‘Having a Child Meant I had a Real Life’: Reproductive Coercion and Childbearing Motivations among Young Black Men Living in Baltimore

Abstract

Despite disproportionate health outcome disparities experienced by Black women, reproductive coercion (RC), a range of behaviors to promote unwanted pregnancy and childbearing motivations among poor young Black men are under-examined in current empirical literature. We aimed to describe perceptions of RC behaviors and childbearing motivations among poor young Black men in Baltimore City. We recruited a convenience sample of young Black men ages 18 to 25 (N=25). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and demographic surveys. Thematic analysis was guided by Miller’s Traits-Desires-Intentions-Behaviors (TDIB) framework. According to survey data (N=23), mean age was 22 (2.1). Majority of participants reported sexual relationships with one person (74%; n=17), almost half (48%; n=12) were biological fathers, and six (26%) participants reported using RC toward an intimate partner; three (13%) reported experiencing RC behaviors from a female partner. According to qualitative interviews (N=25) participants described perceived women-partner motivations for RC as entrapment. Childbearing motivations were influenced by: 1) legacies and bonding; and 2) escaping/correcting the past. Childbearing desires included: 1) love feelings and intimacy; and 2) good father. Childbearing intentions included: 1) resistance to medical interventions; and 2) preparation. Perceptions of RC and childbearing motivations reflected desires from participants to fulfill cultural expectations for conventional masculinity and enhance personal dreams for fatherhood. While some perceptions and behavior patterns aligned with previous studies, RC was relatively rare in this sample. Findings demonstrated nuanced antithesis to stereotypical notions of young Black men and fatherhood. Provision of reproductive care for young men and their sexual partners should include discussions about RC, pregnancy motivations, and healthy sexual communication strategies.

Childbearing is a joyous milestone experienced by individuals and families around the globe, including disadvantaged Black youth in the United States (Edin & Nelson, 2013). Many Black youth living in economically depressed urban environments desire parenthood at younger ages, have greater numbers of children, and experience more unintended pregnancies compared to White youth living in families with more resources (Finer & Zolna, 2016). Reproductive coercion (RC), strategic behaviors that promote a pregnancy in a female partner who does not wish to be pregnant, is also disproportionately experienced by Black young women and has been posited as a potential driver of high unintended pregnancy rates among this group. Racial, socioeconomic, and age disparities underpin these outcomes (Alexander, Volpe, Abboud, & Campbell, 2016; Holliday, McCauley, et al., 2017; Nikolajski et al., 2015). Childbearing during adolescence and young adulthood, even if intended, is linked to short and long-term negative outcomes for children, parents, and families including mental health challenges and barriers to educational attainment (Guzzo, Nash, Manning, Longmore, & Giordano, 2015). These consequences among youth, in addition to existing challenges of facing poverty, can dampen prospects for future economic, health, and social well-being (Diaz & Fiel, 2016; Guzzo et al., 2015).

Reproductive coercion behaviors are described as “behavior[s] intended to maintain power and control in a relationship related to reproductive health…” by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2013). To date, they are most commonly described as behaviors used by men against women and often co-occur with intimate partner violence (Miller, Decker, et al., 2010). RC behaviors are grouped within three domains: 1) pregnancy coercion or pressure; 2) birth control sabotage; and 3) controlling pregnancy outcomes (Grace & Anderson, 2016). Examples of pregnancy coercion behaviors can include pressure to not use contraception or threats to leave a female partner if she does not get pregnant. Birth control sabotage behavior examples can include condom removal or intentionally hiding contraceptive methods to promote pregnancy (de Bocanegra, Rostovtseva, Khera, & Godhwani, 2010; Nikolajski et al., 2015). Finally, male partners that want to control an outcome of a pregnancy might use isolation or threats of violence to prevent his partner from seeking an abortion (Moore, Frohwirth, & Miller, 2010).

RC is experienced by 8 to 16% of women in the United States (Black et al., 2011; Clark, Allen, Goyal, Raker, & Gottlieb, 2014; Miller, Jordan, Levenson, & Silverman, 2010). RC behaviors might originate from desires for power and control in a relationship and/or to establish relationship connection and stability (Hathaway, Willis, Zimmer, & Silverman, 2005; Miller, Levenson, Herrera, Kurek, Stofflet, & Marin, 2012). In most recent studies about RC, Black young women consistently report higher patterns of RC experiences compared to women of other races and ethnicities. For example, Miller and colleagues (2014) found more Black women reported experiencing RC in the previous three months (12.5%) compared to White (3.5%), Hispanic (8.8%), Asian (7.3%), and Multiracial (5.9%) women (E. Miller et al., 2014). In other recent studies, RC prevalence among Black women recruited from clinical settings were 28% in the previous year (Paterno, Moret, Paskausky, & Campbell, 2018) and 37% in their lifetime (Holliday, Mccauley, et al., 2017a). These rates exceed those found in previous research. Poor young Black women are more likely to engage in sexual partnerships with poor young Black men than men of other races, ethnicities, or class status due to limited sexual networks that often prevents partnering with men outside their neighborhood boundaries (Adimora & Schoenbach, 2005; Willie, Kershaw, Campbell, & Alexander, 2017). However, we have evidence to support only women’s perspectives about RC experiences.

