Emotional Regulation of Fertility Decision Making: What Is the Nature and Structure of Baby Fever?

Baby fever-a visceral physical and emotional desire to have a baby-is well known in popular culture, but has not been empirically studied in psychology. Different theoretical perspectives suggest that desire for a baby is either superfluous to biological sex drives and maternal instincts, a sociocul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Emotion (Washington, D.C.) D.C.), 2012-10, Vol.12 (5), p.1141-1154
Main Authors: BRASE, Gary L, BRASE, Sandra L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Affectivity. Emotion
Age Factors
Biological and medical sciences
Decision Making
Desire
Emotional Regulation
Emotions
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Family Characteristics
Family Planning Attitudes
Female
Fertility
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Human Sex Differences
Humans
Individual Differences
Individuality
Libido
Male
Motivation
Personality. Affectivity
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reproductive Behavior - psychology
Role
Sex Factors
Sex Roles
Sexual Behavior - psychology
Sexuality. Sexual behavior
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Summary:Baby fever-a visceral physical and emotional desire to have a baby-is well known in popular culture, but has not been empirically studied in psychology. Different theoretical perspectives suggest that desire for a baby is either superfluous to biological sex drives and maternal instincts, a sociocultural phenomenon unrelated to biological or evolutionary forces, or an evolved adpatation for regulating birth timing, proceptive behavior, and life history trajectories. A series of studies (involving 337 undergraduate participants and 853 participants from a general population Internet sample) found that: (a) a simple scale measure could elicit ratings of desire frequency; (b) these ratings exhibited significant sex differences; (c) this sex difference was distinct from a general desire for sexual activity; and (d) these findings generalize to a more diverse online population. Factor analyses of ratings for desire elicitors/inhibitors identified three primary factors underlying baby fever. Baby fever appears to be a real phenomenon, with an underlying multifactorial structure.
ISSN:1528-3542
1931-1516
DOI:10.1037/a0024954