The impact of modernization processes of life forms and precarious work on fertility intentions in Germany

Although pluralization of life forms and effects of precarious work have recently been matters of debate among scholars in the social sciences, only little is known about the impact of both processes on fertility intentions. Focusing individual attitudes of young German adults towards these issues, this paper investigates whether pluralization of life forms or effects of precarious work lead to lower rates of fertility intentions. Based on social exchange theory, empirical results show a significantly negative impact of modem gender role attitudes on fertility intentions. When conducting separate analyses for each gender group, this effect vanishes. Controlling for males, subjective precariousness exerts a negative effect, whereas a high amount of fixed-term contracts during professional career exerts a positive effect on fertility intentions. However, females' fertility intentions are positively affected in a significant manner by a high degree of satisfaction with partnership.