Do environmental concerns play an important role in the desire for children?
摘要
To what extent (if any) do environmental concerns influence the desire for children? Environmental concerns are increasing, particularly among young people, and some studies have shown that these concerns are associated with a desire for fewer children or none at all. However, we do not know the weight of these environmental concerns (more specifically, ecological worldview and eco-anxiety) compared to other factors known to influence the desire for children (e.g. the burden that can be associated with childrearing or the fulfillment that can come with parenthood). To address this question, 1260 childless participants responded to an online questionnaire. The results first show that when considered alone (i.e. via correlations), ecological worldview and eco-anxiety are both negatively associated with the desire for children. However, when they are introduced together in the model, only ecological worldview remains significant. More importantly, when they are introduced together with other well-known predictors of the desire for children (unrelated to environmental changes), neither remains significant, while some other predictors do. These results nuance the role of environmental concerns in shaping the desire for children.