Abstract
The present study investigated the moderating role of gender in the relationship between parenting costs and second-child fertility anxiety. This secondary data analysis relied on information from 1,834 respondents of childbearing age (20–45) from Jilin province in China who were selected through multilevel cluster sampling in 2016. The final sample size of this study was 542 adults who had only one child and were uncertain about whether to have a second child. The proposed hypothesis was examined by hierarchical multiple regression. The results showed that gender had no moderating effect in the relationship of direct parenting costs and second-child fertility anxiety; the association between direct parenting costs and second-child fertility anxiety was significant in both male and female groups. However, gender had a moderating role in the relationship between indirect parenting costs and second-child fertility anxiety. Indirect parenting costs related to occupation had a significant effect on second-child fertility anxiety among men, whereas indirect parenting costs involving entertainment time and space had a significant effect on second-child fertility anxiety among women.
Highlights
Planning policy implemented in the late 1970s and early 1980s controlled China’s population growth effectively; it led to population problems, such as an aging population, imbalance of sex ratio at birth, and labor shortages
Fertility intentions directly reflect the concept and culture of fertility, and fertility behavior reflects the reality of adults of childbearing age (Bachrach & Morgan, 2013; Rong & Baochang, 2014)
We constructed a basic model with control variables, and the model explained 12.8% of second-child fertility anxiety
Summary
Planning policy implemented in the late 1970s and early 1980s controlled China’s population growth effectively; it led to population problems, such as an aging population, imbalance of sex ratio at birth, and labor shortages. Fertility intentions directly reflect the concept and culture of fertility, and fertility behavior reflects the reality of adults of childbearing age (Bachrach & Morgan, 2013; Rong & Baochang, 2014). Affected by China’s traditional culture, which includes fertility concepts such as “The more sons, the more happiness”; “The son preference”; and “Bring up sons to provide for oneself in old age” (Tian & Chen, 2006), at present, most adults of childbearing age in China are still willing to have two children, but the reality is that most families decide not to have a second child (Feng & Li, 2016; Zheng, 2014). The deviation between fertility intentions and behavior can cause anxiety among adults of childbearing age regarding whether to have a second child
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