Reproductive behaviors are influenced by a spectrum of childbearing motivations. Factors such as social norms, social and economic capital, as well as parental and partner expectations can affect decision-making around pregnancy and childbearing (March, Nelson, & Edin, 2009). Empirical evidence suggests anti-natal (not wanting a child), pronatal (wanting a child), and ambivalent (conflicted desire about having a child) motivations predict condom and contraceptive use and pregnancy outcomes (timing and numbers of children) over the life course of urban disadvantaged youth (Alexander, Perrin, Jennings, Ellen, & Trent, 2018; W B Miller, Trent, & Chung, 2014). Ambivalent young Black women are less likely than ambivalent young White women to use condoms or longer acting contraceptive methods due to shifting desires for pregnancy (Higgins, 2017; Miller et al., 2014). Other research shows ambivalent young Black men report low recent contraceptive (Higgins, Popkin, & Santelli, 2012). Ambivalent feelings towards childbearing and lower contraceptive use are influenced by social factors such as poorer educational or employment prospects (Higgins, 2017; Miller et al., 2014).

Literature to date, however, has not explored how childbearing motivations, including desires and intentions, may play out in the context of reproductive coercion, RC behaviors such as pressuring a woman to become pregnant, denying use of birth control, or secretly removing a condom during sexual activity are associated with intimate partner violence, sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancies among women (Grace & Anderson, 2016; Northridge, Silver, Talib, & Coupey, 2017). All of these outcomes can have grave consequences for women’s sexual and reproductive health and are experienced disproportionately by Black women (Black et al., 2011; Finer & Zolna, 2016; Kann et al., 2018).

Specifically, we do not know ways perceptions of RC among young Black men might intersect with their childbearing motivations and ultimately influence women’s experiences of RC behaviors. In this study, we address these gaps by describing perceptions of RC behaviors and motivations for childbearing among young Black men living in poverty.

METHODS

Design

Data for this qualitative study were collected in Baltimore City, which has a predominantly Black/African American population (63%) and some of the highest rates of unintended pregnancies and intimate partner violence in the state of Maryland (City of Baltimore, 2017; Crime in Maryland: Uniform Crime Report DV, 2015; Baltimore City Health Department, 2017). Baltimore City also has the highest number of people living in poverty (21.8%) in the state of Maryland and unemployment is nearly double the national average (5.6% vs. 3.8%) (Boone, Buckley, Grove, & Sister, 2009; Pappoe, 2016; U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). We used a purposive sampling frame to select young men from three community-based sites between February and August 2014. Sites included two youth educational and employment programs and one community-based organization focused on linking low-income individuals to health insurance and health services. Self-identified Black/African-American men ages 18 to 25 years old who reported sex with a woman in the six months prior to enrollment (N = 25) were eligible for the study. Flyers and word-of-mouth advertising were used to recruit young men to the study. The Institutional Review Board of BLINDED approved all research activities (study protocol number).

Twenty-five individual in-depth interviews were conducted across recruitment sites. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant. The majority of interviews were conducted by the first author (principal investigator) or one experienced young Black male interviewer in a private space (usually an office or conference room) at the recruitment sites or in our research study offices. The interviewer was trained to conduct study interviews by the first author. Training included in-depth reading and reviews of the research protocol and role playing. All interviews were 45 to 90 minutes, audio recorded, and transcribed verbatim.

Each participant completed a written demographic questionnaire after the interview. The demographic survey assessment tool included 40 items, six of which measured RC. Other survey items recorded background information such as education level and household size, sexual behavior, pregnancy experiences and birth control, and sexual health testing. Surveys were self-administered and approximately 20 minutes per participant. This study was designed as qualitative research therefore, the survey responses were collected for the purpose of describing characteristics of the small sample. Thus, we are only reporting survey data that supports the research questions reported in this paper. Young men received a cash incentive of $30 for their participation.

Measures

Interview Guide.

We developed a semi-structured interview guide designed to elicit responses about four domains: 1) Reproductive Coercion; 2) Sexual development and models of sexual relationships; 3) Fatherhood; and 4) Relationship Conflict. Each domain included three or four core questions with follow-up probing questions.

Reproductive coercion.

Lifetime experiences of RC were assessed in the qualitative interview guide (Table 1). In a demographic survey following each interview, we used six investigator-developed and gender-adapted items informed by previous assessments of RC among women (Miller, Decker, et al., 2010). We measured pregnancy coercion using four items and birth control sabotage using two items (Table 2) (Miller, Decker, et al., 2010). A sixth item was designed to elicit behaviors by women towards men. Men who endorsed one or more of the six items were classified as using or experiencing RC.

Table 1.

Semi-structured interview sample questions

Topic	Questions
Reproductive Coercion	Sometimes couples fight over what to do about a pregnancy. Have you and your girlfriend/sex partner ever fought about a pregnancy? If you have wanted a sex partner to get pregnant in the past, what strategies did you use to persuade her to get pregnant or have your child? Have you ever destroyed or hidden a condom from your partner so she would get pregnant?
Childbearing Motivations	Have you ever wanted one of your sex partners to get pregnant? What does fatherhood or having a child mean to you? How have you expressed your desire to have a child with a sexual partner in the past? Do you currently want your partner to become pregnant?

Table 2.

Reproductive coercion questionnaire

Domain	Questions
Pregnancy Coercion	Have you ever pressured your partner to become pregnant? Has your partner ever pressured you to have sex without a condom so she could become pregnant? Have you ever told your partner not to use any birth control (like the pill, shot, or ring) so she would become pregnant? Have you ever told your partner you would leave her or have a baby with someone else if she did not become pregnant with your child?
Birth Control Sabotage	Have you ever hidden your partner’s birth control so that she could not use it during sex and would become pregnant? Have you ever taken off a condom during sex so that your partner would become pregnant?

