Proximate determinants of fertility intentions in Tehran, Iran

The success of any pronatalist population policies relies on improving the understanding of immediate determinants of fertility intentions (attitudes to childbearing, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control) among married young couples. This research is based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and the data from the 2012 Tehran Survey of Fertility Intentions (n= 2267). The results show that more than half of young married adults in Tehran intend to have no more children. The multivariate analysis indicate that individuals who view childbearing as being detrimental to their personal life (e.g., economic living condition, marital relationships and life satisfaction), feel less normative pressure from very close peer groups (parents, friends, and neighbors) to have a/another child, and believe their childbearing decision is not contingent on the presence of economic resources required for childbearing, are more likely to want no (more) children or to be unsure rather than to want a/another child. Other findings show that access to the government incentives to increase fertility has different effects on fertility intentions of socio-economically various subgroups of young married couples, which should be considered by policy makers developing pronatalist population policies of the country.