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Motives for Child Conception Questionnaire3

Motives for Child Conception Questionnaire Test

In about 5 minutes, it clarifies what motivates a woman to have a child. With 24 items, it offers fast insights to tailor perinatal counseling, align expectations, and reduce conflict.

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Questions: 245 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

33,295 views

3,343 completions

2,921 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

7/12

Responsibility Motive (RM)

Measures the degree to which a person emphasizes duty and accountability in deciding to conceive and raise a child.

Lower responsibility focus

Moderate responsibility focus

High responsibility focus

0 – 4: Lower responsibility focus | 5 – 8: Moderate responsibility focus | 9 – 12: High responsibility focus

A score of 7 indicates a moderate emphasis on parental duty and obligations as a motivation for having a child.

example score

6/12

Happiness Motive (HM)

Measures how strongly the respondent expects having a child to bring joy and positive emotions.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 4: Low | 5 – 8: Moderate | 9 – 12: High

A score of 6 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a balanced expectation that parenthood will contribute to happiness without being the dominant motive.

example score

9/12

Care and Love Motive (CaLM)

Measures the importance of wanting to provide care, tenderness, and emotional support to the child as a key motivation for conceiving.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 4: Low | 5 – 8: Moderate | 9 – 12: High

A score of 9 indicates a high care-and-love motive, suggesting a strong emphasis on emotional connection and nurturing in the decision to have a child.

example score

6/12

Family Cohesion Motive (FCM)

Measures how strongly having a child is motivated by a desire to strengthen family relationships and unity.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 4: Low | 5 – 8: Moderate | 9 – 12: High

A score of 6 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting family unity is a meaningful but not dominant motive for conceiving a child.

example score

4/12

Meaning of Life Motive (MoLM)

Measures the extent to which having a child is seen as a way to find or strengthen life meaning and purpose.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 4: Low | 5 – 8: Moderate | 9 – 12: High

A score of 4 falls in the Low range, suggesting that seeking life meaning through parenthood is not a primary motivation right now.

example score

7/12

Motherhood Motive (MM)

Measures how strongly a woman is motivated to conceive in order to fulfill herself in the maternal role and engage in caregiving functions.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 4: Low | 5 – 8: Moderate | 9 – 12: High

A score of 7 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting motherhood is an important motive, though it likely shares influence with other reasons for conceiving.

example score

7/12

Family Completeness Motive (FCM)

Measures how strongly the person views having a child as necessary to feel the family is complete and whole.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 4: Low | 5 – 8: Moderate | 9 – 12: High

A score of 7 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting family completeness is a meaningful motive but not the sole or dominant driver for conceiving a child.

example score

2/12

Lineage Continuation Motive (LCM)

Measures the extent to which having a child is motivated by continuing the family or ancestral line.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 3: Low | 4 – 8: Moderate | 9 – 12: High

A score of 2 falls in the Low range, suggesting that continuing the family line is currently a relatively minor motive compared with other possible reasons for conceiving a child.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Expectant mothers seeking clarity

41%OF USERS

Pregnant women who want to understand what personally motivates them to have a child and what they hope will change in their lives.

Women planning a pregnancy

34%OF USERS

Women considering motherhood who want to sort out their reasons and expectations before deciding to conceive.

Perinatal counselors and psychologists

25%OF USERS

Professionals who use a quick screening tool to identify a client’s core motivations and guide counseling and family support.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Motive of responsibility (Mor)

Average

6.9

Normal range

4.7 — 9.1

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

The Motive of Happiness (TMoH)

Average

5.4

Normal range

3.2 — 7.6

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

The motive of care and love (Tmocal)

Average

3.8

Normal range

2.2 — 5.4

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

The theme of family unity (Ttofu)

Average

3.6

Normal range

2.1 — 5.1

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

The Motivation of Life's Meaning (TMoLM)

Average

Normal range

5 — 9

min.

max.

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Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

The Theme of Motherhood (TToM)

Average

5.4

Normal range

3.8 — 7

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

The theme of family completeness (Ttofc)

Average

5.4

Normal range

3.2 — 7.5

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Motive for reproduction (Mfr)

Average

8.4

Normal range

6.9 — 10

min.

max.

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Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Strongly agree
- Agree rather than disagree
- Hard to say
- Disagree rather than agree
- Strongly disagree
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Not sure
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Strongly agree
- Agree somewhat
- Not sure
- Disagree somewhat
- Strongly disagree

These are 3 of the 24 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Motives for Child Conception Questionnaire Test - Symptoms and Signs

pregnancy

In perinatal and family assessment, clarifying reasons for pursuing parenthood can inform case formulation and clinical planning. The Motives for Child Conception Questionnaire is a brief self-report measure designed to identify salient motivations related to conceiving a child (Belsky). It includes 24 items and typically takes about 5 minutes to complete.

Respondents rate the personal importance of various conception-related motives, yielding a profile that can support clinical discussion of expectations, values, and potential areas of tension or ambivalence. The Motives for Child Conception Questionnaire may be used to guide collaborative exploration in perinatal counseling, couples work, or psychosocial support by helping clinicians organize themes for follow-up interview and intervention planning.

Author: John L. Belsky

Literature: Miller, W. B. Childbearing motivations, desires, and intentions: A theoretical framework. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs. 1994.; Cowan, C. P., & Cowan, P. A. When partners become parents: The big life change for couples. Basic Books. 1992.