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Attitudes Toward Women and Motherhood: Their Role in Australian Women’s Childbearing Behaviour

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Abstract

Financial and employment concerns are frequently identified as salient factors in women’s childbearing behaviour in low fertility, developed countries. The contribution of attitudinal variables is not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between attitudes toward women and motherhood and women’s childbearing desires and outcomes. A broadly representative sample of 569 women aged 30–34 years living in Victoria, one Australian state, was recruited from the Australian Electoral Roll. Participants completed a self administered anonymous questionnaire which included a new measure of attitudes toward women and motherhood. Women with more traditional attitudes had larger desired and actual family sizes. The findings indicate that attitudes toward women and motherhood are related to women’s childbearing behaviour.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are most grateful to the participants who completed the unsolicited postal questionnaire. Sara Holton is the recipient of a Victorian Health Promotion Foundation Public Health PhD Research Scholarship (project number 2004-0694), and received a small grant for this research project from the Population Health Investing in Research Students’ Training Scheme run by the School of Population Health at the University of Melbourne. Assoc. Prof. Ian Gordon from the University of Melbourne’s Statistical Consulting Centre provided statistical advice and assistance with the sample size determination.

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  1. Key Centre for Women’s Health in Society, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Population Health, 2nd Floor, 723 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia

    Sara Holton, Jane Fisher & Heather Rowe

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  1. Sara Holton
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  2. Jane Fisher
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  3. Heather Rowe
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Correspondence to Sara Holton.

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Holton, S., Fisher, J. & Rowe, H. Attitudes Toward Women and Motherhood: Their Role in Australian Women’s Childbearing Behaviour. Sex Roles 61, 677–687 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9659-8

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