• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.329-337
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• 2020

Purpose: This study investigated intentions and attitudes towards future parenthood and awareness of fertility among university students in South Korea. Methods: The participants comprised 166 female and male undergraduate students enrolled at five universities. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from May to July 2019 using the Korean version of the Fertility Awareness Questionnaire and Attitudes of Parenthood. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics based on participants' general characteristics, the χ² test to identify differences in intentions, and the t-test to evaluate attitudes towards parenthood and awareness of fertility in female and male students. Results: Both female and male students desired to have two children, but they lacked awareness about fertility. The possibility of combining work and having children, along with the availability of childcare resources, impacted the desire for parenthood. Male students tended to consider parenthood as less impactful on their lives and careers than female students. Social structures might also impact the decision to have children. Conclusion: It is important to provide health education emphasizing fertility awareness and parenthood in young adulthood so participants can consider these facts in advance. In addition, the government should provide resources for couples making parenthood decisions.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.147-162
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• 2022

Although the globally known one-child policy in China was abolished in 2016, the overall fertility rate in the country declined to 1.3 in 2020. In this study, we examined whether the achievement of major developmental tasks during the childrearing stage was associated with intentions to have a second child among Chinese married women. Based on family development theory, we included parenting adaptation, division of childcare responsibilities with the partner, and marital adjustment as key developmental tasks during the childrearing stage. The participants of this study were 315 married Chinese women who lived with a spouse and a child who had not yet entered elementary school. Data were collected through an online survey in February and March 2021. A multiple regression analysis of the data revealed that a lower level of economic parenting stress, a higher level of fairness in dividing childcare responsibilities with the partner, and a more positive change in their marital relationship after having the first child were associated with greater intentions to have a second child.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.151-171
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between family-friendly policies in working places and the childbearing intentions of married-employed women. The analysis included 415 married working women from the 2012 wave of the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Family. The factors influencing the childbearing intentions of the women were age, education, number of children under age 18, childbirth leave, childcare facilities, and flextime. The women whose work-places provided childbirth leave had stronger childbearing intentions. The women under age 35 had stronger childbearing intentions when their work-places had flextime policies. In conclusion, my recommendation is that the government should pay more attention to the micro-personal factors, such as the Family-friendly Workplace Practices proposed in this study, when executing policies to reverse the current trend of low fertility.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.200-229
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of youth job policy measures, set forth in Korea's 2016-2020 Third Basic Plan for Low Fertility and Aging Society (December 2015), on marriage and fertility among young people. Based on the results, we provide theoretical explanations for the findings and suggest policy alternatives to overcome the low fertility phenomenon in Korea. Previous studies have shown that employment is an important factor for marriage among youth, and a job policy could increase marriage and fertility rates. To test this assumption, we performed an exact matching between Statistics Korea's Employee-Enterprise Linkage DB and the Newlyweds DB from 2011 to 2019, in order to identify all young people aged 15-34. Then, linear spline regression analysis was used to examine the impact of the youth job policy on marriage and fertility. Comparing the period before the implementation of the employment policy (2011-2015) and after (2016-2019), the fertility rate increased as the number of young people looking for work increased. In addition, it was found that these impacts were greater after the implementation of the measures (2016-2019) than before (2011-2015). It is interesting to note that job growth among young people did not lead to an increase in marriage. However, the number of births significantly increased when young people who occupy jobs got married, which seems to be related to the delay in marriage among young people who are employed. Survey results about the intentions to marry and views on fertility are utilized for the explanation of the study results.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.93-100
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• 2022

This study is a descriptive survey study that applies the planned behavior theory to identify the factors influencing the childbirth intention of unmarried men and women. Data were collected from April 05 to April 23, 2021 for 168 unmarried men and women. As a result of the study, in general characteristics, male, old, highly educated, occupational, and non-regular workers had statistically significantly higher childbirth intentions. As a result of examining the correlation between the variables constituting the theory of planned behavior(TPB), it was found that the more positive the attitude toward childbirth, the greater the subjective norm, and the greater the perceived behavior control, the higher the intention to give birth. Multiple regression analyses showed that the factors affecting fertility intention on men and women. The factors affecting fertility intention in men was attitude, with an explanatory power of 62.2% and the factors affecting fertility intention in women were attitudes and perceived behavioral control, and the explanatory power of these variables on fertility intention was 69.0%. In order to increase the intention to give birth, a comprehensive approach is needed, and the research is meaningful in that the results of this study provided basic data in the development of policies and education programs related to low birth rates in the future.

