The Effects of Meaning in Life on Fertility Intentions in College Students
ABSTRACT
China's population is 7.52 per 1,000 in 2021 falling below 10 per 1,000 for the second consecutive year. Research on fertility values fromtheperspectiveofpsychology,toaccuratelyunderstandpeople's fertility needs and grasp their fertility behaviour, will not only provideabasisforevaluatingthecurrentdemographicsituationand predicting future demographic trends, but will also allow for better targetingwhenformulatingpopulationandfamilyplanningpolicies. However, from the existing literature, studies have only dealt with the factors influencing fertility intentions, mostly focusing on the impact of objective factors such as economic and social factors on fertility intentions, but rarely on the internal psychological traits of individuals. Therefore, this study will adopt a survey analysis method,usingthesenseofmeaningfulnessoflifeastheindependent variable, to explore the current situation of young people's fertility intentions, as well as to explore the influence of individual psychologicalfactorssuchasthesenseofmeaningfulnessoflifeon fertilityintentionsandtheirmechanismsofaction,inordertoprovide datatosupporttheformulationofpopulationpoliciesthataresuitable for economic and social development.
Thisstudywasbasedontheprincipleofconveniencesampling,and the questionnaire was administered using online questionnaire distribution and offline distribution. The questionnaire consisted of threeparts,namely,basic personalinformation,theFertilityValues Scale and the Sense of Meaningin Life Scale.
Themostcentralanalysisofthequestionnairewasachievedthrough SPSS analysis. The mean scores of the two scales were obtained separately,whichwerethenanalysedbycorrelationinSPSSandwith the help of some basic information to obtain a more specific relationship between fertilityvalue and sense of meaningin life.
Therearethreemaincategoriesofrespondentsinthestudy,namely the general urban and rural population, the reproductive age population and young people. Age is an important factor so young peopleunder35 years of age, are themostappropriaterespondents. Atthesametime,asfertilityisanactthatisdecidedandcarriedout bythe couple together, it is important that not onlywomen but also men are surveyed.
I. INTRODUCTION:
Frankl,whodevelopedasenseofthemeaningoflife, arguedthatpeoplecandiscoverthemeaningoflifein threedifferentways:throughcreativevaluesthatgive meaningtowork,throughattitudinalvaluesthatgive meaningtosuffering,andthroughexperientialvalues that give meaningto love.
How to cite this paper: Yue Ting Wang |TianTian|GengYuanChen|YiXing| ShiYuanSu|XiaoqianLiu"TheEffects of Meaning in Life on Fertility Intentions in College Students"
Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-6 | Issue-7, December 2022, pp.325-334, URL: www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd52293.pdf
Copyright © 2022 by author (s) and International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development Journal. This is an Open Access article distributedunderthe terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
KEYWORDS: sense of meaning in life, willingness to have children
However, little research has been conducted on the relationshipandinfluenceofanindividual'ssenseof meaningfulness of life, a psychological factor that is important for individual behaviour and decisionmaking, on fertilityintentions.
Asenseofmeaninginlifeisagoalthatgivesasense of value and direction. The willingness to bear children is a highly subjective issue, and people are willingto endure the pain of childbirth because they can derive unique meaning and value from the suffering they endure. There must therefore be an influentialrelationshipbetweenthesetwosubjective feelings, and we use the sense of meaning in life as the independent variable to explore its impact on fertilityintentions.
Fromtheintroductionofthe"selectivetwo-child"in 2014, the "the universal two-child" in 2016 and the "three-child policy" in May 2021, the birth rate in 2021willbe7.52per1,000livebirths,fallingbelow 10 per 1,000 for the second consecutive year. The birthratein2021willalsobethelowestinthepast72 years (since 1950). In this context, it is particularly important to formulate a population policythat suits theeconomicandsocialdevelopmentofthecountry, andtoexploreandunderstandthefertilityintentions of the population of childbearingage and the factors that influence them is a prerequisite for the formulationofapopulationfertilitypolicy.Research onfertilityvaluesfromtheperspectiveofpsychology can provide an accurate understanding of people's fertilityneedsand grasptheirfertilitybehaviour,not only to provide a basis for evaluating the current demographic situation and predicting future demographic trends, but also to better target the formulation of population and family planning policies. As a psychological factor that is important for individual behaviour and decision-making, there is little research on its relationship with fertility intentionsanditsinfluence.Therefore,thisstudywill adopt a survey analysis method, using sense of life meaning as the independent variable, to explore the currentsituationofyoungpeople'sfertilityintentions, as well as to explore the influence of individual psychologicalfactorssuchassenseoflifemeaningon fertilityintentionsandtheirmechanismsofaction,in order to provide data to support the formulation of populationpoliciesthataresuitableforeconomicand social development.
