INTRODUCTION
1
Research into the effect of fertility on partner and marital relationships belongs to the long-term interests of scientific research. For example Humphrey (1975) found differences between childless couples and those with children using the interview method. He points to the idealization of his partner relationship in childless partners, and adds that although childlessness can be stressful, it can contribute to a closer mutual affinity between partners. On the contrary, for those who are parents, parenthood can limit mutual communication between partners. Even now, the connection between children and couple relationships is the subject of many researches. In the scientific literature, we come across research on the impact of childbearing on the quality of partnerships, quality of life, satisfaction, well-being, etc. (e.g. Vanassche, Swicegood, Matthijs, 2013, Kowal, Groyecka-Bernard, Kochan-Wójcik, Sorokowski, 2021, Johnson 2016, Amato, Booth, Johnson, Rogers, 2009 and many others). In this text, however, we focused on the connection between axiological preferences in partner relationships and fertility. The main question we ask is whether fertility is related to how we judge the importance of some central aspects of couple relationships.
RESEARCH
In the article, we present partial results of the research, which, among other things, concerned moral aspects of sexual and couple relations, moral dilemmas, love and landmarks in intimate relationships and their connections with other factors. In this text, we focus only on the analysis of those data that related to some value attributes in current partner relationships and describe the connections between childbearing and value attribute preferences in the area of partner love among persons of younger and middle adult age and adolescence.
As for the research tool, even though we used several methods of both qualitative and quantitative nature in the research, here we analyze only the part of the results that we obtained with the help of the questionnaire we constructed, which we administered online. Specifically, we analyze those items in which the interviewed men and women had to mark the degree of importance of what they currently consider, based on their own experience, to be important in a partner's intimate relationship on a five-point scale (1 = not very important and 5 = very important). In an effort to more closely describe the preferences of research participants regarding their childbearing years, we describe the differences in terms of whether research participants have or do not have a child/children and regarding the number of their children. We profiled the items from pilot research on the constructions of love (see e.g. Lukšík, Guillaume, 2018), in which we focused only on those related to partner relationships, and from research on axiological and moral preferences in partner relationships (see e.g. Marková, 2015a,b) in order to cover the current main axiological meanings of partner love. The items thus represent some current value attributes of partner love.
Research File
The research group consisted of a total of 748 participants of young and middle adulthood and adolescence, who were full-time and part-time students of universities in Slovakia (Trnava, Nitra, Bratislava, Banská Bystrica, Prešov). Women predominated in the research group (34% of men and 66% of women), and in terms of fertility (histogram no. 1), 28% of those who have a child (n=207) and 72% of those who have not yet had a child (n=541) were represented. The average number of children is 1.3. 2 children, at least 1 child and at most 5 children were mentioned most often.
Histogram 1: Research file - representation of respondents by age group
RESEARCH FINDINGS
Research results – value attributes of partner love and fertility
In relation to fertility (whether women and men interviewed have children or not) and value attributes of partner love, the results of the Mann-Whitney test, which are shown in table no. 1, indicate that the preferences in the attributes of partner love are statistically significantly different at the 5% level of significance for respondents who have children compared to those who do not have children: - relationship with a partner, - attractiveness for a partner, - opening up, talking about confidential things, - recognition and creation of space for the free realization of partners, - activities with a partner.
Tab. 1: Results of the Mann-Whitney test - fertility and value attributes of partner love
Legend: Value attributes of partner love: 1. connectedness with partner/partner, 2. feeling of love, 3. attractiveness for partner/partner, 4. sexual attraction, 5. sexual satisfaction, 6. passion, 7. feeling of security, 8. understanding for partner/partner, 9. appreciation of positive aspects of partner/partner, 10. interest in partner's/partner's well-being, 11. balance between partners in satisfying needs and interests, 12. feeling of responsibility to take care of the partner, 13. trust, being able to trust the partner, 14. merging with the partner, 15. self-sacrifice, 16. personal enrichment, 17. getting to know oneself, 18. inner harmony, 19. opening up, talking about confidential matters, 20. recognizing and creating space for the free realization of partners, 21. activities with a partner.
In an attempt to more closely describe the differences in those 5 attributes of couple love, in which a statistically significant difference was identified (table no. 1), we will use the basic statistical indicators mean and mode (tables A, B), as well as the percentage evaluation of the answers (histograms A, B), to specify the differences in terms of childbearing among male and female respondents in their preferences.
