Reproductive Intentions Affected by Perceptions of Climate Change and Attitudes toward Death
Adverse climate change poses a threat to the health of pregnant women and unborn children and has a negative impact on the quality of life. Additionally, individuals with a high awareness of the consequences of climate change may be accompanied by a fear of the inevitable end, such as a fear of deat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/12/10/374 |
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| author | Eleonora Bielawska-Batorowicz Klaudia Zagaj Karolina Kossakowska |
| author_facet | Eleonora Bielawska-Batorowicz Klaudia Zagaj Karolina Kossakowska |
| author_sort | Eleonora Bielawska-Batorowicz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Adverse climate change poses a threat to the health of pregnant women and unborn children and has a negative impact on the quality of life. Additionally, individuals with a high awareness of the consequences of climate change may be accompanied by a fear of the inevitable end, such as a fear of death. This, in turn, may discourage planning for offspring. Thus, both the perception of climate change and fear of death can have implications for reproductive intentions. Only a few studies to date indicate that concerns about climate change, especially when combined with attitudes towards death, may influence the formation of attitudes and reproductive plans. Thus, current research is aimed at looking at reproductive intentions from the perspective of both climate change concerns and the fear of death. This study was conducted from December 2020 to February 2021. A total of 177 childless males and females (58.8%) took part in the study. The Death Anxiety and Fascination Scale (DAFS) and Climate Change Perception Questionnaire (CCPQ) were completed online. Overall, 63.8% of respondents displayed a positive reproductive intention. Multivariable logistic regression analysis found that, in addition to the young age of respondents, the likelihood of positive reproductive intentions increases with death anxiety and decreases with death fascination and with climate health concerns. The results indicate that both climate change concerns and the fear of death are relevant to reproductive plans—positive reproductive intentions increase with death anxiety and decrease with death fascination and with climate health concerns. The results fill the gap in the existing research on predictors of reproductive intentions and can be used for further scientific exploration and practical activities addressing the issues of the determinants of decisions about having children. The individual consequences of climate change are clearly taken into account in the context of offspring planning and, therefore, should be considered in the design of social and environmental actions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:42:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-db377c7a35f449ad8b3c891b86c2db1a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:42:14Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-db377c7a35f449ad8b3c891b86c2db1a2023-11-23T22:56:08ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2022-09-01121037410.3390/bs12100374Reproductive Intentions Affected by Perceptions of Climate Change and Attitudes toward DeathEleonora Bielawska-Batorowicz0Klaudia Zagaj1Karolina Kossakowska2Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Lodz, 90-128 Lodz, PolandInstitute of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Lodz, 90-128 Lodz, PolandInstitute of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Lodz, 90-128 Lodz, PolandAdverse climate change poses a threat to the health of pregnant women and unborn children and has a negative impact on the quality of life. Additionally, individuals with a high awareness of the consequences of climate change may be accompanied by a fear of the inevitable end, such as a fear of death. This, in turn, may discourage planning for offspring. Thus, both the perception of climate change and fear of death can have implications for reproductive intentions. Only a few studies to date indicate that concerns about climate change, especially when combined with attitudes towards death, may influence the formation of attitudes and reproductive plans. Thus, current research is aimed at looking at reproductive intentions from the perspective of both climate change concerns and the fear of death. This study was conducted from December 2020 to February 2021. A total of 177 childless males and females (58.8%) took part in the study. The Death Anxiety and Fascination Scale (DAFS) and Climate Change Perception Questionnaire (CCPQ) were completed online. Overall, 63.8% of respondents displayed a positive reproductive intention. Multivariable logistic regression analysis found that, in addition to the young age of respondents, the likelihood of positive reproductive intentions increases with death anxiety and decreases with death fascination and with climate health concerns. The results indicate that both climate change concerns and the fear of death are relevant to reproductive plans—positive reproductive intentions increase with death anxiety and decrease with death fascination and with climate health concerns. The results fill the gap in the existing research on predictors of reproductive intentions and can be used for further scientific exploration and practical activities addressing the issues of the determinants of decisions about having children. The individual consequences of climate change are clearly taken into account in the context of offspring planning and, therefore, should be considered in the design of social and environmental actions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/12/10/374climate changereproductive intentionsdeath anxietydeath fascinationoffspring |
| spellingShingle | Eleonora Bielawska-Batorowicz Klaudia Zagaj Karolina Kossakowska Reproductive Intentions Affected by Perceptions of Climate Change and Attitudes toward Death Behavioral Sciences climate change reproductive intentions death anxiety death fascination offspring |
| title | Reproductive Intentions Affected by Perceptions of Climate Change and Attitudes toward Death |
| title_full | Reproductive Intentions Affected by Perceptions of Climate Change and Attitudes toward Death |
| title_fullStr | Reproductive Intentions Affected by Perceptions of Climate Change and Attitudes toward Death |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reproductive Intentions Affected by Perceptions of Climate Change and Attitudes toward Death |
| title_short | Reproductive Intentions Affected by Perceptions of Climate Change and Attitudes toward Death |
| title_sort | reproductive intentions affected by perceptions of climate change and attitudes toward death |
| topic | climate change reproductive intentions death anxiety death fascination offspring |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/12/10/374 |
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