Are intensive parenting attitudes a deterrent to childbearing?

Intensive parenting is becoming more widespread in many countries, including Sweden. Although increased parental investments are likely to shift childbearing perspectives, how this change relates to childbearing plans is poorly understood. We investigate how subscribing to intensive parenting attitudes relates to childbearing intentions in Sweden, specifically focusing on intentions to remain childless, to postpone parenthood, and to have no further children. We use a novel module assessing three dimensions of intensive parenting in the 2021 wave of the Swedish Generations and Gender Survey (SGGS). This study is based on 3,232 women and men with and without children who are categorized into five different latent classes of intensive parenting attitudes. In general, linear probability models reveal a positive relationship between intensive parenting attitudes and intending to ever enter parenthood, as well as have a third or higher order child. Although we do find that intensive parenting attitudes contribute to men’s postponement of parenthood, they cannot be linked directly to increased planned childlessness or smaller families in Sweden. In a context where children and intensive parenting attitudes are almost universal, parenthood and intensive parenting attitudes may come as a “package deal”. Economic theories of fertility do not help us understand how intensified parental investments relate to childbearing decisions, at least in a context that provides strong support for gender-equal childrearing.