This work investigates from a social psychological point of view how individuals form intentions to have children. It links individuals’ beliefs about having children to external conditions prevailing in different countries, namely employment (in)stability, housing costs, and family- and child-friendly policy. Eight countries are compared: Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania and Russia.
Within the framework of the Theory of planned behaviour, three factors influence the intention to have a child. These are (1) the attitudes to having a child – which positive and negative consequences will having a child entail?, (2) perceived social norms to have a child – do others want a person to have a child?, (3) perceived control over factors associated with having a child – to which extent do factors such as employment or health impede or assist with caring for a child? TPB-model-fertility-intentions.pdf (75-page report)
See also the working paper on the application of the Theory of planned behaviour on fertility intentions in Norway:
Dommermuth, L., J. Klobas and T. Lappegård (2009). Now or later? The
theory of planned behaviour and fertility intentions. Dondena Working
Papers Nr. 20 Dondena_WP20.pdf