Childbearing Motivations.

Childbearing motivations were assessed in the qualitative interview guide (Table 1). In the demographic questionnaire, we assessed childbearing motivation asking, “Do you currently want your partner to become pregnant?”

Analysis

Theoretically Informed Analytic Strategy

Childbearing motivation is a complex construct encompassing motivational traits, desires, and intentions that influence behaviors to either promote or prevent pregnancies (Miller, 1995). We focused our analysis of the interview transcripts using the key constructs of the Traits-Desires-Intentions-Behavior (TDIB) framework (Miller, 1994, 1995) to guide our qualitative analysis plan. TDIB defines motivational traits as an individual’s feelings, or unconscious thoughts, about childbearing, pregnancy, babies and/or children, which may reflect a preference or a plan. Desires are usually fixed, long-term childbearing goals and include what an individual would ideally like to do given no situational constraints. Goals are reflected in desires such as whether to have children at all, number of children, or timing of childbearing. Childbearing intentions are an evolved iteration of desires that account for situational realities and the context in which youth live. Intentions reflect what an individual plans to do given reality, and taking into consideration factors such as SES, perceived desires of a partner, parental expectations, and social norms. For example, intentions to have a child might change based on employment status (Berrington & Pattaro, 2014; Gray, Evans, & Reimondos, 2013).

Analytic Procedures

Research assistants compared all transcripts with original audio recordings to enhance data accuracy. Data were de-identified before analysis. The data analysis team used thematic analysis procedures, which emphasize examination of patterns within text that are important to the description of phenomena (Tuckett, 2005). This approach to analyzing our data focused our efforts on the interpretation of how all 25 young men discussed RC as well as the four TDIB childbearing motivations constructs in their interviews (Braun & Clarke, 2006). To develop the codebook, each team member read the same interviews independently and applied a priori codes based on the TDIB framework. Codes reflected our interpretations of groups of words containing content and context related to each TDIB construct definition (Miller, 1994). Coding data were managed using Dedoose® (SocioCultural Research Consultants, 2016), a qualitative software management system. Interpretive findings were discussed and coding differences reconciled as a team. We developed and refined a codebook after conducting this procedure for five interviews. The remaining 20 interviews were analyzed by the primary author and two research assistants. To enhance trustworthiness of our findings, we maintained an audit/decision trail by writing notes during each analysis meeting and presenting data from the entire sample. Participant demographic data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS® (IBM Corp., 2013). Participant names were replaced with pseudonyms to protect their identities.

RESULTS

Twenty-five young men participated in qualitative interviews. Two of these young men did not complete the survey questionnaire following the qualitative interview because they reported that they did not have time to take it and left after completing the interview. Thus, quantitative results are reported for 23 participants and qualitative results reflect data from the entire sample of 25 participants. Participant ages ranged from 18 to 25 years old. The mean age of young men was 22 (SD=2.1). A majority of participants reported they were enrolled in school (56.5%; n=13). Of those enrolled in school, 8 were enrolled in GED classes, two in technical programs, and two in college. Young men who reported they were not in school (43%; n=10), six completed 12^th grade, one completed 10^th grade, one completed a Bachelor’s degree, and another reported “some college credits”. The majority of participants reported parental/guardian educational attainment at high school or less (52.2%; n=12) and were primarily raised by a mother or grandmother (74%; n=17) who had working class jobs (i.e. “housekeeping,” “bus driver,” “daycare provider”; 48%; n=11) reflecting low-income household monthly earnings. The majority (60.8%; n=14) reported they were employed. Types of employment included tattoo artist, grill cook, construction training program, landscaping, and temporary work. Seventeen (74%; n=17) young men reported being in a sexual relationship with only one person at the time of the interview and slightly more than half of the sample were biological fathers (52%; n=12). Only two young men reported currently wanting their partner to get pregnant.

Reproductive Coercion

According to the demographic survey results (N=23), reports of using RC toward an intimate partner were relatively rare (n=6) among this sample. Some participants reported engaging in multiple RC behaviors. Four reported pressuring their partner to become pregnant. Three reported pressuring their partner to have sex without a condom so she could become pregnant. Three reported telling their partner not to use any birth control so she would become pregnant. Two reported taking off a condom during sex so that a partner would become pregnant. No participants reported hiding birth control or ever telling a partner he would leave her/have a baby with someone else if she did not become pregnant.

During the qualitative interviews, despite direct questions about individual RC behaviors (see Table 1), only two participants discussed their own RC behavior. Rather, the majority of participants shared perceived RC experiences from distal points of view, primarily from observations of other men in their social circle or family units. For example, Leo who did report he directly engaged in RC behaviors, discussed a friend’s use of birth control sabotage to impregnate his partner (Quote 1).

Three young men also discussed RC behaviors as a form of dominance over female partners. For example, Sean, age 22, reported that he directly engaged in RC behaviors. He recounted an experience with a prior partner in which he told her he ejaculated inside her to get her pregnant (Quote 2). This young man further described how his behaviors were framed within a narrative of dominance that grants him power over pregnancy decision-making in his relationships (Quote 3). This comment harkens on traditional masculinity beliefs that are aligned with a social norm that supports male status. For example, another young man, Eric, age 22, did not report directly engaging in RC behaviors but expressed that saying he wants to get a woman pregnant is a sign of physical attraction. His description demonstrates how the language of RC supports how men express a high level of physical attraction for a woman. (Quote 4).

