Relationship between parental motives, sense of meaning in life and well-being. The moderating role of the centrality of religiosity

In the contemporary world, one may notice that people tend to postpone their decision on having a child. A question arises what really motivates people to become a parent and increase their satisfaction with life. An attempt was made to assess the relation between childbearing motives and the sense of meaning in life and well-being as well as the potential influence of religiosity on them. The dissertation discussed the theoretical aspects of childbearing motives, the meaning in life, religiosity, well-being and their interconnectedness in the previous research. The study involved 248 respondents at the age from 19 to 63. Three research hypotheses were made: H1. Positive childbearing motives have a positive correlation with the sense of meaning in life and well-being; H2. Centrality of religiosity serves a moderating role in the relation between positive childbearing motives and the sense of meaning in life and well-being, and H3. Negative childbearing motives do not have a major correlation with the sense of meaning in life and well-being. The first and third hypotheses were partially confirmed. People characterized by positive childbearing motives felt a higher sense of meaning while centrality of religiosity served a moderating role in the relation in question. The second hypothesis was proved. The study suggests that religiosity can serve as the resource thanks to which people are able to give meaning to parenthood. The dissertation indicated the directions of further research and practical implications.