Desire, Intention, and Lifestyle Preferences: A Comparative Analysis of Partnered Individuals in Spain

Abstract

This study examines the factors associated with fertility desire and first-birth intentions among childless individuals aged 25-40 in heterosexual partnership in Spain, a country marked by lowest-low fertility, delayed life-course transitions, and persistent gaps between reproductive aspirations and outcomes. We analyse how sociodemographic and family background characteristics, life-course transitions, and lifestyle preferences are associated with desire and intention. Using microdata from the 2018 Spanish Fertility Survey (N = 1,645), we estimate logistic regression models for both outcomes and explore interactions between lifestyle preferences and key explanatory variables. Results show that fertility desire is primarily related to age, religious affiliation, education, and family background, while intentions are associated with enabling life-course transitions such as perceived job stability, leaving the parental home, and living with a partner. Lifestyle preferences are also associated with variation in these patterns: family-oriented individuals show a clear positive association with the intention to have a first child during the next three years, even without having completed key life-course transitions, whereas work-oriented individuals display lower desire, but a clear positive association with short-term intentions once stability is achieved. Overall, the findings illustrate the importance of distinguishing motivational from situational stages in reproductive decision-making and point to the potential of work-family balance policies to bridge the gap between reproductive aspirations and their realisation in low-fertility contexts.