Although we are not aware of researchers who have studied RC behaviors among women to become pregnant by men, we asked the young men about their experiences with female partners who desire pregnancy. Three young men reported on the questionnaire that they had felt pressured by female partners to father children. During interviews, twelve participants perceived that women partners were motivated to use entrapment – tricking a man into impregnation - as a means of childbearing.

Entrapment: ‘They got power over him’

Twelve participants discussed entrapment as a perceived rationale for RC behaviors used by women partners. Jordan, an 18-year-old, perceived that young women used entrapment to gain power over their male partners (Quote 5). Jordan’s account explains the multiple constraints that a young man faces when he impregnates a young woman. He implied that by becoming pregnant and having a child, the woman is strategically disempowering the man because they will always be bound by the child. She also wields legal leverage because she could sue him for child support if he attempted to avoid a relationship with her or the child. Jackson, age 22, concurred with this notion, stating that women who do this selfishly meet their own emotional needs to have an intimate partner (Quote 6). Jackson concluded that strategies used to trap a male partner were futile because if a man does not want to care for his child or stay with the woman partner, he won’t. Leo, age 21, described RC in the form of birth control sabotage when he witnessed a woman friend poking holes in her condoms (Quote 7). Sean, age 23, further elaborated on his thoughts about what he believed were women’s selfish motivations to entrap a male partner (Quote 8). He drew on the stereotype that young women intentionally get pregnant to obtain governmental assistance to care for themselves and their families. Aron, age 24, provided three other perceived explanations of entrapment. He said that he believed that some women become pregnant to retaliate against male sexual partners. He also expressed that he thought that women have babies to achieve status and maintain social norms among their peers and in their communities. (Quote 9).

To describe motivations for childbearing and perceptions of RC behaviors among this group of young men, findings from their interviews were organized according to the Traits-Desires-Intentions-Behaviors (TDIB) framework. Participant quotations are presented in Table 3.

Table 3.

