Cohort and gender disparities in childbearing motivation: Evidence from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies

The current low fertility rate in China has become a recognized fact, and the change in attitudes towards childbearing is one of the key reasons for it. Childbearing motivations are an important component of childbearing attitudes and are at the forefront of the sequence from childbearing attitudes to behavior. This article examines the cohort and gender differences within childbearing motivations by asking survey respondents why they want to have children. Based on data obtained from the 2020 wave of the China Family Panel Studies, this study uses cluster analysis to classify people's childbearing motivations into four categories: “low intention and negative”, “individual-oriented”, “dual-oriented emotional”, and “family-oriented”. The result shows that more than half of respondents still have a family-oriented motivation to engage in childbearing while the individual- and dual-oriented emotional motivations account for 23% and 15% respectively. Only 9% of the respondents have a “low intention and negative” childbearing motivation. Moreover, there exist significant inter-cohort differences regarding childbearing motivations. Earlier birth cohorts are more likely to have dual-oriented emotional and family-oriented motivations, whereas younger birth cohorts are more likely to have low intention and negative and individual-oriented motivations. Among the post-1980s and post-1990s cohorts, family-oriented motivations regarding childbearing gradually lose their dominance, whereas individual-oriented motivations increase significantly. In terms of gender differences, men's childbearing motivations are more traditional than women's, and the extent of cross-cohort change is smaller for men. The differences between men's and women's childbearing motivations tend to widen among the most recent generations. The study suggests that changes in educational attainment may be a possible explanation for this.