• Journal of Family Relations
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.53-80
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate individual awareness variables influencing emotional, normative, and functional marriage intentions of unmarried men and women. Independent variables were values of offspring, perceptions to unmarried life, attitudes toward multiple role planning, perceptions and availabilities of marriage-related policies, views on the marriageable age, psychological burdens of pressure to marriage by significant people, and views on parents' support for marriage fund. Method: 553 unmarried men and women in Daegu, Korea were surveyed, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, multivariate analysis of variance(MANOVA), multiple regression analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis with SPSS 22.0. Results: First, this study was more exploratory and in-depth approach to marriage intentions than precedent studies. The sub factors of marriage intentions were emotional, normative, and functional marriage ones. Second, emotional marriage intention showed significant differences depending on gender, dating, views on the marriageable age, and degree of acceptance of parents' support for marriage fund. Among the individual awareness variables, values of offspring, perceptions to unmarried life, attitudes toward multiple role planning, and psychological burdens of pressure to marriage personally or by friends influenced emotional marriage intention. Third, normative marriage intention showed significant differences depending on gender, religion, occupational status, employment condition, dating, views on the marriageable age, and degree of acceptance of parents' support for marriage fund. Among the individual awareness variables, values of offspring, perception to unmarried life, attitudes toward multiple role planning, view on the marriageable age, availabilities of marriage-related information offering policies, and psychological burdens of pressure to marriage by mother influenced normative marriage intention. Fourth, functional marriage intention showed significant differences depending on gender, job, parents' support for marriage fund, views on the marriageable age, and degree of acceptance of parents' support for marriage fund. Among the individual awareness variables, functional marriage intention was influenced by values of offspring, perception about unmarried life, attitudes toward multiple role planning, and degree of acceptance of parents' support for marriage fund. Finally, the hierarchical regression analysis showed that individual awareness variables influenced on marriage intentions. Especially, values of offspring, perceptions to unmarried, and attitudes toward multiple role planning influenced on emotional, normative, and functional marriage intentions in common. Conclusions: The findings from these analyses suggest that the selective process based on the individual awareness has become very significant to having marriage intentions. Therefore, this study will contribute as the basic data on national marriage-related policies. Furthermore, this study will be able to use to think about the marriage intention as a task to be preceded by the national policy in order to prepare for Korea 's low fertility and aging phenomenon.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.27-49
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to identify poorly understood factors related to the recent rapid decline in fertility in Korean society. Along with Becker's child demand theory, personal psychological traits, such as independence, nurturance, and affiliation, were given special attention in this study. We examine the processes of resource transfers between married women and their parents on childbearing intention in order to verify the effects of both factors. Five hundred and seventy-six women in their early stage of marriage from the 2009 wave of the National Survey of Marriage and Childbirth were analyzed. Main results of the study are as follows. First, Becker's child demand theory is not supported. Instead, the women who were not given economic support from their parents in getting a residence at the time of their wedding turned out to be more willing to have a child, potentially because they were more independent. Second, the women who provided caretaking and emotional support to their parents had higher childbearing intentions, potentially because they were more nurturing. In conclusion, these personal psychological variables are important in understanding the childbearing behavior of women. We suggest that the government should pay more attention to the micro-personal factors raised in this study when executing policies to reverse the current trend of low fertility.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.65-78
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• 2017

This study aims to analyze whether both childcare subsidy and childcare leave policies have moderating effects on the relationship between Korean women's value of children and their intentions for subsequent childbirth. The data are used from the 2015 National Survey on Fertility and Family Health and Welfare. Both hierarchical multiple regression analysis and moderated regression analysis are used for statistical analysis. The findings from the study are as follow. First, the ideal number of children, instrumental values, and emotional values have positive effects on the intentions for subsequent childbirth after controlling for background variables(level of education, income, age, and number of children). Second, childcare leave policy has no significant effect on the intentions for subsequent childbirth while childcare subsidy policy has the negative effect. Third, only childcare subsidy policy has moderating effects on the relationship between instrumental, emotional values, and the intentions for subsequent childbirth. These results suggest that policies enhancing the value of children should be implemented in addition to traditional birth rate policies. Furthermore, new birth rate polices are needed for those married women who have a high possibility of subsequent childbirth.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.379-389
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• 2022

This study analyzed 10,352 married women to find the correlation between marital equality felt by married women and additional childbirth intentions. Frequency analysis and chi-square test analysis were performed to analyze the general characteristics of the investigator, and studies were conducted through binary logistic regression analysis and interaction analysis to analyze the relevance between each variable and additional childbirth. As a result, the 4-point group based on the 0-point group that lowest marital equality had 2.01 times higher willingness to additional birth. And, the 3-point group and the 2-point group were 1.46 times and 1.41 times higher than 0-point group with marital equality and additional childbirth intentions. In addition, intention of additional childbirth was increased when the higher the number of children, if they own a house, and if wives are non-regular or unemployed. This study analyzed the relationship between married women's intention to give birth additionally, focusing on marital equality. It is suggested that specific and reasonable policies at the macro level are required to improve the fertility rate.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.153-158
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• 2023

The purpose of current study was to identify relations between pregnancy-childbirth infrastructures and intention to childbirth and relocation. We conducted a logistic regression analysis to determine the influence of the pregnancy and childbirth infrastructure level over the people's intentions to have any additional pregnancy and to relocate to other city. The results have showed that the younger the age and the higher the income is, the stronger the intention to have an additional pregnancy becomes, and that of the pregnancy and childbirth infrastructure, only the level of pediatrics service would affect the intention to have another pregnancy. As for the intention to relocate or move to another locations, the results have shown that such intention tends to decline where there are overall sufficient and good pregnancy and childbirth infrastructure in place.