The Motivation to Have a Child Scale (MCS): Adaptation and Validation in the Italian Context

Motivations underlying major life decisions, such as having children, vary in intensity and quality. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the Motivation to Have a Child Scale (MCS) assesses five related forms of motivation: intrinsic, identified, introjected, external regulation, and amotivation. This multistudy aimed to adapt the MCS to the Italian context and evaluate its psychometric properties. Study 1 examined factorial structure, reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity in a sample of 471 Italian young adults. Study 2 tested factorial structure, reliability, gender invariance, and construct validity in a sample of 644 Italian primiparous parents. Results supported a well-fitting five-factor model with adequate reliability and invariance across gender. MCS dimensions were significantly associated with need satisfaction/frustration, stress, depression, and romantic relationship satisfaction. Overall, findings support the MCS as a reliable SDT-based instrument for assessing motivations to have children and their implications for well-being.