Themes and Quotes from young men’s interviews

Theme Participant Age	Representative Quote
Reproductive Coercion
Reproductive Coercion
Leo, age 21	1And he used to do a lot of stuff like that. Poke a hole in the condom, slip the condom off, like the trick of the trades…turning all the lights out. She had think the condom in her, but the condom not in her.
Sean, age 22	2I was joking. This is before she had gotten on birth control, I told her that I had ejaculated inside of her, and so she just was like, kind of scared, like, no, you didn’t. I told her I did and so she was like, oh, my God. At first, she acted like she was mad at me. Then I was like, what, why you mad at me? She told me, she was like, why would you do that? I said, because, I want you to have my baby.
Sean, age 22	3See, my thing is, if that’s your girl, and you want to get her pregnant, then you can get her pregnant… I wouldn’t say anything and if I knew she wasn’t on birth control that day, I would just do it. Then when she get pregnant, when she tells me she’s pregnant, I’ll act surprised…
Eric, age 22	4I may see a girl, like, ‘damn, I get her pregnant on purpose.’ I say something like that. The whole time, deep down inside, no I’m not. But I only say it when she look good, you feel me?
Entrapment
Jordan, age 18	5They got power over him because basically they’re saying, you got a baby, you gonna have to deal with her for the rest of his life because that’s your baby mama. You gone have to deal with her unless you don’t want to deal with the kid and then you gone have to deal with the law so basically, she got you trapped all the way around.
Jackson, age 22	6But that’s what some females be doing, they be trying to get pregnant so the boy don’t go nowhere. So they think it’s going to tie them down, but it really don’t make a difference.
Leo, age 21	7She would actually do it [poke holes in condoms] in front of me and I would be sitting there and I would laugh because I would be like, this man don’t know what’s going on.
Sean, age 23	8She don’t care about the father, I guess. She just wanted a child. Because girls, they seem like they want to have babies now. Just so they can ask the government to help them with them.
Aron, age 24	9Some women have babies by men just to use it against men. They use it as a trophy. My homegirl had a baby so I want one too.
Childbearing Motivations
Legacy and Bonding
Aron, age 23	10I was at the point in my life where I just needed to leave something, a legacy… And what I’m trying to do, and give some of my wisdom. So yeah, I wanted a son.
Christopher, age 23	11Maybe just to have that last name carried on to the next generation or just to have something, someone to love unconditionally, no matter what, because men need it, too.
Benjamin, age 18	12…when I did want to have a child, I guess it felt like – like I would have…somebody to be here when I’m not here.
Terrance, age 23	13My legacy…my child… That’s my everything. Fatherhood means, I got a lot of responsibilities to take care of. So, I gotta take care of my son, I gotta do things for him, show him the right way of being a man. What to do for females, not to make the wrong decisions I did….
Nicholas, age 20	14It’s another part of you that you bring to life that you get to share emotions with and build a bond with and it’s like a second you entering the world that you can relate to and somewhat look at how you once acted before as a child. To me…it’s just the power of being able to make life.
Escaping/Correcting the Past
Kevin, age 21	15When I was 17, having a child meant I had a real life. Because 17, I was going downhill. I felt like that’s why God gave me a child. I had just lost my brother, my best friend, he died from a shooting over drugs.
Jackson, age 22	16I teach them about…the street life…but I don’t teach them for them to go that way, I teach them so when they grow up, they’ll be like I already know about that, I don’t want to deal with that… I’m trying to go this way. My father and my uncles already went that way…
Timothy, age 19	17He [Timothy’s father] was just a sperm donor. He just had me and just left me with no parents…he could’ve been there helping me up and all that. Later on in life, I was just thinking that I don’t wanna be like that. I wanna be better than him. I don’t want no kids at the age of 14. When I have kids, I wanna be there for my kids every step, every age.
Kevin, age 21	18‘…see, it’s difficult for me because I have older brothers and they had their fathers, fathers who weren’t faithful, weren’t in committed relationships at all. ‘
Eric, age 22	19You do better, you know. I want my kids to have what I ain’t had. I want them to be able to do like I wanted to do. Whatever they want, I want them to get.
Childbearing Desires
Love & Intimacy
Sean, age 22	20Because I had fell in love with her, and it was just this moment in my life, where I just thought I wanted a kid, because…the fact that I really had no family, if I had an opportunity to have my own, if it’s a girl that I really like, and she seem okay, and I felt like we could be together and handle business, responsibilities, then I’d just be like why not?
Kevin, age 21	21I did ask my son’s mother once. I definitely wasn’t- she knows, this was said in the heat of the moment, we both understand we’re not about to have another child, but I’ll say something like, I want you to have my child, I want you to have all my kids.
Good Father
Aron, age 23	22Fatherhood means protecting what you brought into this world. And not harming what you brought into this world. You got to protect him from everything, including yourself.
Leo, age 21	23So, I feel good being a dad. I think at 21, I’m wise enough to teach my son what I know and to have him on the right track. Most young men at my age at 21 really ain’t got no focus and no goal that they’re really shooting for. But I always know my focus and my goal. My main focus and my goal, I want to get my CDLs [Commercial Driver’s License], take care of my son, take care of my family. I like being a family man. So I like having a kid. I’m proud. I believe I’m blessed.
Sean, age 22	24I think he thinks that as long as he can just buy them things, or protect them, then he’s a good father. But me, I just, I look at it as like that’s a human being that you’ve got to teach to be a human being. It’s just not that simple [as buying things]. You’ve got to change yourself, first, because if you don’t, then whether you believe it or not, they’re going to do what you do, they’re going to act like you and they’re going to pick up every bad habit you have.
Childbearing Intentions
Resistance to medical interventions
Christopher, age 23	25I’m just not big on birth control. I’m natural. Whatever is going to happen, will happen. We just got to deal with and roll with the punches… I ain’t trying to do a whole bunch of medical stuff to prevent it from happening.
Jacob, age 18	26I told her that we needed to just calm down because if she is pregnant there’s nothing we can do about it. I don’t believe in abortion. I mean if you’re having a child, you’re having a child. I don’t believe in abortion.
Christopher, age 23	27That was an accident to get pregnant. But once she got pregnant, I was keeping my child. I don’t want to do no abortion… I don’t want no hospital type stuff that’s going to do anything to my girl or my child or anything, or to prevent or try to stop this or change this…
Daniel, age 23	28She asked me, “do you really want to keep the baby?” I said, yeah, I don’t believe in abortion. I don’t believe in that cause, my mothers and my sisters, they never – they didn’t like that. So I was like, I’m going to take care of it. That’s what, that’s what I got to do. I’m the one that laid down with you, and did that, so. I got to raise the baby, so. That’s how that went.
Preparation
Andrew, age 24	29It’s another human being… It’s a powerful, powerful thing, ‘cause you have to raise this person. This little baby. Into something better, most likely better than you were. You can’t do that, not sitting down and talking about it. Financial, you know, as you see every day a lot of people have children going to social services, lined up, so it’s an important thing, not just something you play with.
Andrew, age 24	30I knew that financially, emotionally, and mentally I wasn’t ready. I was still staying with my mom, I was 18, 19, I didn’t have time for that…I would have been an unfit dad. Just basically, just to put it out there. That’s what I would have been, and I never want to be like that.
Luke, age 21	31So when I get my own place and everything and we both move in and I feel as though, you know, everything is fine, then I’ll be ready. I can’t have a kid right now, because it’s gonna hold a lot of things back.
Terrance, age 23	32When I have a kid, I gotta plan. Make sure I am stable, make sure my living condition is stable, my house, my car, all that, make sure everything is cool with me. That’s what I’m in the process of doing right now, stable, making myself stable. Stacking up.

Childbearing Motivations (Traits)

Two themes described motivations, or the unconscious (positive and/or negative) feelings of the young men towards pregnancy, childbearing, and parenting. Young men described 1) legacy and bonding, and 2) escaping/correcting the past as influential motivations for childbearing.

Legacy and Bonding: ‘It’s just the power of being able to make life’

Creating personal legacies and bonding with partners and/or future children were crucial motivators for childbearing for almost half of the young men. Participants described needing to have children as a legacy for the future. For example, when reflecting on his motivations for childbearing, Aron, age 23, discussed the meaning of leaving a legacy (Quote 10). Aron’s motivation to have a child was influenced by the possibility of leaving a legacy of wisdom for his son.

