Socio-Cultural Strategy

Socio-Cultural Strategy

Fertility Intentions and Motivations of Women with Different Political Orientations Emphasizing the general policies of the population

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Department of Demography. Social Science Faculty. University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding author).
2 Associate Professor of Demography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Low fertility is a major demographic issue in Iran and many other countries worldwide. In recent years, numerous researchers have focused on the causes and consequences of low fertility, yet examining fertility intentions across different political groups has been relatively neglected. This study aims to explore the fertility intentions and motivations of women with varying political orientations. Utilizing a qualitative approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 married women in Tehran, selected through purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was employed for data analysis. The results revealed that women with revolutionary and pro-leadership orientations tended to have more children, aiming for up to five. On the other hand, considering the country’s economic, social, and political conditions, other women found having more than two children unreasonable. The study introduced two models of fertility decision-making: "Childbearing for Self and the State," prevalent among revolutionary and pro-leadership women, influenced by national concerns, loyalty to leadership, religiosity, and institutional trust; and "Childbearing for Self," common among women with other political orientations, shaped by the two-child norm, economic insecurity, and institutional distrust. The findings suggest that policymakers can promote higher fertility rates by implementing effective strategies that enhance economic security and support mothers.
Keywords

Subjects


 
References

Abbasi-Shavazi, M.J.; Razeghi-Nasrabad, H.B. & Hosseini-Chavoshi, M. (2020). Socio-Economic Security and Fertility Intention in Tehran City, Journal of Population Association of Iran, 15(29), 211-238. (In Persian)

Abdollahi, A. & Rahimi, A. (2017). Social construction of the policies of increasing of childbearing and leading obstacles: A case study of internet users. The Journal of Strategic studies of women, 20(77), 35-60. (In Persian)

Alimondegari, M. & Razeghi-Nasrabad, H.B. (2022). childbearing as a dualism of risk and certainty: The results of a qualitative study in the Yazd province. Socio-Cultural Strategy, 11(45), 403-436. (In Persian)

Andorka, R. (1978). Determinants of fertility in Advanced Societies. London: Methuen and Co Ltd.
Arnstein, A.; Marco, L. M. & Mencarini, L (2021). Trust and fertility in uncertain times. Population Studies, 75(1), 19-36.

Azizmohammadi, S. & Hamidi-Durbash, Z. (2022). Economic aspects of changing fertility rate. Journal of Iranian Economic Development Analysrs, 8(22), 133-152. (In Persian)

Becker, G. S. & Lewis, H. G. (1973). On the interaction between the quantity and quality of children. Journal of Political Economy, 81(2), S279–S288.
Becker, G. S. (1960). An economic analysis of fertility. In G. S. Becker (Ed.), Demographic and economic change in developed countries (209–231). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Becker, G. S. (1981). A Treatise on the Family. Harvard University Press, Cambridge: MA.
Branisa, B.; Klasen, S.; Ziegler, M.; Drechsler, D. & &Jütting, J. (2014). The institutional basis of gender inequality: The Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI). Feminist Economics, 20(2), 29–64.
Braun, V. & Clark, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psuchology, 3(2), 10-77.
Dahl, G. B.; Runjing, L. & Mullins, W. (2022). Partisan Fertility and Presidential Elections. American Economic Review: Insights, 4(4), 473-90.
Fieder, M. & Huber, S. (2018). Political Attitude and Fertility: Is There a Selection for the Political Extreme?. Front Psychol, (9), 23-43.
Fiori, F.; Rinesi, F.; Pinnelli, A. & S. Prati (2013). Economic Insecurity and the Fertility Intentions of Italian Women with One Child. Population Research and Policy Review, 32(3).
Hajali, Saeideh; Seyyed Mirzaei, Seyyed Mohammad & Mahdavi, Seyyed Mohammad Sadeq (). An Investigation into the Effect of Religiosity, Social Support, and Education on the Tendency towards the Women's Pregnancy. THE ISLAMIC JOURNAL OF WOMEN AND THE FAMILY, 6(13), 27-42. (In Persian)
Hosseini, H. (2013). Socio-economic demography and family planning. Hamedan: Boali Sina University. (In Persian)
Kohler, H. P.; Billari, F. C. & J. A. Ortega (2004). The Emergence of Lowest-low Fertility in Europe during the 1990s, Population and Development Review, 28(4), 641-680.
Mazinani, A. & Mohammadian, N. (2021). The Effect of Economic Uncertainty on the Fertility Rate of Iranian. Journal of Economic Security Studies, 1(1), 149-176. (In Persian)
McDonald, P. (2002). Sustaining Fertility through Public Policy: The Range of Options. Population-E, 57(3), 417-446.
McDonald, P. (2006). Low Fertility and the State: The Efficacy of Policy, Population and Development Review, 32(3), 485-510.
McNicoll, G. (1980). Institutional determinants of fertility change. Population and Development Review, 6(3), 441-462.
Mirabi, S.; Mirzaei, H. & Hassani Darmian, GH. (2020). A Phenomenological Study on Married Women Awareness of Childbearing. Applied Sociology, 31(79), 1-20. (In Persian)

Modiri, F. & Razeghi-Nasrabad, H.B. (2016). A Study on the Relationship between Religiousity and Fertility Intention in Tehran. Journal of Population Association of Iran, 10(20), 128-163. (In Persian)

Modiri, F. & Tanhaa, F. (2022). The effect of security feeling on behavior, ideal and childbearing intentions in Tehran. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 14(4), 93-115. (In Persian)

Mohammadpour, Ahmad (2010). Para-Method, Philosophical and Practical Foundations of Mixed Research Method in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Tehran: Sociologists Publications. (In Persian)
Perelli-Harris, B. (2008). Ukraine: on the border between old and new. Childbearing Trends and Policies: Country Case Studies, edited by Tomas Frejka, Jan Hoem, and Laurent Toulemon. Demographic Research. 19:29. 1145-1178. http://dx.doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2008.19.29.

Shams Gahfarokhi, F.; Askari-Nodoushan, A.; Eini-Zeinab, H.; Ruhani, A. & 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. Applied Sociology, 33(4), 1-28. (In Persian)

Sobotka, T.; Skirbekk, V. & D. Philipov (2010). Economic Recession and Fertility in the Developed World: A Literature Review, European Commission, Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities”, Unit E1-Social and Demographic Analysis, Vienna Institute Demography.
Sobotka, T.; Zeman K. & Basten, S. (2018). The Low Fertility Future? Projections Based on Different Methods Suggest Long-term Persistence of Low Fertility. Paper presented at European population conference, Nov 13, 2018.
Social support, and education on the tendency towards the women pregnancy. The Islamic Journal of Women and Family, 6 (13): 27-42.

Sofalchin-Langrudy, A. & Eini-Zinab, H. (2020). Multivariate Analysis of Cross-sectional Age-specific Fertility Changes in Iran (Using Microdata Sample of the 2006 and 2011 National Censuses). Journal of Population Association of Iran. 14(28), 45-67. (In Persian)

Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. M. (1997). Grounded theory in practice. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.

Tajbakhsh, GH. (2024). Analyzing the opinion of the elites about the desire of couples to have children with an emphasis on general policies of the population, Socio-Cultural Strategy, Articles in Press. (In Persian)

United Nations (2021). Shifting demographics. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/un75_shifting_demographics.pdf.
 
 
Volume 13, Issue 4 - Serial Number 54
Autumn 2024
Pages 1613-1644

  • Receive Date 12 August 2024
  • Revise Date 03 October 2024
  • Accept Date 05 October 2024