1. Status of domestic research
Researchers in China have studied the fertility intentions of Chinese residents from different perspectives,andsomerepresentativeresearchresults have been achieved.
First, from an operationalisation perspective: the indicators used bydomestic scholars in their studies of fertilityintentions are slightlydifferent.
Fan Huixin (2018) in advocating that fertility behaviourincludesthreeaspects:gender,numberand timing [1]; Zheng Zhenzhen's (2020) study focused
on gender preference and number of children [2]; Tian Wenjing and Luo Yang (2017) also studied the fertilityintentionsofpeopleofchildbearingagefrom thethreeperspectivesofwillingnesstohavechildren: number, gender and timing [3]. They have basically been studied from the three perspectives of the numberofintendedchildren,genderandthetimingof childbearing.
Secondly, from the research literature of domestic scholars, with the development of the times and the gradual change of people's fertility concept, the traditional fertility concept of giving preference to sons over daughters and raising children for old age has been gradually replaced by the fertility concept. YangMengsi(2017),throughastudyonthefertility intentions of urban families in Yingtan, concluded that "the fertility concept in Yingtan city has been changing to a modern fertility concept, with diversifiedfertilitypurposes;moreattentionispaidto thequalityofchildren,andthereisnoobviousgender preference. [4] Wang Tao (2011) argues that "the fertilitystatusofyoungruralwomenshowsatrendof transitionfromtraditionaltomodern,andthepurpose offertilityismainlytoenjoythehappinessoffamily; most of the childbearing age is late; the gender preferenceoffertilityisnolongerobvious,butmore concerned about the qualityof children."[5].
Again,intermsofresearchonmeasuresforacorrect fertilityconcept:Theconclusionsofresearchscholars are summarised as mainly including economic aspects, social aspects, cultural aspects and family aspects. Research on economic measures: according to Ji Yuqi (2015), "Promoting the modernization of farmers'fertilityconceptfirstrequirespromotingthe change of rural production methods to provide an economicbasis forfertility."[[6] Researchonsocial measures: Liu Qi (2015) recommends the establishment of a sound social security system and medical protection system, and the introduction of relevantpoliciestoensurethenormaldevelopmentof women's careers, from the perspective of improving white-collar fertility intentions. [7] Research on culturalmeasures:accordingtoLanQingqing(2017), "thetraditionalfertilityculturehastwosides,andthe quality factors in the traditional fertility culture should be fully explored to inject reasonable connotations for the establishment of a modern fertility concept." [8] Research on family measures: according to Lu Shanshan (2018), "it is necessaryto properly handle the relationship between family members and avoid conflicts with the previous generation on fertility issues. It is also necessary to deal with the conflict of gender roles between couples."[9]
Finally, there may be a relationship between the meaning of life and fertility intentions previously Yang,XueandXie,Lei(2022)foundthatsubjective well-being and marital satisfaction significantly and positively influenced youth fertility arrangements. Further analysis found that subjective well-being significantlyincreasedthelikelihoodofyouthhaving a two-child birth arrangement, and marital satisfaction significantly increased the likelihood of having a three-child birth arrangement. [10]
2. Status of foreign research
In the 1970s, when fertility rates in most Western countriesfellsharplyagain,evenbelowreplacement level, scholars again explored the reasons for the decline in fertility intentions during the "second demographic transition". The concept of "fertility intention", its measurement and the factors influencing it were formally introduced at this stage [11]. Theoretical framework for the analysis of factors influencing fertility intentions Morgan developed a progressive model of fertility uncertainty,whichcategorisesfertilityintentionsand analyses changes in fertility intentions over the fertility cycle in a cascading manner by birth cohort [12].
Some other scholars have studied the trends of fertility intentions in France, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary and other countries by means of tracking surveys,andhavedonealotofcountrycomparisons [13],findingthatfertilityintentionsandfinalfertility levels are very similar in the Netherlands, England, Wales, the United States and Austria, and that women's fertility intentions have different trends at different stages of reproductive age and in different cohorts [14].
