Intergenerational Comparison of Value of Children among Urban Women Population in Mashhad, Iran, 2014

Introduction: The theory of value of children refers to the needs which children provide for their parents. Considering the close relationship between the value orientation of people with the decisions in organizing life and forming a family, including having children, and according to decreased fertility rate in Iran, the present study was performed with aim of intergenerational comparison of the value of children and its dimensions among women in Mashhad. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed as multi-stage sampling on 712 women referred to health centers in Mashhad and using a demographic questionnaire and the questionnaire of value of children, including three emotional, economic and social dimensions, which its validity was determined using content validity and its reliability by internal consistency. Data was analyzed using SPSS software (version 16). P Results: The studied women more perceived emotional value of children with a mean score of 68.89 ± 18.02, and then the economic value of children with a mean score of 46.13 ± 19.36, and the social value of children with a mean score of 43.89 ± 15.15 had the lowest priority among women. Also, the mean score of emotional value of children was higher among younger women and economic and social value was higher among older women. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate more importance of emotional value of children among women and changing the value of children from economic and social point of view to emotional one among younger generation that suggests a new vision to design comprehensive and regular training plans in order to promote women's reproductive behavior.