Place Jean Marie, Horowitz John, Nguyen Minh, Guinn Maya, Peterson Brennan
Department of Nutrition and Health Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, United States.
Department of Economics, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, United States.
Front Glob Womens Health. 2025 Jun 27;6:1538455. doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2025.1538455. eCollection 2025.
Infertility affects approximately 8.5% of married women in the United States, yet there is limited understanding of how young adults anticipate and prepare for potential barriers to biological parenthood. As reproductive planning increasingly intersects with social, medical, and financial considerations, it is important to examine how emerging adults perceive and approach family-building options. This study aims to explore college students' intentions regarding childbearing, their openness to non-traditional family-building methods, and their awareness of the associated financial costs.
A cross-sectional survey was administered to undergraduate students (mean age = 20) at a Midwestern public university. Most participants had not previously attempted to conceive. The survey assessed fertility awareness, preferences for family-building in the context of infertility, and cost estimations for various non-traditional options, including adoption, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and surrogacy.
The majority of participants (86%) expressed a desire for biological children, with an average intended family size of 2.3 children. Among non-traditional options, private domestic adoption was the most preferred (58.3%), followed by public adoption (53.0%) and IVF (42.2%). Surrogacy using donor gametes was the least preferred (9.7%). Cost awareness was generally low: only 16.7% of estimates for domestic adoption and 48% for international adoption fell within 75%-125% of actual cost ranges. Gender differences emerged, with women showing greater openness to alternative family-building methods and more accurate cost perceptions, while men reported higher confidence in their reproductive planning.
These findings suggest that while college students are generally interested in parenthood, they may lack adequate knowledge about the financial and logistical realities of non-traditional family-building options. The gender differences observed highlight the need for targeted educational interventions. Enhancing fertility literacy and financial preparedness among young adults could support more informed and realistic family planning decisions.
在美国，不孕症影响着约8.5%的已婚女性，但对于年轻人如何预期并为生育子女的潜在障碍做准备，人们的了解有限。随着生育计划越来越多地与社会、医疗和经济因素相互交织，研究新兴成年人如何看待和选择组建家庭的方式变得尤为重要。本研究旨在探讨大学生的生育意愿、对非传统组建家庭方式的接受程度以及对相关经济成本的认知。
对一所中西部公立大学的本科生（平均年龄20岁）进行了横断面调查。大多数参与者此前未曾尝试过怀孕。该调查评估了生育意识、在不孕症背景下对组建家庭方式的偏好，以及包括收养、体外受精（IVF）和代孕在内的各种非传统方式的成本估算。
大多数参与者（86%）表示希望生育亲生孩子，平均理想家庭规模为2.3个孩子。在非传统方式中，国内私人收养最受欢迎（58.3%），其次是公共收养（53.0%）和体外受精（42.2%）。使用捐赠配子的代孕最不受欢迎（9.7%）。成本意识普遍较低：国内收养估算中只有16.7%、国际收养估算中只有48%落在实际成本范围的75%-125%之内。出现了性别差异，女性对替代组建家庭方式的接受度更高，成本认知更准确，而男性在生育计划方面的信心更高。
这些发现表明，虽然大学生普遍对为人父母感兴趣，但他们可能对非传统组建家庭方式的经济和实际情况缺乏足够的了解。观察到的性别差异凸显了有针对性的教育干预的必要性。提高年轻人的生育知识水平和经济准备程度有助于做出更明智、更现实的计划生育决策。
