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Table 2 Reasons for delaying childbearing

From: Anxiety, attitudes, and education about fertility among medical students in the United States

 

Females

Males

P valuec

 

Meana

Score

Percentb

Meana Score

Percentb

 

Does lack of time influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing?

77.5

88.9%

74.0

75.5%

NS

Does lack of flexibility in schedule influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing?

78.4

84.9%

75.6

71.4%

NS

Does financial strain influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing?

58.8

54.0%

69.5

65.3%

0.032

Does lack of romantic partner influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing?

42.0

36.5%

49.5

42.9%

NS

Does lack of support from colleague influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing?

36.2

31.0%

23.7

10.2%

0.004

Does concern about burdening colleagues with extra work influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing?

37.2

31.0%

21.0

6.1%

<.001

Do reputational concerns (e.g., being perceived as less committed to career) influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing?

49.2

51.6%

16.8

6.1%

<.001

Does being not ready for children influence your decisions about the timing of childbearing?

68.1

75.4%

75.8

73.5%

NS

  1. (NS = P value not statistically significant)
  2. aMean score on a sliding scale where response could range from 0 (“Not at all”) to 100 (“Extremely”)
  3. bPercentage of participants who reported a response greater than “50” on the scale which was deemed an endorsement of the survey question
  4. cP value refers to mean score