The Motivational Substrate of Unintended and Unwanted Pregnancy1

Abstract

We have postulated a biologically based substrate of childbearing motivation that underlies reproductive behavior. The goal of this study was to examine how this motivation flows through the conscious states of a contracepting couple to affect their behavior, first prior to and then after the occurence of an unintended pregnancy. We collected data from 178 couples seeking a pregnancy test at a Planned Parenthood Clinic. We showed the measurement of critical constructs to have satisfactory convergent validity. We constructed one individual‐level and two couple‐level models, all of which we tested with a linear structural equations analysis (LISREL). All three models had good fits. The findings support the central idea of a motivational substrate that has both positive and negative components and is composed of both conscious (explicit) and unconscious (implicit) factors. At the psychological level, the expression of this substrate can be understood in terms of a traits‐desires‐intentions‐behavior framework. At the dyadic level, substrate expression allows inferences about the effects of couple communication, influence, and disagreement. Prior to conception, the motivational substrate affects the regularity of contraceptive use and, following the occurrence of an unintended pregnancy, it affects the “wantedness” of that pregnancy.