Christopher, age 23, also described future aspirations that included having his last name carried forward to the next generation. In addition to this external perspective, he supported his childbearing motivations with the emotion of unconditional love, which, he declared that all men need (Quote 11). In this statement, Christopher connoted that bonding with his child would satisfy his emotional needs for love. Meanwhile, Benjamin’s childbearing motivations rooted in a need to have a child to stand in for him when he is dead. (Quote 12)

Meanwhile, Terrance reflected on the meaning of fatherhood, the personal accountabilities it entails, and the lessons he will pass down to his son (Quote 13). Terrance refers to his child as his “everything,” indicating the weight of responsibility that comes with having a child and how much he loves and is devoted to his son. Nicholas, age 20 furthered this notion through his revelation that children are an extension of yourself, “another part of you” with whom you get to interact and bond (Quote 14). Finally, Byron, aged 24, summarized what having a child meant for his life by saying, “I want to live for my kids.” The deep meaning that, legacies, and bonding created through childbearing were clear and poignant in all of these narratives.

Escaping/Correcting the Past: ‘I was going downhill’

For five of the young men, childbearing represented an opportunity to escape and/or correct past difficulties. For example, Kevin, age 21, explained that a child provided a new outlook on a tragic young life (Quote 15). This reflection demonstrates Kevin’s connection to spirituality and belief in a higher power that allowed him to see his child as a gift from God after a tragic period in his life. The birth of his child was something positive that came into his life after a time of deep loss.

Young men also discussed their belief that childbearing could allow for their own reinvention. Having a child presented an option to correct what they felt were poor decisions from their past. For example, Jackson, age 22, discussed teaching his children awareness and knowledge about ‘the street life’ with the hope that these lessons steered them to make different decisions than the choices he and his brothers made (Quote 16). In this statement, Jackson reflected on the important lessons about the streets he wanted to confer to his children and the influence of those lessons on their future decisions. He also provided an example of how familial context (in Jackson’s case, his brothers) was influential in drug and violence involvement that will not serve his children for their future survival and happiness.

Many of the young men’s stories reflected their reality of having a strained or non-existent relationship with their fathers. These circumstances influenced motivations for childbearing in the form of correcting behaviors towards children and acknowledging the trauma this absence imposed on their own lives. Timothy, age 19, described his motivation to be a better parent than his father who he referred to as a ‘sperm donor’ (Quote 17). Twenty-one-year old Kevin further elaborated this point when he recounted he did not have good role models for fatherhood because even his brothers who had fathers in their lives, had fathers who were not good models (Quote 18).

Eric, age 22, on the other hand, reported motivations that included wanting to do better for himself, providing for his family, and aspiring for his kids to have more than he has had during his life (Quote 19). Drawing on familial role models and events that young men experienced as negative, these young men demonstrated how childbearing motivations were borne from their lived experiences. In many cases, the breadth of structural and interpersonal violence affecting their community shaped their motivations.

Childbearing Desires

Childbearing desires, or what young men would do about wanting to have children given no situational constraints, were influenced by: 1) feelings of love and intimacy; and 2) a need to be a good father.

Love & Intimacy: ‘I want you to have my child.’

Almost half of the young men’s childbearing desires reflected importance desire for of human connection. The influence of these feelings on decisions to bear children carried enormous weight during reported discussions with partners. For example, Sean, age 22, conveyed how his feelings of love, combined with an upbringing that lacked familial support propelled his desires for a child (Quote 20). Sean’s rationale reflected a balanced response that incorporated the influence of his emotions towards his partner along with the known responsibilities that would come with having a child.

Kevin, age 21 and a father of one, drew on the influence of physical attraction and sexual arousal as an impetus for his declaration that he wanted his partner to become pregnant (Quote 21). While Kevin described these desires as being communicated “during the heat of the moment,” he also highlighted that while saying these words, he felt he and his partner were equally opposed to having a child. Through this “understanding,” these statements were helpful to communicate a sense of intimacy between them even though he believed neither partner planned to act on them. Sharing a desire to have a child with his partner established connection that comforted him.

Good Father: ‘I like being a family man.’

Desires to be a “good father” were critical to childbearing and child raising efforts by 12 of the young men. Aron, age 23, discussed his role as protector (Quote 22). Aron desired to protect his child reflected a need to minimize any trauma or damage that had been caused by his own negative behaviors. This insightful response demonstrated a desire to do no harm and to be the best father he could be within his circumstances.

Another young man, Leo, age 21, who was already a father, stated that having a child gave him more “focus” and optimism. Although his reflection on fatherhood was retrospective, he expressed that he believed that he is “blessed,” underpinning his desire to be persistent in his efforts to be a “good father” (Quote 23). Sean defined what being a good father was by discussing what he thinks it is not. He reflected on a friend’s efforts to be a good father (Quote 24). He believed that his friend had a narrow and conventional definition of fatherhood which included being a financial provider. Sean further elaborated by describing an acknowledgement that a child needs a father to teach him how to be a “human being.” For him, that requires thinking about what the father does, how he acts, and reflecting on “bad habit(s)” the child may observe and later model. Sean’s statement incorporated concepts of reinvention, role modeling, and selflessness as rationales for being a good father.

Childbearing Intentions

Two themes described childbearing intentions, or what young men actually planned to do with motivations to have children given their real-life circumstances. Intentions referenced: 1) resistance to medical intervention; and 2) need for preparation to have a child due to limited educational and economic opportunities.

Resistance to medical interventions: ‘I don’t believe in abortion.’

