Thoughts of University Students on Having Children in the Future and Affecting Factors

Background: Having children is a multifaceted social phenomenon with socio-cultural, psychological and economic dimensions. Aim: The research was carried out to determine the future thinking of university students with different socio-demographic characteristics and the factors affecting them. Method: While the universe of this descriptive study consisted of 9208 students studying at a university in Eskisehir, the sample of the study consisted of 712 senior students. Data were collected between January-February 2019 using a data collection form. Frequency, mean and chi-square testing were used in the analysis of the data. Results: It was found that 77.9% of students wanted to have children in the future. The average number of children that the students wanted to have was 2.18 and it was determined that the desired number of children did not differ by the gender. Psychological well-being, the continuation of lineage, and individual decision making were the top three factors among the factors affecting students' the idea to have children in future. While there was a statistically significant relationship between the factors affecting students' the idea to have children in future and gender, family type, place of residence for the longest period, no significant difference was found between these factors and the education level of the mother and father. Conclusion: The psychological aspect of the child, the continuation of lineage, and the individual-social preference of individuals were found to be the major factors affecting students' the idea to have children in future. It was found that the majority of students did not want to have children before becoming self-supporting. It was found that the students who had large families and who lived in the village for the longest period in their lives wanted to have more children, they had the perception of a son more intensively, and they believed about the importance of the child more for the continuation of the lineage. In the study, while the distinction between the rural and urban areas was revealed, it was determined that the educational status of parents did not have a significant effect on the desire to have children.