Psychological Determinants of Voluntary Childlessness: The Role of Personality Traits and Selfishness in Jakarta Adults Using SEM-PLS

The voluntary childfree lifestyle has gained increasing attention globally, reflecting shifts in demographic behavior and family formation patterns. While previous studies have primarily focused on economic and social determinants, limited research has examined psychological factors such as personality traits and selfishness, particularly within collectivist societies like Indonesia. This study investigates the influence of personality traits and selfishness on attitudes toward voluntary childlessness among adults in Jakarta. A quantitative design was employed with 227 respondents. Data were collected using three validated instruments: the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) Short Version, the Selfishness Questionnaire, and the Attitudes Toward Voluntary Childlessness Scale. The relationships among variables were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS). The results indicate that selfishness does not significantly influence attitudes toward voluntary childlessness (p > 0.05). In contrast, personality traits collectively show a significant effect (p < 0.05). Among the Big Five dimensions, extraversion shows a significant negative relationship (p < 0.05) and negative emotionality a significant positive relationship (p < 0.05) with voluntary childfree attitudes, suggesting that more extraverted individuals are less likely, and more emotionally unstable individuals more likely, to support voluntary childlessness. These findings highlight the dominant role of personality over selfishness in shaping reproductive attitudes in a collectivist context. The study contributes to demographic psychology literature and provides implications for family policy and future research on cultural and longitudinal determinants of childfree decisions.