Pathways to (natural) parenthood. Management of consent and dissent in the dynamics of couples.

• Applicant: Privatdozentin Dr. Waltraud Cornelißen
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: from 2013 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 250199897

The purpose of the study is an empirically grounded description and reconstruction of the chains of action that couples initiate when they are confronted with questions of contraception or the acceptance or pursuing of parenthood. The present project focuses on parents whose decision, in case of pregnancy, is in favour of parenthood. Against the background of a possible diversity of constellations with regard to consent or dissent about the desire to have a child, which can precede the realisation of parenthood, the project reconstructs the different pathways to parenthood. In a praxeological understanding, these pathways are conceptualised as being part of the habitual praxis of two partners interacting and cooperating. This qualitative project complements ongoing research by Prof. Huinink (University of Bremen) and a team of the DJI that is carried out on the basis of representative dyadic panel data (Pairfam) about the relationship between preceding constellations of desiring a child and succeeding pregnancy, birth and parenthood. Following praxeological approaches the present study reconstructs fertility decisions and actions as part of the everyday praxis of couples on the basis of qualitative data. In a first step, individual narrative interviews are carried out with partners who recently became (natural) parents. The aim is the reconstruction of, in the perspective of each partner, the experience of the related interaction with the other partner, as well as the frames of orientation (Bohnsack) that, consciously or not, guide each partner in his or her decision-making.In a second step, couple interviews are conducted six months or a year later in order to reconstruct also the couples joint perspective on its path to parenthood. The analysis and interpretation of the interviews follows the suggestions of the Documentary Method (Bohnsack 2006). The comparison of individual and joint couple interviews should allow a multi-perspective analysis of couples practices of managing consent and dissent. The aim is the development of a typology of typical couple-pathways to parenthood. We expect to need individual and joint couple interviews with about 20 to 24 couples in order to develop such a typology. In order to be able to include first of all very recent parents, we recruit couples with pregnant female partners from the before-mentioned Pairfam panel study. In this way we can choose respondents on the basis of their parenthood preferences as indicated during the previous wave of the study.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants