[Depressive Symptoms and the Desire for Children: An Investigation of Motives and Perceived Costs and Benefits]

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of depressive symptoms on the perception of motives for wanting children, as well as the assessment of perceived costs and benefits of having children among individuals with mental health disorders. The relationship between mental illnesses and the desire to have children has been inadequately explored thus far, despite its high relevance for counseling and therapy.A quantitative online survey was conducted with 105 participants recruited through the outpatient psychotherapeutic clinic at the University of Cologne. The Value of Children (VoC) questionnaire was utilized to assess attitudes toward children. Motives for wanting children were measured using a series of self-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. Data analysis was performed using multiple linear regression.The results show that depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with the perception of the advantages or disadvantages of having children. No significant correlation was found with positive motives for wanting children. In contrast, there was a highly significant association between depressive symptoms and negative motives for wanting children (β=2.18, p<0,001), indicating a pessimistic view of parenthood among affected individuals.The findings suggest that the negative outlook of individuals with depression may lead to a pessimistic assessment of family planning. While the hypotheses regarding positive motives were not confirmed, identifying negative motives is important for psychotherapeutic interventions. The deviations from previous studies concerning the VoC scales may be attributed to different measurement methods and sample populations.Therapeutic professionals should actively integrate the topic of the desire to have children into their psychotherapeutic work to challenge cognitive distortions and facilitate a reflective engagement with potential desires for parenthood. Further studies with larger and more diverse samples are necessary to validate these findings and gain deeper insights into family planning among individuals with mental health issues.