Examining Fertility Intentions in China and Spain: An Application of the Communication Theory of Planned Behavior

Research Article
Open access

Examining Fertility Intentions in China and Spain: An Application of the Communication Theory of Planned Behavior

Bingjie Cao 1 , Nan Wei 2* , Xinfang Zhang 3
  • 1 The University of Edinburgh    
  • 2 Beijing Foreign Studies University    
  • 3 Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao    
  • *corresponding author 202120108064@bfsu.edu.cn
Published on 28 November 2023 | https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/25/20230724
LNEP Vol.25
ISSN (Print): 2753-7056
ISSN (Online): 2753-7048
ISBN (Print): 978-1-83558-161-2
ISBN (Online): 978-1-83558-162-9

Abstract

In the current context of worldwide low fertility rate, the issue of female fertility received great attention. Since the attitudes towards giving the birth could have a heavy influence on the fertility behavior or behavioral intention, meanwhile, the attitudes are often affected by women’s self- cognition and social norms, so it is important to search for the crucial factors of female fertility issues. Consistent with above conditions and research goal, this study applies the Theory of Planned Behavior and also chooses some parts of the Cognitive Mediation Model as the academic resource of potential factors which originated from the widespread use of social media. By the means of proposal sampling, the current research have conducted an online survey by spreading the questionnaire to search for the correlations between the attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioral control with fertility intentions respectively. The objectives are the females (ages from 18-60 years old, who can be independent and has fertility ability or go over people’s identity) in China and Spain. The two countries have different social context and fertility policies, but the results illustrate that women’s fertility intentions are both low. Moreover, females seem the subjective norms like the stress pushed by the intimate person. And they judge social media is more of a media platform for people to learn about fertility information and related policies. They actually think that having children is not beneficial but unpleasant. Overall, the impact of social media on fertility intention less powerful than polices (included in social norms) and more less powerful than women’s feeling towards the life if having children (included in attitudes). Through the research process and by comparing the situation of China and Spain, this study can tell the importance of reforming birth and family policies, and indicate the general direction for it.

Keywords:

planned behavior, fertility, social norms, fertility intentions

Cao,B.;Wei,N.;Zhang,X. (2023). Examining Fertility Intentions in China and Spain: An Application of the Communication Theory of Planned Behavior. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,25,193-199.
Export citation

References

[1]. Wang, F. (2022) "Three-child Policy": A Study on the Evolution and Challenges of Fertility Policy, PR Magazine, 20, 98-100.

[2]. Baizan, P. (2016) The policy context of fertility in Spain: toward a gender-egalitarian model? (pp. 195-219). Springer International Publishing.

[3]. Ajzen, I. (1991) The theory of planned behavior, Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211.

[4]. Eveland Jr, W. P. (2001) The cognitive mediation model of learning from the news: Evidence from nonelection, off-year election, and presidential election contexts. Communication research, 28(5), 571-601.

[5]. Gomes, A. I. Cabrsl, D. S., & Nunes, M. C. S. (2014). Predicting Condom Use: A Comparison of the Theory of Reasoned Action, the Theory of Planned Behavior and an Extended Model of TPB. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa 33, 1–8.

[6]. Shelly Makleff, Rebecca Wilkins, Hadassah Wachsmann, Deepesh Gupta, Muthoni Wachira, Wilson Bunde, Usha Radhakrishnan, Beniamino Cislaghi & Sarah E Baum (2019) Exploring stigma and social norms in women’s abortion experiences and their expectations of care, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 27:3, 50-64.

[7]. Rossier, C., Brachet, S., & Salles, A. (2011). Family Policies, Norms about Gender Roles and Fertility Decisions in France and Germany. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, 9, 259–258. https://doi.org/10.1553/populationyearbook2011s259

[8]. Lappegard, T., & Kornstad, T. (2020). Social Norms about Father Involvement and Women’s Fertility. Social Forces, 99(1), 398–423.

[9]. Kim, Jeong, S.-H., & Hwang, Y. (2013). Predictors of Pro-Environmental Behaviors of American and Korean Students: The Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action and Protection Motivation Theory. Science Communication, 35(2), 168–188.

[10]. Wang, T., Wang, C., Zhou, W., & Luo, Y. (2014). Fertility Intentions for a Second Child among Urban Working Women with One Child in Hunan Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study. Public Health, 173, 21–28.