3. Literature Review
Afterextensivereadingoftheliterature,theresultsof most of the studies show that both domestic and foreign scholars have paid extensive attention to the subject of fertility intentions, mainly from an operational perspective, from the perspective of changing attitudes and from the perspective of measuresofcorrectfertility.Mostofthestudieshave been conducted in the context of foreign policies, whicharenotinlinewiththecurrentnationalcontext of China. This study will therefore focus on the impact of a sense of meaningful life as an independent variable on fertilityintentions based on China's national context, and use this as a scholarly contributiontothisstudy.However,thereisalackof empirical research on the relationship between the sense of meaning of life and fertility intentions, so this study uses an empirical research method of questionnairestoexploretherelationshipbetweenthe sense of meaningof life and fertilityintentions.
II. Methods
1. Object of study
This study is based on the principle of convenient sampling,usingonlinequestionnairedistributionand offline distribution to administer the questionnaire. The age of the subject is an important factor in fertilityintentionsurveys,andthisstudyfocusedona sampleofpeopleofchildbearingagebetween19and 49.Atotalof202questionnaireswerecollected,and after excluding those who did not answer seriously and were under the age of 19 and over 49, a total of 190validquestionnaireswereobtained.Amongthem, 73(38.4%)weremaleand117(61.6%)werefemale, with an average age of 23.87 years.
2. Research tools
2.1.
Fertility intentions
This study uses the variables 'subjective fertility intention' and 'desired number of children' to reflect individualfertilityintentionsandbehavior.Thisstudy measures the degree of fertility desire to investigate by a five-point scale .Higher scores indicating stronger subjective fertility intentions. The investigation of the desired number of children is closelyrelated to fertilitybehavior [1].
2.2. The meaning in life
The Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), developed by Steger et al. in 2006, was used[2] and the Chinese version of the C-MLQ was revised by WangMengchengandDaiXiaoyangin2008[3].The scaleisdividedintotwodimensions,Thepresenceof meaning (MLQ-P) and The search for meaning (MLQ-S),inwhichthepresenceofmeaningrefersto theextenttowhichindividualsexperiencetheirlives as meaningful, with more emphasis on the outcome, while the search for meaning refers to the extent to which individuals seek This refers to the extent to which the individual is actively seeking meaning in life, with more emphasis on the process. Each subdimension consists of 5 items and is scored on a 7point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating a greater sense of meaning in life. In this survey, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the scale was 0.86, andtheCronbach'salphacoefficientsforthetwosubdimensions were 0.78 and 0.90 respectively, indicating that the scale has good reliability and validity.
2.3. Sources of meaning in life
The Personal meaning profile brief (PMP-B) was developed by Paul Wong in 1998[4] and translated intoChinesebyXiaoRongetal.andrevised[5].The scale is divided into three primary dimensions and seven secondary dimensions, specifically the meaningful motivation dimension consisting of achievementandself-transcendence,themeaningful
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cognition dimension consisting of life beliefs, selfacceptanceandfairness,andthemeaningfulemotion dimension consisting of interpersonal relationships andintimacy.Thescalehas21itemsandisscoredon a 7-point Likert scale. The mean score of each dimension reflects the individual's performance on different sources of meaning, with higher scores indicatingahigherleveloflifemeaningexperienced
III. Results
1. Descriptive analysis
1.1. Demographic variables
Percentage/mean
by the individual on that source of meaning. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the scale in this survey was 0.97, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficientsforallsevensub-dimensionsrangedfrom 0.73 to 0.93, givingthe scale good reliability.
3. Statistical tools
This study mainly used the SPSS 22.0 program to collate and analyse the data.
Percentage/mean
Gender Household Registration
Male 38.4 Towns 54.7
Female 61.6 Rural 45.3 Age (weeks) 23.87 (6.65) Annual household income
Education level < 30,000 13.2
Primaryschool and below 0 30-80,000 23.2
Lower Secondary 4.2 80,000-150,000 28.4 High school/junior college/technical school 6.3 150-300,000 22.6 300,000 - 800,000 6.3 Specialties 12.1 800,000-2 million 5.3 Undergraduate 72.6 > 2 million 1.1 Master and above 4.7 Marital status
Religious beliefs Single 55.8 None 95.8 Love 25.3 Buddhism 2.1 Married 17.9 Christianity 1.1 Divorced 0.5 Islam 1.1 Remarriage 0.5
Table 1 Basic demographic variables of survey respondents (N=190)
Ofthe190totalvalidresponses,61.6%werefemaleand38.4%weremale.Themeanagewas23years,witha standarddeviationof6.65,indicatingthattherewasawiderangeofagesamongtherespondents,whichbetter reflects the attitudes of different age groups among young people towards fertility and the sense of meaningfulness of life, and facilitates the correlation analysis.
