This study examines the association between religious belonging and FERTILITY PREFERENCES, and presents research-based evidence in order to explain the patterns and determinants related to Shi'a and Sunni PREFERENCES for FERTILITY. This analysis is based on a survey conducted in rural and urban areas of Ahvaz, Babolsar, Bojnord, Esfarayen, Gonbad Kavos, Kamyaran, Khoramabad, Mahmoudabad, Hamadan, and Saghez. The survey includes 4267 males and females aged 15 years old and over. According to the preliminary results of this analysis, three general patterns can be addressed. First, the two-child family is the most visible observation that is preferred by most Shi'a and Sunni populations. Second, both childlessness and one-child family are preferred by a negligible proportion of Shi'a and Sunni populations. Third, Sunni population tends to prefer a relatively higher number of children as compared with Shi'a population. However, these general observations are substantially affected by three groups of determinants: demographic determinants (such as age, place of residence, marital status, level of education), religiosity and gender attitudes. Finally, the results can be summarised and explained by the underlying conclusion that religious belonging tends to play a role as a secondary determinant of the FERTILITY preference of Shi'a and Sunni populations, whereas the level of socio-economic development and daily-life facts play a significantly more important role. This particularly applies to such determinants as urbanization, modernization and education.

Introduction: Human is a decision maker and his/her every action is triggered by different motivations. Motivation is directly involved in one’s childbearing decision. Considering the lack of information about young couples’ childbearing motivations and PREFERENCES in our country, this study was conducted to determine the relationship between FERTILITY motivations and PREFERENCES in couples referring to premarital counseling clinics at Mashhad healthcare centers in 2013.Methods: In this descriptive, analytical study, 450 couples, referring to healthcare centers providing premarital counseling, were selected via convenience sampling. Data were collected using Miller’s FERTILITY PREFERENCES and Childbearing Questionnaire. The gathered data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation and independent t-test.Results: As the results indicated, positive childbearing motivation like the traditional view was significantly correlated with childbearing desires and ideal number of children (P<0.001); however, it was inversely associated with the preferred time for childbearing (P<0.001). Also, negative childbearing motivation like Fear of being parents was not significantly associated with FERTILITY PREFERENCES (P>0.001).Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that positive childbearing motivations are significantly correlated with childbearing desires and the ideal number of children.

Background & Aim: The unprecedented reduction in FERTILITY is one of the population problems of countries, including Iran. This study aimed to assess factors affecting FERTILITY PREFERENCES in women of five Iranian ethnic groups.Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 2114 women FERTILITY age from 5 ethinc groups of Arabs, Kurds, Sistani & Baluchi, Turk and Turkmen in winter 2015. Data collection tool was a questionnaire containing demographic and dependent variables related to FERTILITY PREFERENCES; its reliability and validity were confirmed. The data gathered and analyzed in software SPSS 18.Results: The mean age of samples was 37.6±4.3 years, and most women(44.9%) had primary education. Almost 60% of women with reproductive capability had no desire for the next child. The main reasons expressed reluctance to childbearing included: 28.5% aging, 24.4% economic problems and 19.0% strong opposition from her husbands. Of 384 (16.5%) women who were willing to future pregnancies, 41.4% expressed their main reason as to have a boy and 20.1% tend to have a girl. The average of proper number of children was different, ranged from 2.2±1.3 children in Kurdish group, to 3.6±1.5 children in the Arab group. There was a significant difference between FERTILITY PREFERENCES and different ethnic groups (p<0.05).Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that FERTILITY PREFERENCES is different in various ethnic groups and the important reasons for the reluctance to childbearing included increasing age in women, economic problems and strong opposition from her husbands.

The subject of this article is sociological explication of the social factors influencing FERTILITY PREFERENCES of women in Kerman, Iran. The research method is survey and the data collection instrument is a questionnaire. The sample, selected through the cluster sampling method, consisted of 342 married women working in state agencies in Kerman, Iran. The findings revealed the highest correlation between the respondents’ negative attitudes towards the future of society (0.51) and FERTILITY PREFERENCES. Then the share of individualism (-0.305), profiteering (-0.24), attitude towards children (0.29), rationalism (-0.16) and marital satisfaction (0.28) were calculated. Extent of reading, education, income and use of the media indirectly impact on women's FERTILITY PREFERENCES. Based on the findings, the most significant factor influencing women’s FERTILITY PREFERENCES is their negative attitude towards the future which is indirectly affected by income (0.42), the extent of using the media (0.33) and rate of education (0.39). It is suggested that women’s attitude towards FERTILITY should be made positive and that having a materialistic attitude towards childbearing should be stopped by focusing on the spiritual dimension of childbearing and underlining heartwarming messages in the media and universities.

