An understanding of whether and how childbearing desires have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is key for explaining subsequent fertility patterns and fertility behavior in general, but empirical information is still lacking. Using a quasi-experimental cohort design and unique panel survey data collected before and after the outbreak of COVID-19, this study examines whether childbearing desires were affected by COVID-19 in Australia and investigates which pandemic-related factors affected childbearing desires the most. Results show that parents who already had one child were the most likely to experience a decline in childbearing desires because of the pandemic, while childbearing desires were most stable among those who were childless. Economic and employment-related factors did not appear to be of great relevance in predicting changes in childbearing plans. However, changes in the quality of couple relationships and of social support from family and friends were found to be of strong importance.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行是否影响了澳大利亚的生育意愿？理解为什么人们改变了对第一个或第二个孩子的态度

了解生育欲望是否以及如何受到 COVID-19 大流行的影响是解释随后的生育模式和一般生育行为的关键，但仍然缺乏实证信息。本研究使用准实验队列设计和在 COVID-19 爆发前后收集的独特面板调查数据，检查澳大利亚的生育意愿是否受到 COVID-19 的影响，并调查哪些大流行相关因素对生育意愿的影响最大。结果显示，已经有一个孩子的父母最有可能因为疫情而生育意愿下降，而没有孩子的父母生育意愿最稳定。经济和就业相关因素似乎与预测生育计划的变化没有太大关系。然而，夫妻关系质量的变化以及来自家人和朋友的社会支持的变化被发现非常重要。