Anticipating Fertility, Family, and Careers: Evidence from a Survey Experiment

Last registered on July 23, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Anticipating Fertility, Family, and Careers: Evidence from a Survey Experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0019232
Initial registration date
July 23, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
July 23, 2026, 8:34 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Katharina Adler
Affiliation
Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Nora Lorenz
PI Affiliation
Deutsches Zentrum für Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung GmbH (DZHW)
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-08-01
End date
2027-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Gender, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Motivated by declining fertility rates and divergent political attitudes among young women and men, we investigate gender differences in expectations and mental load on future family formation among young adults in Germany. Using survey data from university students, we document gender gaps in fertility expectations, anticipated division of paid and unpaid work, and career planning under expected parenthood. We further examine whether individuals systematically misperceive the attitudes and expectations of the opposite gender. In a survey experiment, participants receive information about the reported attitudes of opposite-gender peers, allowing us to study whether correcting such misperceptions leads to belief updating and changes in expectations and intended behavior.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Adler, Katharina and Nora Lorenz. 2026. "Anticipating Fertility, Family, and Careers: Evidence from a Survey Experiment." AEA RCT Registry. July 23. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.19232-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2026-08-03
Intervention End Date
2026-10-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Updating in fertility and family formation expectations: Changes in intended number and timing of children, expected partnership arrangements, and anticipated division of paid and unpaid work.

Updating in career expectations and aspirations: Changes in expected working hours, career progression, and anticipated career interruptions due to family formation.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Baseline survey in which we elicit career expectations, fertility and family intentions, attitudes regarding partnerships and families, and beliefs about opposite-gender peers' attitudes toward partnerships, family roles and the division of labor.´
Information intervention with randomization into either 1) control, 2) treatment 1: relationship attitudes, or 3) treatment 2: family attitudes
Post-intervention survey to elicit primary outcomes as listed above.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
5,500 (number of individuals to be invited to the experiment)
Sample size: planned number of observations
5,500 (number of individuals to be invited to the experiment)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
approximately 1,800 per treatment arm.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethikkommission des Fachbereichs Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften
IRB Approval Date
2026-03-20
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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