Background and Objective: Over the past two decades the total FERTILITY rate has remained the belowreplacement level (two children per woman), which can lead to aging population and hence shortage of labor forces required for the development of the country. This research aimed to study reasons behind the intention to have no children. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study uses data from the 2012 Tehran Survey of FERTILITY Intentions (n= 2267), conducted among married men and women under aged 36 living in 22 districts of the city of Tehran. The samples were selected by a two stage cluster random sampling method, and a structured questionnaire was used to collect data by interviewing respondents face-to-face at the door of their residence. Using SPSS version 24 and descriptive statistics, reasons for not wanting children were examined according to respondents’ socio-economic characteristics. Results: Overall, 40% (902) of respondents reported that they intend not to have any children in the future. Number of living children was negatively related to the intention to have children. About 9% (67) of childless respondents reported that they intend to remain childless forever, and 34% (302) of respondents with one child and 81% (443) of those having two children stated that they intend to stop childbearing. “ Not being able to afford the cost of raising children” (27%), “ having the desired number of children” (25%), “ being worry about the future of their children” (15%) as the most important reasons for not wanting any (more) children. The other reason for intending not to have children was “ conflict of childbearing with own personal life, plans and interests” (16%), which was reported largely by men, and those with higher levels of education and income, and those with one or no child. Respondents also reported “ spouse’ s opposition” 6%) and “ problems in spousal relationships” (2%) as the other reasons for wanting no more children. Conclusion: The study showed that beyond of economic reasons, uncertainty about children’ s future and childbearing-personal life conflict are two other important cultural and social reasons for low FERTILITY intention, which are required to be considered by policy makers developing or tailoring the country’ s population policies.

The purpose of the present study is to predict women's FERTILITY PREFERENCES and motivations based on marital commitment, loneliness, and sensation-seeking. This is a correlational study in which 225 women, aged 20 to 45 years, were selected by purposeful convenience sampling method from Tehran government offices in 2018. Miller FERTILITY PREFERENCES & Motivation Scale, Adams & Jones Marital Commitment Scale, Zuckerman & Eysenck Sensation Seeking Scale, and Dietomasso, Brennan & Bast Adult Social-Emotional Loneliness Scale were applied for measuring the variables. The findings of study reveal a negative relationship between FERTILITY PREFERENCES and moral commitment, a positive relationship between positive FERTILITY motivations and personal and moral commitment, and a positive relationship between negative FERTILITY PREFERENCES with moral and structural commitment, family and social loneliness, adventurous features and emotion-seeking. The results of regression analysis showed that FERTILITY PREFERENCES and incentives can be predicted by loneliness, sensation seeking and marital commitment respectively. These results value the need of pre-pregnancy psychological counseling for women.

Background & aim: Considering the lack of information regarding the effects of religion on young couples’ FERTILITY PREFERENCES, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between religious beliefs and FERTILITY PREFERENCES among engaged couples in Mashhad, Iran, in 2013.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 450 engaged couples, referring to premarital counseling clinics at healthcare centers of Mashhad. Convenience sampling was applied and data were collected using Miller’s FERTILITY PREFERENCES and Childbearing Questionnaires (1995), Khodayari's Religious Attitude Questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire; all four questionnaires were completed by the participants. Spearman's correlation, Chisquare test, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for data analysis. The significance level was considered to be 0.05.Results: Scores of religious beliefs were low, moderate, and high among 5.7%, 62.1%, and 32.2% of the couples, respectively. Childbearing desires (P£0.001), ideal number of children (P£0.001), and birth interval (P£0.001) showed significant differences in groups with low, moderate, and high scores of religious beliefs. The mean number of children desired by the groups with low, moderate, and high religious belief scores was 2.24±1.49, 2.21±0.87, and 2.69±1.37, respectively. In total, 42.2% of the participants were moderately affected by religious beliefs.Conclusion: FERTILITY motivations and the ideal number of children were higher among individuals with stronger religious beliefs; however, even among these religious people, FERTILITY PREFERENCES were not favorable, compared to figures recommended by reproductive health policymakers. These findings can contribute to the improvement of reproductive indices and FERTILITY reforms towards higher FERTILITY rate in the country.

Background & aim: Considering the importance of keeping the country population young and FERTILITY control, particularly, in the elites and with regard to the influence of spiritual well-being on FERTILITY behaviour and childbearing in the religious cultural context of Iran, the present study aimed to determine the relationship between spiritual well-being and FERTILITY PREFERENCES in the selected higher education centers of Mashhad, Iran in 2019. Methods: This correlational study was carried out on 296 married students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences and Razavi University of Medical Sciences in Mashhad, Iran, who were selected using multistage sampling between 2018 and 2019. The data were collected using three questionnaires of individual-educational characteristics, spiritual health, and Miller's FERTILITY PREFERENCES and Childbearing Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’, s correlation coefficient. Results: In terms of spiritual health, 222 (75. 0%) students had a moderately score. Also, 143 (48. 3%) subjects had a high level of willingness to have children. Regarding the number of children, 88 (29. 7%) students tended to have two children, and 75 (25. 9%) participants were inclined to have children within 1 to 2 years after marriage. There was a significant linear relationship between the spiritual health and FERTILITY PREFERENCES of the students (r=0. 29,P<0. 001). Conclusion: It is recommended to develop a codified and local curriculum for the education of spiritual health, and its impact on the FERTILITY PREFERENCES of the students. However, further studies in this regard are suggested.