The Relationship Between Religiosity and Religious Attitudes with Contraceptive İntentions and Pregnancy Avoidance Behaviours Among Married Muslim Women in Türkiye

This study aimed to examine the relationship between religiosity and religious attitudes and their association with contraceptive intentions and pregnancy avoidance behaviours among married Muslim women. A descriptive and correlational design was employed. The study was conducted in family health centres in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and included 331 married Muslim women of reproductive age (response rate: 87.1%). Data were collected using a personal information form, the Individual Religion Inventory, the Religious Attitude Scale, the Contraceptive Intention Questionnaire, and the Desire to Avoid Pregnancy Scale (DAPS), which assesses women’s desire to avoid pregnancy through cognitive, affective, and expected outcome dimensions, with higher scores indicating greater pregnancy avoidance. A negative correlation was found between DAPS affective feelings and attitudes scores and the Individual Religion Inventory total score (r = − 0.148, p = 0.007). Furthermore, DAPS affective feelings and attitudes scores were positively correlated with the cognitive subscale of the Religious Attitude Scale (r = 0.113, p = 0.040) but negatively correlated with the relation to God subscale (r = − 0.121, p = 0.028). DAPS-expected objective outcomes scores were negatively correlated with the Individual Religion Inventory total score (r = − 0.158, p = 0.004), the Religious Attitude Scale total score (r = − 0.114, p = 0.038), and its emotion (r = − 0.116,p = 0.036) and relation to God (r = − 0.115, p = 0.036) subscales. Regression analysis showed that higher Individual Religion Inventory scores predicted lower DAPS affective feelings and attitudes (t = − 1.988, p = 0.048) and expected objective outcomes scores (t = − 2.431, p = 0.016). Greater religiosity and stronger religious attitudes were associated with higher fertility behaviours, but not with contraceptive intentions.