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Motives for Child Conception Questionnaire3

Motives for Child Conception Questionnaire Test

In about five minutes, 24 questions in the Motives for Child Conception Questionnaire Test invite you to explore the reasons behind your wish for parenthood, from care and responsibility to happiness and family hopes, supporting thoughtful self-reflection about your personal motivations.

Questions: 245 minutes

Motives for Child Conception: situation and reply bubbles

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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3,778 completions

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Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

3,290 likes

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Responsibility MotiveRM

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

example score7/12

7/12Moderate responsibility focusexample score

0 – 4Lower responsibility focus

5 – 8Moderate responsibility focus

9 – 12High responsibility focus

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

Happiness MotiveHM

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

example score6/12

6/12Moderateexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 8Moderate

9 – 12High

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

Care and Love MotiveCaLM

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

example score9/12

9/12Highexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 8Moderate

9 – 12High

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.

Family Cohesion MotiveFCM

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

example score6/12

6/12Moderateexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 8Moderate

9 – 12High

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

Meaning of Life MotiveMoLM

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

example score4/12

4/12Lowexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 8Moderate

9 – 12High

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

Motherhood MotiveMM

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

example score7/12

7/12Moderateexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 8Moderate

9 – 12High

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.

Family Completeness MotiveFCM

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

example score7/12

7/12Moderateexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 8Moderate

9 – 12High

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.

Lineage Continuation MotiveLCM

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

example score2/12

2/12Lowexample score

0 – 3Low

4 – 8Moderate

9 – 12High

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.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Motive of responsibilityMor

You?

Average6.9

Typical rangeTypical4.7 – 9.1

Possible0 – 12

The Motive of HappinessTMoH

You?

Average5.4

Typical rangeTypical3.2 – 7.6

Possible0 – 12

The motive of care and loveTmocal

You?

Average3.8

Typical rangeTypical2.2 – 5.4

Possible0 – 12

The theme of family unityTtofu

You?

Average3.6

Typical rangeTypical2.1 – 5.1

Possible0 – 12

The Motivation of Life's MeaningTMoLM

You?

Average7

Typical rangeTypical5 – 9

Possible0 – 12

The Theme of MotherhoodTToM

You?

Average5.4

Typical rangeTypical3.8 – 7

Possible0 – 12

The theme of family completenessTtofc

You?

Average5.4

Typical rangeTypical3.2 – 7.5

Possible0 – 12

Motive for reproductionMfr

You?

Average8.4

Typical rangeTypical6.9 – 10

Possible0 – 12

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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.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Motives for Child Conception Questionnaire Test - Description and methodology of the test

pregnancy

People considering parenthood can use the Motives for Child Conception Questionnaire Test to examine what the wish for a child represents in their lives. It is suited to adults reflecting on personal priorities, relationships, family expectations, and their motives for parenthood. The questionnaire turns a broad wish for parenthood into a profile of distinct motives that can support more focused reflection with a partner.

What This Assessment Explores

The items explore reasons for linking parenthood with emotion, identity, relationships, and family life. Within this assessment of motives for having a child, a higher dimension score means that theme is more prominent in the answers, not that it is universally preferable. Dimensions are:

Responsibility Motive (0-12) reflects parental duty.
Happiness Motive (0-12) reflects expected joy.
Care and Love Motive (0-12) reflects emotional care.
Family Cohesion Motive (0-12) reflects hoped-for unity; Family Completeness Motive (0-12) reflects family wholeness.
Meaning of Life Motive (0-12) reflects purpose through parenthood.
Motherhood Motive (0-12) reflects a woman's internal need for self-realization in the maternal role.
Lineage Continuation Motive (0-12) reflects descendants and tradition.

Displayed bands are responsibility: Lower responsibility focus 0-4, Moderate responsibility focus 5-8, High responsibility focus 9-12; other 0-12 dimensions: Low 0-4, Moderate 5-8, High 9-12; lineage: Low 0-3, Moderate 4-8, High 9-12.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

Each statement uses five response choices from strong agreement to strong disagreement, with a middle uncertainty option. Items cover happiness, care, duty, identity, family unity, completeness, purpose, and lineage. Answers are grouped into motive dimensions, producing separate scores rather than one overall parenthood score. The questionnaire serves as a childbearing motivation test by mapping which motives are most prominent.

Miller's 1995 work on childbearing motivation and measurement offers the closest named comparison for reasons people give for having children. Miller's 1994 framework and Langdridge, Sheeran, and Connolly's 2005 study likewise distinguish varied reasons for parenthood. The questionnaire is conceptually consistent with these works, while its status as an adaptation or validated version of a published instrument is unspecified.

Because its item-to-point conversion is not stated, no scoring formula, normative basis, or clinical cutoff is specified for the displayed bands. Scores may reflect current circumstances, relationship dynamics, cultural expectations, pregnancy-related feelings, or socially desirable responding. The profile is not a diagnostic assessment and cannot predict future family outcomes; it describes reported motives rather than a person's overall circumstances.

Author: John L. Belsky

Literature:

Miller, W. B. (1995). Childbearing motivation and its measurement. Journal of Biosocial Science, 27(4), 473-487. 10.1017/S0021932000023087
Langdridge, D., Sheeran, P., & Connolly, K. (2005). Understanding the reasons for parenthood. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 23(2), 121-133. 10.1080/02646830500129438
Miller, W. B. (1994). Childbearing motivations, desires, and intentions: A theoretical framework. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 120(2), 223-258.

Updated: 2025-10-02