The Effects of Depressive Symptomology on Women’s Childbearing Considerations

Empirical literature dedicated to pursuing knowledge of the relationship between women who suffer from depression and their considerations of childbearing is lacking. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to determine the types of relationships that exist between depressive symptomology in women and their childbearing considerations.

Secondary data analysis was the chosen form of research analysis, and the National Survey of Families and Households (Wave 1) was the data set employed. There were a total of four independent variables (depressive symptomology, global life satisfaction, global optimism, and self-esteem) and two dependent variables (10 constraint items and 4 motivational factor items) used to determine the relationships, with hierarchical regression analysis being the chosen analysis procedure.

Results from the analysis revealed that there was a positive relationship between a woman’s level of depressive symptomology and several of the constraint and motivational factor items, namely, economic well-being, relationship issues, and the stress associated with caring for a child. Additionally, the self-esteem items were found to be negatively correlated with some items, but positively correlated with others. The items were most often negatively correlated with motivational factors (i.e., having someone to love, needing something to do, giving my parents grandchildren, and having someone to care for me when I am old), and most often positively correlated with constraints regarding issues of time (e.g., worry that I will have time for my career). Finally, both the global optimism and global life satisfaction variables were dropped from the analysis because they proved to be poor measures.

The findings of the study provide evidence that women who suffer from depression do appear to consider certain constraints and motivational factors when making decisions about their future status as mothers. The study concluded with recommendations for theory, future research, and family life education practice, as well as a description of limitations of the project.