Abstract

NATIVIDADE, Jean Carlos et al. Desire to have children: validity evidence of an instrument. Psicol. clin. [online]. 2020, vol.32, n.2, pp. 273-294. ISSN 0103-5665.  http://dx.doi.org/10.33208/PC1980-5438v0032n02A04.

The desire to have children construct can be understood as a subjective assessment of the intensity of the intention to have children, and of the consequences of having children. This study aimed to elaborate and search for evidence of validity of an instrument to measure the desire to have children. Initially, evidence of validity based on the content of the items was sought. After analysis by experts, the most representative items of the construct were selected and the scale was applied to a sample of 419 adults. Exploratory factor analyses indicated the emergence of a single underlying factor with adequate internal consistency, as theoretically expected. The items showed satisfactory parameters of discrimination and difficulty, and were able to adequately cover a broad spectrum of the construct. Relationships between the desire to have children and other variables were also tested, among which the positive correlation with the number of intended children, and the negative correlation with the expected waiting time for children are highlighted. The instrument has gathered satisfactory evidence of validity, and may be useful in both research and clinical settings.

Keywords : test construction; test validity; human reproduction; parenting; children.

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