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Many people assume that having children is primarily a question of desire. Do you want children, or don’t you? But new research suggests the decision is far more psychologically complex. Before people are willing to become parents, many feel they must satisfy an invisible checklist—one that extends well beyond simply wanting a baby.

In a recent study published in Personality and Individual Differences, psychologists Menelaos Apostolou, Alexia Zalaf, and Mads Larsen asked more than 1,000 participants what conditions needed to be in place before they would consider having children. Rather than beginning with researchers’ assumptions, the team first collected open-ended responses, generating 111 distinct conditions. These were later organized into 15 broader themes.

Some of these themes reflected external........

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