FSD3396 Family Barometer 2015

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Study title

Family Barometer 2015

Dataset ID Number

FSD3396

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3396

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

  • Miettinen, Anneli (Family Federation of Finland. Population Research Institute)

Abstract

The study charted Finnish views on ideals and plans about having children. Main themes included starting a family, the ideal size of a family, pregnancy, obstacles faced in having children, personal partnership and desire to have a baby. The study was funded by the Family Federation of Finland, Alli Paasikivi Foundation and Suomen kotien kukkasrahasto foundation.

The first set of questions focused on the personal partnerships of the participants, investigating, for example, satisfaction with the relationship and expectations for the relationship in the future. The respondents' childhood homes were studied with questions on, for example, happiness, conflicts, financial problems and support received from parents.

Some questions focused on children, charting, for example, the housing arrangements of the children and whether the respondent and their spouse had children from previous relationships. Pregnancy was examined through questions relating to the most important reasons behind the decision to have a child, specifically the respondent's youngest child, (e.g. the desire to have a sibling for older children or a strong desire to have a baby) as well as any challenges and concerns faced when the child was born (e.g. financial circumstances, health of the parents or the baby). Ideal family size and the appriopriate age to become a parent or have the last child were surveyed.

Next, the respondents were asked questions relating to pregnancy. Questions examined, for example, willingness and hope for pregnancy (either the respondent or their spouse) in the near future, reasons for not having a child and the perceived impacts having a baby would have on the respondents' lives (e.g. financial problems, less opportunities for work, positive impact on relationships and social life). Values and attitudes were also charted with questions focusing on, for example, the importance of work, family and hobbies in the respondents' lives and the feelings they had when interacting with babies and children (e.g. whether they wanted to have a child after holding a baby or wanted to get as far away as possible when hearing a baby cry). Statements relating to not wanting to have children after interacting with someone else's child or seeing them cry or have a tantrum were presented to both those who had and did not have children.

Health-related questions investigated satisfaction with life, smoking, alcohol use, birth control methods and mental health. Finally, the respondents who were women were asked about their pregnancies and experiences related to pregnancies. The time spent trying to get pregnant, the number of times the respondent had been pregnant, possible fertility treatments and miscarriages were charted.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, year of birth, number of children, marital status, household composition, perceived social class, level of education and annual personal and household income. Information was also collected on the spouse's gender, year of birth, level of education and occupational status.

Keywords

babies; childhood; delivery (pregnancy); families; family life; family planning; family size; partnerships (personal); pregnancy

Topic Classification

Series

Family Barometers

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

  • TNS Gallup Finland

Time Period Covered

2015

Collection Dates

2015-02-01 – 2015-02-28

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Family

Universe

Persons aged 20-55 living in Finland who have at most three children (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability

TNS Gallup Finland chose the respondents from their population panel that represents the population of Finland (excluding the Åland Islands) based on the demographic of Finland. Data collection ended when the wanted amount of respondents was reached. Data collection was conducted with an online survey for the first time in the data series, contrary to earlier surveys which were conducted as postal surveys.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: English and Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Number of Cases and Variables

262 variables and 3180 cases.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The filters used in the survey are visible in variable labels in the data.

To prevent identification of individuals, the response option for Sami language was merged with the response option for other languages in variable bv6 denoting mother tongue.

Weighting

The data include a weight variable (weight), which weights the data to be representative of the general population in terms of age, gender, region of residence, number of children and level of education.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Miettinen, Anneli (Family Federation of Finland): Family Barometer 2015 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2020-01-22). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3396

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Special Terms and Conditions for Access

Users of the data shall send Väestöliitto [Family Federation of Finland] a copy of all research publications based on or using the data. Publications shall be sent to the mail address: Väestöliitto, Väestöntutkimuslaitos, PL 849, 00101 HELSINKI, FINLAND or by email to tiina.helamaa@vaestoliitto.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications Tooltip

Miettinen, Anneli (2015). Miksi syntyvyys laskee? Suomalaisten lastensaantiin liittyviä toiveita ja odotuksia. Väestöliiton katsauksia E49. Helsinki: Väestöliitto. ISBN: 978-952-226-172-4

Rotkirch, Anna & Tammisalo, Kristiina & Miettinen, Anneli & Berg, Venla (2017). Miksi vanhemmuutta lykätään? Nuorten aikuisten näkemyksiä lastensaannista. Väestöliiton Katsauksia E51. Helsinki: Väestöliitto. ISBN: 978-952-226-192-2.

Karhunen, Oona (2021). The associations between early family environment and fertility ideals. Master's theses in psychology. Helsinki: University of Helsinki. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/37653

Häkkinen, Marie (2021). The formation of personal fertility ideals : the importance of religion and family values. Master's theses in psychology. Helsinki: University of Helsinki. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/37654

Savelieva, Kateryna & Jokela, Markus & Rotkirch, Anna (2022). Reasons to Postpone Childbearing during Fertility Decline in Finland. Marriage & Family Review, 1-24. Doi: 10.1080/01494929.2022.2083283

Karhunen, O, Jokela, M, & Golovina, K (2023). Associations between early family environment and fertility ideals. International Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12933

Golovina K, Nitsche N, Berg V, Miettinen A, Rotkirch A, Jokela M (2023). Birth cohort changes in fertility ideals: Evidence from repeated cross-sectional surveys in Finland. European Sociological Review, jcad048. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcad048

Study description in machine readable DDI-C 2.5 format

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Metadata record is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.