Theproportionofurbanandruralhouseholdsisrelativelyclose,with45%oftheformerand55%ofthelatter, so that the results obtained are not overlybiased in favour of one side.
DuetotheculturalenvironmentinChina,nearly96%ofrespondentstothereligiousbeliefssurveywerenonbelievers, with 2.1% of respondents believingin Buddhism, 1.1% in Christianityand 1.1% in Islam.
Maritalstatusisoneofthemoreimportantinfluencesonfertilityintentionsandthesenseofmeaninginlife.Due to the age limit of young people, nearly 60% of respondents are single, 25.3% are in a relationship and only 18.9% have ever been married (includingmarried, divorced and remarried).
1.2. Fertility-related variables
Inthesurveyonfertilitystatus,83.7%oftherespondentswereunmarried,andnearly75%oftheagedistribution (Figure 7) was younger than 26 (the average age of marriage in China in 2022), indicatingthat there is a high overlapbetweenunmarriedrespondentsandthoseintheloweragegroups,andthatthefertilityintentionsofthis group greatlyaffect the future population growth rate in China, so it is important to paymore attention to the fertilityintentionsofthisgroup.Therefore,itisimportanttopaymoreattentiontothefertilityintentionsofthis group.
Asfor the genderpreferenceofthe child, closeto 70%of the respondentshadnoparticularpreference,while 13%preferredboysand19.5%preferredgirls.Itcanbeseenthatthefeudalideologyofpreferenceforsonsis graduallydisappearing,givingwomenmorefreedomandchoiceinchildbirth.Therefore,ifwewanttoincrease the birth rate, it is more important to payattention to the fertilitywishes of individuals
Nearly 60% of the respondents chose to be the main carer of their children, either by themselves or by their spouse, showing that more and more young parents are no longer leaving the care of their children to their parents, but seeing it as part of their responsibility. However, the time and energy spent on children will inevitablyleadtoareductioninpersonalworkandtimeavailable,soitisevenmoreimportanttopayattention tothesubjectiveandobjectiveneedsofrespondentsinordertoavoidareductionintheirdesiretohavechildren.
Fertility status
Figure Age distribution bar chart
Number of people Percentage (%)
Unreproductive 159 83.7
One child born 23 12.1
Have two children 5 2.6
Have three or more children 3 1.6
Child's gender orientation
Male 23 12.1
Female 37 19.5 Doesn't matter 130 68.4
The child is primarily responsible for caring for the person
Singles 67 35.3 Spouse 44 23.2 Both parents 61 32.1 Other personnel such as childcare workers 18 19
Table 2 Basic information on fertility-related variables among survey respondents (N=190)
1.3. Fertility intentions
Wecategorisedfertilityintentionsintofivelevelsfromlowtohigh,assigningeachascoreof1-5,andobtaineda meanscoreof2.73,indicatingthattheaveragesubjectivefertilityintentionwasrelativelyweakorfair,withless than 20% of respondents having a relativelyor verystrongdesire to have children. However, more than 50% of respondents want to have two or more children, indicating that the majority of young people still desire to have children, but are reluctant to do so because they are unable to meet their subjective needs due to realistic objective conditions and social pressures.
Mean value/percentage (%)
Subjective desire to have children 2.73 (1.06) Desired number of births 1.44 (0.75) 0 pcs 12.6 1pc 33.2 2 51.6 3 or more 2.6
Table 3 Fertility intentions of survey respondents (N=190)
1.4. The meaning in life
Intermsofthedimensionsofmeaningfulness,themeanvaluesforbothexperienceandseekingexceededthe4pointscalesetinthetable,at4.85and5.21respectively,withstandarddeviationsof1.12and1.18,indicating thattherangeoffluctuationissmallandthatrespondentshaveaclearsenseofmeaningfulnessinlife.Seeking morethanexperienceindicatesthatrespondentsareactivelyexploringthemeaningoftheirlivesandhavegood ideals, but in realitytheyare unable to experience it in a practical waydue to constraints.
In terms of the dimensions of personal sense of meaning, life beliefs and self-acceptance in the cognitive dimension of meaningand interpersonal and intimate relationships in the affective dimension of meaningare both higher than the mean value of 5.22, indicating that contemporary youth have deeper feelings in both the cognitiveandaffectivedimensions,whilethesenseofachievementandself-transcendenceinthemotivational dimension of meaning are slightlylacking.
