ArticleBMC public health2023
The psychological burden of COVID-19 on the desire for parenthood in minoritized sexual identities: a study on depressive symptoms and family planning in Germany.
Article in BMC public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Family Planning and Concerns of Unfair Treatment of (Potential) Children Among Partnered Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals.LGBTQ+ family : an interdisciplinary journal · 2025Article
- The Multi-faceted Effects of COVID-19 on Female Reproductive Health: An Updated Narrative Review.Cureus · 2024Review
- Romantic Attachment, Relationship Satisfaction, Internalized Sexual Stigma, and Motives for Parenthood in Italian Lesbian Women and Gay Men.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the globe and is associated with significant clinical and humanitarian burden. The desire for parenthood has been described to be positively correlated with psychological well-being: An unfulfilled wish for parenthood is associated with impaired mental health, and the wish for parenthood is a predictor for the development of depressive symptoms. While higher rates of anxiety and depression have been reported in individuals with minoritized sexual identities (compared to heterosexual individuals) during the COVID-19 pandemic, the specific impact of the pandemic and its social restriction measures on this population is poorly understood.
methodsFrom April to July 2020, we conducted an anonymous cross-sectional survey online among N = 2463 adults living in Germany. We screened for depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-4; PHQ-4) and assessed individuals' desire for parenthood during the pandemic, and motives for or against the desire for parenthood (Leipzig questionnaire on motives for having a child, Version 20; LKM-20), with the aim of identifying differences between individuals with minoritized sexual identities and heterosexual individuals.
resultsCompared to heterosexual individuals (n = 1304), individuals with minoritized sexual identities (n = 831) indicated higher levels of depressive symptoms. In our study sample the majority of all participants (81.9%) reported no change in the desire for parenthood since the COVID-19 pandemic.
conclusionThe findings underline the unmet need for social, psychological and medical support in regard to family-planning and the desire for parenthood during a pandemic. Furthermore, future research should explore COVID-19-related psychological consequences on individuals' desire for parenthood and building a family.
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