Quote
Erbe, D., Freisinger, M., & Gerlach, A. L. (2026). Depressive symptoms and the desire to have children: An investigation of motives and perceived costs and benefits. PPmP - Psychotherapy - Psychosomatics - Medical Psychology, 76(1), 36-42. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2731-0454
Content
Summary
Aim of the study
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of depressive symptoms on the perception of motives for having children and on the assessment of the perceived costs and benefits of having children in people with mental illness. The relationship between mental illness and the desire to have children has so far been insufficiently researched, although it is highly relevant for counseling and therapy.
Methodology
A quantitative online survey was conducted with 105 people who were recruited via the outpatient clinic for psychotherapy at the University of Cologne. The Value of Children (VoC) questionnaire was used to survey attitudes towards children. The motives for wanting children were recorded using a series of specially developed items based on previous research, including the extended version of the Leipzig Questionnaire on Motives for Wanting Children (LKM-E). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the PHQ-9. The analysis was carried out using multiple linear regression.
Results
The results show that depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with the perception of the advantages or disadvantages of having children. Similarly, there was no significant correlation with positive motives for wanting children. On the other hand, there was a highly significant correlation between depressive symptoms and negative motives for having children (β=2.18, p<0.001), which indicates a pessimistic view of parenthood in affected individuals.
Discussion
The present findings suggest that the negative view of people with depression may lead to a pessimistic view of family planning. While the hypotheses on positive motives were not confirmed, the identification of negative motives is important for psychotherapeutic interventions. The deviations from previous studies with regard to the VoC scales could be due to different measurement methods and samples.
Conclusion
Therapists should specifically integrate the topic of the desire to have children into their psychotherapeutic work in order to question cognitive distortions and enable a reflective examination of possible parenthood desires. Further studies with larger and more diverse samples are required in order to validate the findings and gain deeper insights into the family planning of people with mental illness.
References
DOI 10.1055/a-2731-0454