging to an extended family or not having siblings are related to higher desire to have a child, however without significant statistical differences. Self-esteem impacts the desire to have a child. Conclusions: Multiprofessional teams that relate directly to young adults should promote birth, taking into account not only the preparation and training for parenting, but also the promotion of sexual and reproductive health.