Participants had strong negative views about abortion and contraception, particularly as it related to their own partner’s behaviors. Almost half of the young men described abortion and contraception as medical interventions that interfere with intentions to be “natural” and disallow fate to control whether or not they would become parents. For example, Christopher, age 23, expressed a fatalistic attitude towards pregnancy prevention in his description of his thoughts about birth control (Quote 25). Christopher’s description about the complexity of “a whole bunch of medical stuff” informed his decision to forego contraceptives, supporting his view that he lacked control over his partner’s potential pregnancy – “whatever is going to happen, will happen.” Jacob, age 18, expressed ardent opposition to abortion when recounting his partner’s unintended pregnancy. His language “I don’t believe in abortion.” demonstrated a sense that his partner’s position was irrelevant. He also provided a factually inaccurate viewpoint when he noted, “there’s nothing we can do about it.” He perceived no options other than those that aligned with his beliefs (Quote 26).

Several participants opposed abortion. Faced with an unintended pregnancy, Christopher reiterated his opposition to abortion (Quote 27). He noted he did not consider abortion to be a viable option because he feared that it would harm “my girl or my child”. Daniel, age 23, described his family’s influence on his opposition to abortion and subsequent responsibility he took to raise his child because of that influence (Quote 28).

Intentions for childbearing appeared to be heavily influenced by beliefs regarding medically-based interventions such as birth control and abortion. The young men’s narratives revealed a high regard for maintaining control over their reproduction - even if these actions resulted in unintentional pregnancy.

Preparation: ‘I wasn’t ready’

Being prepared for parenting was another theme participants used to describe their childbearing intentions. One-quarter of the young men reported having discussions with partners and making deliberate decisions to delay childbearing to prepare them for fatherhood. For example, Andrew, age 24, described the financial worries underlying his thought process about fatherhood (Quote 29). In this statement, Andrew drew on personal observations of young parents who he believed were not financially prepared for childbearing and thus, needed government assistance to care for their children. He reflected on his lack of preparedness for childbearing when he was a younger man (Quote 30). In hindsight, Andrew shared that his desires to be a good father would not reconcile with the reality of his financial, emotional and mental instability during his adolescent years. Stability in these areas was essential to the type of father he intended to be.

Luke, age 21, also shared his goal of living independently as an indicator of parenting readiness (Quote 31). Luke’s statement indicated an orientation towards the future, with knowledge that parenting would bring specific responsibilities. His top priority was to be able to financially sustain his life as a single person before having a child. Terrance, age 23, concurred with Luke’s intentions for stability (Quote 32). These reflections counter a stereotype of young Black men consistently being ill-prepared and unequipped for an unintentional pregnancy and the child-raising requirements thereafter.

DISCUSSION

The goal of this study was to describe perceptions of RC and childbearing motivations among a sample of young Black men in Baltimore. Responses to the demographic survey demonstrated that over one-quarter of the sample reported engaging in RC behaviors and three young men reported experiencing RC from a female partner. While the percentage (26%) of men using RC in this sample is higher than reported in samples of women (8–16%) reporting RC experiences, our sample size was small, and we are not aware that the phenomenon has been studied quantitatively among men (Grace & Anderson, 2016).

Narratives of the young men in this study illuminate the complexity of balancing personal sexual autonomy, emotional needs for love and bonding, and future goal-setting. The interaction of these can influence motivations, desires, and intentions that shape childbearing and perceptions of RC. For example, there were points of contradiction within narratives. Eric, who reported intentionally ejaculating into his partner without her consent, also described his desire to be a good provider for his children. Additionally, Sean reported that he felt RC behaviors were a way to show dominance over his partner. But he also described wanting to correct his past by being a ‘good father’ and role modeling for his child. Only these two young men described their own use of RC within sexual relationships. However, we can gain insight into their actions and beliefs from their statements. They may have been strongly influenced by social norms and personal experiences learned during childhood and adolescence.

Poverty in urban settings has implications for some cultural and environmental effects on male adolescent health and childbearing early in the life course (Viner et al., 2012). Some motivators for young men to form families during adolescence and young adulthood were environmental. For example, they discussed low social and familial cohesion as well as exposure to crime and violence as motivations to have children. As discussed by many of the participants, these social issues can paradoxically support childbearing desires to create familial legacies and a chance to reinvent themselves by correcting traumatic past histories. These findings align with other investigations that examine the lives of impoverished Black men and the social-emotional complexities that influence childbearing decisions (Edin & Nelson, 2013; Fair & Albright, 2015).

Several young men discussed intentions to be financially prepared for childbearing. This finding is consistent with empirical literature involving Black men that reports unemployment and housing instability influence decisions to bear children, engage in sexual relationships, and can motivate violent behaviors due to stressful conditions often outside their control (Bowleg, Teti, Massie, Patel, Malebranche, & Tschann, 2011; Edin & Nelson, 2013; Fields et al., 2018). While data show economic downturns can shift childbearing decisions for multiple demographic groups, (Brauner-Otto & Geist, 2018) this might be a key determinant for young Black men who are more likely to experience discrimination around unemployment and live in racially segregated neighborhoods that cannot support educational success.

The persistence of trauma in poor communities and decreased life expectancy of Black men compared to White and Hispanic men (National Center for Health Statistics, 2017; Reed et al., 2014) might explain the process that childbearing motivations and RC work within a cultural framework. Neighborhoods with fewer resources are often stressful environments, sometimes enduring high levels of violence at the community level; and Black communities are disproportionately affected (Motley, Sewell, & Chen, 2017;Cunradi, Caetano, & Schafer, 2002). Exposure to violence might lay a foundation for personal relationship development and sexual risk taking. For example, behaviors towards sexual partners such as sexual coercion have been found to increase the odds of substance use during sex and engaging in sex with multiple partners (Rodgers & McGuire, 2012). Such exposures can shape individual desires to develop secure and stable environments in which families can thrive.

