Social psychological influences on fertility intentions across eight countries

Jane E. Klobas, Università Bocconi and University of Western Australia
Francesco C. Billari, Università Bocconi
Icek Aizen, University of Massachusetts
Marta Marzi, Università Bocconi

How does the decision to have a child vary across countries, and what differences between countries might explain observed differences in decision making? In this paper, we use a social psychological model of influences on human behaviour, the theory of planned behavior (TPB), to compare the influence of attitudes, perceived norms and perceived control on intention to have their second child among 25 to 34 year old females in eight countries. We find country-level differences in beliefs about the consequences of having another child, about the expectations of normative referents, and about ability to have or care for another child. A macro-level exploration shows that cross-country differences reflect differences in family- and child-friendly policy more than differences in national wealth or employment stability.