In relation to the first of these attributes of a couple's love, which is "bonding with a partner", perhaps from tables and graphs no. 2 to see that those interviewed who have a child/children consider, based on their experience, the connection with a partner/partner to be more important in a partner's intimate relationship (average is 4.3) compared to those who do not have children (average is 4.2). Although it is necessary to take into account that the difference in averages is low and the mode is also the same for both monitored groups (the mode is 5, i.e. the answer "very important"). The percentage representation of the answers indicates that men and women who have children chose the answer "very important" in 59% and those who do not have children in 50%. The percentage distribution of responses is apparent from graphs no. 2.A and 2.B.
Tab. 2.A: Descriptive indicators - the value attribute of partner love "bonding with a partner" among research participants who have a child/children
Histogram 2.A2: Percentage representation of responses of research participants who have a child/children - value attribute of partner love "bonding with a partner"
Tab. 2.B: Descriptive indicators - the value attribute of partner love "bonding with a partner" among research participants who do not have a child
Histogram 2.B: Percentage representation of the responses of male and female research participants who do not have a child - the value attribute of partner love "bonding with a partner"
Tables and graphs number 3 show the percentages of male and female respondents' answers regarding "attractiveness to the partner (the partner likes the other partner)" as an attribute of couple love. From the point of view of fertility, it can be seen that those who have children attribute a lower importance to attractiveness for their partner in couple relationships (average is 3.8) compared to those who do not have children (average is 4.03). Of those who have children, they assigned 59% higher importance and 10% lower importance to attractiveness in a partnership, while in comparison, those who do not have a child assigned a 78% higher importance and a 5% lower importance to partner attractiveness in couple love.
Tab. 3.A: Descriptive indicators - value attribute of partner love "attractiveness for a partner" among research participants who have a child/children
Histogram 3.A: Percentage representation of responses of male and female research participants who have a child/children - value attribute of partner love "attractiveness for a partner"
Tab. 3.B: Descriptive indicators - value attribute of partner love "attractiveness for a partner" among research participants who do not have a child
Histogram 3.B: Percentage representation of responses of male and female research participants who do not have a child - value attribute of partner love "attractiveness for a partner"
As for the third attribute "opening up, talking about confidential things", where we identified a statistically significant difference in attributing its importance in couple relationships based on the number of children of the interviewed women and men, the results in tables and graphs no. 4 point out that respondents with children consider openness and confidential communication to be less important (average is 4.3) compared to those without children (average is 4.45). From graph 4.A, the percentage representation of the answers shows that for those men and women who have children, openness and confidential communication are more important in 78% and less important in 5%. On the contrary, those who do not have a child assigned 86% higher importance and 5% lower importance to this attribute in partner relationships (graph no. 4.B).
Tab. 4.A: Descriptive indicators - value attribute of partner love "opening up, talking about confidential things" among research participants who have a child/children
Histogram 4.A: Percentage representation of responses of research participants who have a child/children - value attribute of partner love "opening up, talking about confidential things"
Tab. 4.B: Descriptive indicators - value attribute of partner love "opening up, talking about confidential things" among research participants who do not have a child
Histogram 4.B: Percentage representation of responses of male and female research participants who do not have a child - value attribute of partner love "opening up, talking about confidential things"
"Recognition and creation of space for the free realization of partners" belongs to another value attribute of couple relationships, where a statistically significant difference was shown in the evaluation of its importance in couple relationships from the point of view of whether the interviewed persons have or do not have children. From the point of view of fertility, based on the results in tables and graphs no. 5 shows that for those interviewed men and women who have children, personal space for self-realization of partners is less important in couple relationships (average is 4.0, higher importance is attributed to personal space for self-realization in 71% and lower in 8% of them) compared to those who do not have children (average is 4.16 and higher importance assessed for this attribute in 80% and lower importance in 5% of them).
Tab. 5.A: Descriptive indicators - value attribute of partner love "recognition and creation of space for the free realization of partners" among research participants who have a child/children
Histogram 5.A: Percentage representation of responses of research participants who have a child/children - value attribute of partner love "recognition and creation of space for the free realization of partners"
Tab. 5.B: Descriptive indicators - value attribute of partner love "recognition and creation of space for the free realization of partners" among research participants who do not have a child
Histogram 5.B: Percentage representation of responses of male and female research participants who do not have a child - value attribute of partner love "recognition and creation of space for the free realization of partners"
Finally, the results regarding the importance of "joint activities with a partner" in couple relationships are expressed as a percentage in graphs no. 6.A and 6.B and the mean and mode values are found in tables no. 6.A and 6.B, especially considering the number of children interviewed. It turns out that joint activities of partners are less important in partner relationships for those respondents who have children (average is 4.2) compared to those who do not have children (average is 4.34). Greater importance of joint activities is attributed to 76% of those who have children, while 5% of them rate joint activities with their partner as less important. Among those who do not have children, 85% indicated a higher importance to the activities of partners in partner relationships, and vice versa, 4% of them indicated a lower importance.