Young men in this study discussed wanting to positively shape the lives of their children and to be better fathers than the ones they had. They expressed a need to prepare themselves economically and educationally to support their children. Additionally, several wanted to ensure they were role modeling fatherhood even in the absence of an adult father figure from their early childhood. Thus, these men demonstrated how these can be challenging as well as positive motivating factors; a necessary antidote to much of the negative and stereotypical notions about young Black men and fatherhood. These findings underscore a need for programs and interventions to support and nurture that.

More than half of the participants in this study described entrapment, which described childbearing among men who may not wish to become fathers. Participants using this discourse might be deflecting their responsibility for pregnancy (and STI/HIV) prevention toward their woman partners (Alexander et al., 2017; Bowleg, Heckert, Brown, & Massie, 2015). Few men reflected on their capacity to choose condom use (that they often supply) regardless of what a woman does or says she has done to protect herself from pregnancy. Traditionally, the RC empirical literature has constructed RC as an exclusively male behavior (Holliday, et al., 2017; Miller, et al., 2010). Our study highlighted a novel twist on the topic, with one participant’s account of women having engaged in RC behavior — condom sabotage. This finding highlights a need for more research to assess gender differences and motives in RC behaviors. For example, most of the participants’ entrapment narratives acknowledged differential motives such as women’s desires for power and/or retaliation (Bowleg et al., 2015).

Given the dearth of literature about pregnancy and childbearing from the perspectives of young Black men, there is a need to better understand how motivations for childbearing might intersect with RC behaviors. Our data demonstrate that RC behaviors might be a manifestation of conventional masculinity performance (Aronson, Whitehead, & Baber, 2003). Consistent with Whitehead’s (1997) respectability-reputational dialectic of conventional masculinity, young men in our study who reported motivations to build legacies and bond with their children, desires to be good fathers, and intentions to prepare for childbearing modeled the construct of masculine respectability. Whitehead posits that men demonstrating respectability desire to uphold the social order and support high family functioning.

In contrast, participants who described reputational traits such as sexual prowess, exhibiting toughness, or a focus on material goods provided narratives about resisting medical intervention, reproductive coercion, and entrapment. However, few young men drew on reputational attributes to support behaviors. Thus, our findings challenge some aspects of Whitehead’s conceptualization of conventional masculinity because the young men describe childbearing and fatherhood as a potential pathway to access respectability despite the absence of financial security. Additionally, changing norms about what it means to be a father such as greater involvement in parenting than previous generations of men demonstrates the fluidity of masculine roles.

Adolescence and young adulthood are important timeframes to examine social development, particularly as it affects reproductive decisions in interpersonal relationships. Given the numbers of unintended pregnancies and STI incidence occurring among Black men in this age group and who live in poor communities, this is especially urgent (Viner et al., 2012). Motivations, desires, and intentions for pregnancy among the young men in our sample presented an overarching message of childbearing as a pivotal milestone in their lives. The intersection of coercion and violence with childbearing reflect multi-level touch points for influencing health‥While current interventions aim to mitigate RC at the individual level through awareness, education, and behavioral modification, few address inadequate societal supports and historical injustices that specifically affect the use of violence and reproductive decision-making in Black families (R. L. Hampton, Lataillade, Dacey, & Marghi, 2008; R. Hampton, Oliver, & Magarian, 2003; E. Miller et al., 2011, 2013). Our work suggests a need for more research to understand how RC manifests in the lives of young Black men living in Baltimore.

Limitations

Findings from this study should be considered within the context of several limitations. The study was conducted with a convenience sample of young men living in an urban environment. Thus, their experiences may differ from those of young Black men living in rural settings or with higher socioeconomic status and living in urban settings. We also that we did not specifically assess for poverty or income in our sample, thus we are uncertain that all participants were poor. However, the sample was recruited from three community-based sites that typically serve low-income men.

We administered paper surveys whereas if participants had the opportunity to respond via Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interviews (ACASI), they may have been more open to share responses about these highly stigmatized topics (i.e. engagement in violence and coercion). The small sample size did not allow for statistical analysis of survey data. Participants completed surveys after completing the qualitative interview and the interviewer usually stayed in the room with them during its administration. While our survey data recorded that some young men reported engaging in individual RC behaviors, participants did not readily discuss personal use of RC in our interviews. We did not explicitly inform participants that interview data would be linked to their survey data and thus, discrepancies we found, may reflect social desirability bias. Finally, we adapted a RC measure that was not developed or validated for young Black men.

Conclusions

There is a dire need for more research and programs that equip young men with psychological and financial tools that will support their motivations, desires and intentions to be good fathers. The value of understanding the motivations of young Black men is that individual experiences should be taken into account when developing psychosocial and social-structural supports for healthy young families. These strategies could ensure childbearing is a joyous occasion, providing opportunities to young Black men to fulfill some of their dreams to build legacies, correct past traumas, and be prepared financially and emotionally for fatherhood. In the context of policy and clinical guidelines promoting health for Black adolescents and young adults, the cultural meaning of childbearing and how desires and intentions are conveyed to sex partners are an opportunity for education and counseling about healthy sexual communication and goals for sexual behavior (Breuner, Mattson, Committee on Adolescence, and Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, 2016).