Means (standard deviation)
A sense of the meaning of life 5.03 (0.98)
Meaning of Life Experience 4.85 (1.12)
The search for the meaningof life 5.21 (1.18)
A sense of personal significance 5.22 (1.17)
Meaningful Motivation Dimension 4.95 (1.29)
Sense of accomplishment 5.03 (1.30)
Self-transcendence 4.87 (1.43)
Meaningful perception dimension 5.26 (1.30)
Life beliefs 5.37 (1.44)
Self-acceptance 5.31 (1.33)
Sense of fairness 5.08 (1.44)
Meaningful emotional dimension 5.41 (1.16)
Interpersonal relations 5.50 (1.21)
Intimacy 5.31 (1.20)
Table 4
Survey respondents' sense of meaning in life and sources of meaning in life (N=190)
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2. Correlation analysis
Subjectivefertilityintentionsaresignificantlycorrelatedwithgenderandage,withwomenscoringhigherthan men in subjective fertility intentions, and subjective fertility intentions increasing with age; there is also a significant correlation between current emotional and fertilitystatus and subjective fertilityintentions.
In the relationship between life meaning and fertility intentions, the dimension of life meaning experience is positivelycorrelated,whichmeansthatthestrongerthelifeexperiencethestrongerthefertilityintentions,but lifemeaningseekingisnotsignificantlycorrelatedwithfertilityintentions.Intermsofsourcesofmeaning,both the motivation and cognitive dimensions are positively correlated with subjective fertility intentions, but the affective dimension is not significantlycorrelated with fertilityintentions.
Thenumberofchildrenexpectedissignificantlycorrelatedwithgender,withmenexpectingahighernumberof children than women.
In the relationship between life meaning and desired number of children, the dimension of life meaning experienceispositivelycorrelated,meaningthatthestrongerthelifeexperiencethegreaterthedesirednumber ofchildren,butlifemeaningseekingisnotsignificantlycorrelatedwithdesirednumberofchildren.Intermsof thesourceoflifemeaning,themeaningperceptiondimensionispositivelycorrelatedwiththenumberofdesired births, but the meaning motivation dimension is insignificantlycorrelated with the number of desired births.
Table 5 Results of correlation analysis
Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1. Gender -
2. Age .036 -
3. Emotional status .082 .722** -
4. Fertility status .117 .755** .720** -
5. Meaning of Life Experience -.031 .180* .101 .158* -
6. The search for meaning in life -.032 .037 .057 -.010 .457** -
7. A sense of the meaning of life -.037 .125 .092 .084 .845** .861** -
8. Meaningful Motivation Dimension -.076 .115 .107 .078 .635** .613** .730** -
9. Meaning perception dimension -.090 .211** .169* .160* .600** .601** .704** .881** -
10. The emotional dimension of meaning .039 . 095 . 144* . 108 .531** .580** .652** .757** .785** -
11. sense of personal meaning -.052 . 158* . 152* . 129 .628** .643** .745** .937** .962** .897** -
12. Subjective desire to have children
-.292** .266** .199** .152* .212** .109 .187** .255** .258** .102 .222** -
13. Desired number of births -.214** .122 . 083 . 068 . 163* . 098 . 152* .133 .174* .082 . 142 .485**
Note: ** indicates correlation significant <0.01, * indicates correlation significant <0.05
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3. Analysis of factors influencing fertility intentions
3.1. Analysis of the factors influencing subjective fertility intentions
Table 6 reports the effect of life meaning on subjective fertility intentions. Models 1 and 2 are baseline regression models that examine the sense of meaning in life and the source of meaning in life, respectively. Models 3 and 4 are regression results based on Models 1 and 2 with the addition of variables such as demographicandmaritalcharacteristics.Theresultsshowthatthehighertheexperienceofmeaninginlife,the higher the source of the motivational dimension of meaning in life and the higher the intensity of subjective fertilityintentions.Theregressionanalysisdemonstratedasignificanteffectofmeaningfullifeexperienceand meaningfullifemotivationdimensiononsubjectivefertilityintentionsafterexcludingcontrolvariablessuchas demographic and marital status.