Tab. 6.A: Descriptive indicators - value attribute of partner love "activities with a partner" among research participants who have a child/children
Histogram 6.A: Percentage representation of responses of research participants who have a child/children - value attribute of partner love "activity with partner"
Tab. 6.B: Descriptive indicators - value attribute of partner love "activity with partner" among research participants who do not have a child
Histogram 6.B: Percentage representation of responses of male and female research participants who do not have a child - value attribute of partner love "activity with partner"
Research results – value attributes of partner love and connections with the number of children
As part of the research, we also investigated the connection between the number of children and the attribution of the importance of the monitored value attributes of partner love among those respondents who have a child/children. In table no. 7 shows the results related to the correlations of the preferences of the value attributes of partner love of the interviewed men and women who have a child/children in relation to the number of their children. It turns out that the number of children is negatively correlated with the assessed attributes of sexual satisfaction and self-sacrifice. The higher the number of children reported by the interviewees, the less importance they attached to sexual satisfaction and sacrifice in partner relationships.
Tab. 7: Results of correlations: - value attributes of partner love and number of children in research participants
Legend: Value attributes of partner love: 1. connectedness with partner/partner, 2. feeling of love, 3. attractiveness for partner/partner, 4. sexual attraction, 5. sexual satisfaction, 6. passion, 7. feeling of security, 8. understanding for partner/partner, 9. appreciation of positive aspects of partner/partner, 10. interest in partner's/partner's well-being, 11. balance between partners in satisfying needs and interests, 12. feeling of responsibility to take care of the partner, 13. trust, being able to trust the partner, 14. merging with the partner, 15. self-sacrifice, 16. personal enrichment, 17. getting to know oneself, 18. inner harmony, 19. opening up, talking about confidential matters, 20. recognizing and creating space for the free realization of partners, 21. activities with a partner.
CONCLUSION
The basic premise from which we based this part of the research was that parenthood is a transformative experience on the life path (Umberson, Pudrovska, Roczek, In: Bianchi, 2013) and affects partner relationships, their quality, dynamics, and the arrival of children is also associated with value shifts in the view of partner relationships and constructions of couple life. Therefore, we investigated the connections between the preferences of the value attributes of partner love in relation to whether the interviewed women and men have children or not.
Among the 21 monitored value attributes of partner love, we identified five in which a statistically significant difference in preferences was found between those who currently have children compared to those who do not have children. Specifically, those who have children, compared to those who do not have children, attributed lower importance to the following value attributes of partner love: - attractiveness for a partner, - opening up, talking about confidential things, - recognition and creation of space for the free realization of partners, - joint activities with a partner. On the contrary, those who have children considered the bond with their partner in a couple relationship to be more important.
For those men and women who have children, our findings point to negative correlations between the number of children and the importance of sexual satisfaction and self-sacrifice in a partnership - the higher the number of children the interviewees reported, the less importance they attributed to sexual satisfaction and self-sacrifice in partner relationships.
It turns out that the importance of sexual satisfaction, creating space for self-realization of partners, openness and confidential communication, joint activities of partners or sacrifice decreases after starting a family. This is consistent not only with research on partner and marital satisfaction, but in relation to aspirations to have children, some of these attributes are factors in extending the pre-reproductive period or desired childlessness.
Author: prof. PhDr. Dagmar Marková, PhD. Department of General and Applied Ethics, Faculty of Arts, University of Constantine the Philosopher in Nitra
Note: The text was created thanks to the support of the grant APVV-18-0303: Milestones in transitions of intimate relationships and quality of life during adolescence and young adulthood and VEGA 2/0035/21: Family constellations with biological and non-biological children.
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1 The text was created thanks to the support of the grant APVV-18-0303: Milestones in transitions of intimate relationships and quality of life during adolescence and young adulthood and VEGA 2/0035/21: Family constellations with biological and non-biological children. 2 The response scale ranged from 1= not very important to 5= very important. This applies to all other graphs and results in this text.