Variation in three pregnancy attitude measures and changes from 2019-2020 to 2022-2023 in Arizona, New Jersey, and Wisconsin

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to assess variation in three measures of pregnancy and childbearing attitudes across sociodemographic characteristics and over time.

Study design: We used Survey of Women data from Arizona, New Jersey, and Wisconsin to compare responses between single-item measures of wanting to avoid pregnancy and childbearing and the Desire to Avoid Pregnancy (DAP) scale, as well as across two time points (2019-2020 and 2022-2023).

Results: The three measures were consistent across age and race/ethnicity categories, while the DAP scale reflected differences by financial status. There was an increase in the proportion of respondents who wanted to avoid childbearing (79% [95% CI 78%-81%] vs 82% [95% CI 81%-84%]) and in mean DAP scores (2.51 [95% CI 2.46-2.55] vs 2.62 [95% CI 2.58-2.67]) over time.

Conclusions: The ways in which people are asked about their pregnancy attitudes may yield different results.

Implications: Health professionals and researchers should consider using multiple items to measure pregnancy attitudes, understanding that variations may reflect the composition and social location of their samples.

Keywords: Attitudes; Childbearing; Measurement; Pregnancy.