Table 6 Results of regression analysis of the effect of meaning of life on subjective fertility intentions
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4
Meaning of Life Experience 0.205*(2.552) 0.158*(2.061)
The search for the meaningof life 0.015 (0.192) 0.012 (0.156)
Meaningful Motivation Dimension 0.211 (1.397) 0.254*(1.764)
Meaningful Perception Dimension 0.305*(1.918) 0.109 (0.698)
Meaningful emotional dimension -0.296*(-2.578) -0.192 (-1.715)
Gender -0.292** (-4.341) -0.262** (-3.878)
Age 0.255*(2.289) 0.235*(2.104)
Marital status 0.092 (0.879) 0.085 (0.819)
Fertilitystatus -0.098 (-0.876) -0.072 (-0.662)
F 4.418* 7.055** 7.218** 7.258**
Note: ** indicates correlation significant <0.01, * indicates correlation significant <0.05
3.2. Analysis of the factors influencing the number of desired births
Table7reportstheeffectoflifemeaningonthenumberofdesiredbirths.Models1and2arebaselineregression modelsthatexaminethesenseofmeaninginlifeandthesourceofmeaninginlife,respectively.Models3and4 areregressionresultsbasedonmodels1and2withtheadditionofvariablessuchasdemographicandmarital characteristics.Theresultsshowthatthehigherthe experienceofmeaninginlife,thehigherthesourceofthe motivationaldimensionofmeaninginlifeandthehigherthenumberofdesiredbirths.Theregressionanalysis demonstratedthatafterexcludingcontrolvariablessuchasdemographicandmaritalstatus,themeaningfullife experienceandmeaningfullifemotivationdimensionshadasignificanteffectonthenumberofdesiredbirths.
Table 7 Results of regression analysis of the effect of meaning of life on desired number of births Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4
Meaning of Life Experience 0.150*(1.853) 0.127 (1.556)
The search for the meaningof life 0.029 (0.358) 0.027 (0.334)
Meaningful Motivation Dimension -0.053 (-0.342) -0.043 (-0.279)
Meaningful perception dimension 0.326*(1.979) 0.224 (1.323)
Meaningful emotional dimension -0.133 (-1.120) -0.063 (-0.523)
Gender -0.213** (-2.968) -0.198** (-2.702)
Age 0.106 (0.895) 0.092 (0.759)
Marital status 0.029 (0.259) 0.023 (0.205)
Fertilitystatus -0.028 (-0.234) -0.020 (-0.172)
F 2.632 2.494 2.742* 2.331*
Note: ** indicates correlation significant <0.01, * indicates correlation significant <0.05
IV. Conclusions and Recommendations
1. Conclusions
In general, the higher the experience of meaning in life, the higher the source of the motivational dimension of meaning in life, the stronger the subjective desire to have children and the higher the desired number of children. Marital status is an important factor influencing fertilityintentionsandthesenseofmeaningfulnessof
life,withahighdegreeofoverlapbetweenunmarried respondents and those in the lower age groups, and the fertility intentions of this group greatly influencing the future growth rate of China's population. Most young people still have a strong desire to have children, but are reluctant to do so becausetheyareunabletomeettheirsubjectiveneeds duetoobjectiveconstraintssuchastime,energyand money. Therefore, it is more important to pay
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attention to the subjective and objective needs of young people in order to avoid a decrease in their willingness to have children.
2. Recommendations
2.1. Respondents have a clear sense of the meaning oflife.Contemporaryyoungpeoplehavedeeper feelings in the cognitive and affective dimensions, while the motivational dimensions ofmeaningaresomewhatlackingintheareasof achievement and self-transcendence.
2.2. The State should continue to strengthen family building and promote a "family" culture. At present, many young people place too much emphasis on individualism due to a variety of factors, and more emphasis shouldbe placed on family values and encouraging family responsibilities in order to gradually change attitudes.
2.3. Launching the construction of a new culture of marriageandchildbirth.Intherecentlypublished "Highlights of the Work of the China Family PlanningAssociationin2022",itisproposedthat the focus should be on "respecting the social value of childbirth, advocating marriage and childbirthattherightage,givingbirthtochildren in a good way, encouraging couples to share responsibility for childcare, and breaking stereotypicalpracticessuchashighbrideprice", strengthening the guidance of young people's views on marriage and family, reshaping the cultureofraisingafamilywithmanychildrenIn addition.
2.4. Gradually change young people's attitudes towards marriage and childbirth and strengthen familyresponsibilitiesandconcepts. Inaddition to the "symptomatic" methods of fertility subsidiesandjobsecurity,itisalsonecessaryto "address the root causes" - gradually changing theviewsofmarriage,fertilityandfamilyamong thosewhoarefittohavechildren,andcreatinga favourable cultural environment for fertility.
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