The Incompatibility of Materialism and the Desire for Children: Psychological Insights into the Fertility Discrepancy among Modern Countries

Autor/inn/en	Li, Norman P.; Patel, Lily; Balliet, Daniel; Tov, William; Scollon, Christie N.
Titel	The Incompatibility of Materialism and the Desire for Children: Psychological Insights into the Fertility Discrepancy among Modern Countries
Quelle	In: Social Indicators Research, 101 (2011) 3, S.391-404 (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0303-8300
DOI	10.1007/s11205-010-9665-9
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Life Satisfaction; Females; Marriage; Path Analysis; Cross Cultural Studies; Psychological Patterns; Developed Nations; Asians; Cultural Differences; Social Indicators; Sociometric Techniques; Comparative Analysis; Economic Factors; Sociocultural Patterns; Socioeconomic Influences; Correlation; Predictor Variables; Birth Rate; Singapore; United States + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Lebensvollendung; Weibliches Geschlecht; Ehe; Pfadanalyse; Cultural comparison; Kulturvergleich; Developed countries; Industriestaat; Industrieland; Asian; Asiat; Asiatin; Asiaten; Asiate; Kultureller Unterschied; Social indicator; Sozialer Indikator; Soziometrie; Ökonomischer Faktor; Soziokulturelle Theorie; Sozioökonomischer Faktor; Korrelation; Prädiktor; Singapur; USA
Abstract	We examined factors related to attitudes toward marriage and the importance of having children in both the US and Singapore. Path analysis indicated that life dissatisfaction leads to materialism, and both of these factors lead to favorable attitudes toward marriage, which leads to greater desire for children. Further analysis indicated this model was effective in explaining the difference in desire for children between Singaporeans and Americans, whereby Singaporeans have lower life satisfaction, higher materialism, and lower attitudes toward marriage and children. Materialistic standards of success were also related to the emphasis women placed on potential marriage partners' earning capacity. As Singaporean women had higher materialistic standards, they also placed higher emphasis on potential mates' earning capacity. Results suggest a consideration of psychological variables such as life satisfaction, materialism, and mate preferences may lead to a better understanding of larger-scale socioeconomic issues, including low fertility rates among developed East Asian countries. (As Provided).
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Update	2017/4/10