[11]. Marshall, R. S., Akoorie, M. E. m, & Sinha, P. (2010). Environmental Practices in the Wine Industry: An Empirical Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action and Stakeholder Theory in the United States and New Zealand. Journal of World Business, 45, 405–414.

[12]. Larranaga, I., Marina, L. S., Begiristain, H., Machon, M., Vrijheid, M., Casas, M., & Tardon, A. (2013). Socio-Economic Inequalities in Health, Habits and Self-Care During Pregnancy in Spain. Matern Child Health, 17, 1315–1324.

[13]. Yzer. (2013). Reasoned Action Theory: Persuasion as Belief-Based Behavior Change. In The SAGE Handbook of Persuasion: Developments in Theory and Practice (pp. 120–136).

Cite this article

Cao,B.;Wei,N.;Zhang,X. (2023). Examining Fertility Intentions in China and Spain: An Application of the Communication Theory of Planned Behavior. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,25,193-199.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Disclaimer/Publisher's Note

The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the International Conference on Global Politics and Socio-Humanities

ISBN：978-1-83558-161-2(Print) / 978-1-83558-162-9(Online)
Editor：Enrique Mallen, Javier Cifuentes-Faura
Conference website: https://www.icgpsh.org/
Conference date: 13 October 2023
Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Volume number: Vol.25
ISSN：2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open access policy for details).

References

[1]. Wang, F. (2022) "Three-child Policy": A Study on the Evolution and Challenges of Fertility Policy, PR Magazine, 20, 98-100.

[2]. Baizan, P. (2016) The policy context of fertility in Spain: toward a gender-egalitarian model? (pp. 195-219). Springer International Publishing.

[3]. Ajzen, I. (1991) The theory of planned behavior, Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211.

[4]. Eveland Jr, W. P. (2001) The cognitive mediation model of learning from the news: Evidence from nonelection, off-year election, and presidential election contexts. Communication research, 28(5), 571-601.

[5]. Gomes, A. I. Cabrsl, D. S., & Nunes, M. C. S. (2014). Predicting Condom Use: A Comparison of the Theory of Reasoned Action, the Theory of Planned Behavior and an Extended Model of TPB. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa 33, 1–8.

[6]. Shelly Makleff, Rebecca Wilkins, Hadassah Wachsmann, Deepesh Gupta, Muthoni Wachira, Wilson Bunde, Usha Radhakrishnan, Beniamino Cislaghi & Sarah E Baum (2019) Exploring stigma and social norms in women’s abortion experiences and their expectations of care, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 27:3, 50-64.

[7]. Rossier, C., Brachet, S., & Salles, A. (2011). Family Policies, Norms about Gender Roles and Fertility Decisions in France and Germany. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, 9, 259–258. https://doi.org/10.1553/populationyearbook2011s259

[8]. Lappegard, T., & Kornstad, T. (2020). Social Norms about Father Involvement and Women’s Fertility. Social Forces, 99(1), 398–423.

[9]. Kim, Jeong, S.-H., & Hwang, Y. (2013). Predictors of Pro-Environmental Behaviors of American and Korean Students: The Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action and Protection Motivation Theory. Science Communication, 35(2), 168–188.

[10]. Wang, T., Wang, C., Zhou, W., & Luo, Y. (2014). Fertility Intentions for a Second Child among Urban Working Women with One Child in Hunan Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study. Public Health, 173, 21–28.

[11]. Marshall, R. S., Akoorie, M. E. m, & Sinha, P. (2010). Environmental Practices in the Wine Industry: An Empirical Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action and Stakeholder Theory in the United States and New Zealand. Journal of World Business, 45, 405–414.

[12]. Larranaga, I., Marina, L. S., Begiristain, H., Machon, M., Vrijheid, M., Casas, M., & Tardon, A. (2013). Socio-Economic Inequalities in Health, Habits and Self-Care During Pregnancy in Spain. Matern Child Health, 17, 1315–1324.

[13]. Yzer. (2013). Reasoned Action Theory: Persuasion as Belief-Based Behavior Change. In The SAGE Handbook of Persuasion: Developments in Theory and Practice (pp. 120–136).

For authors
Guide for authors Policies for authors Aims and scope Subscription Open access policy
For editors
Policies for editors Editorial board
For reviewers
Policies for reviewers Privacy policy

Cookies are used by this site.
Copyright © 2024 EWA Publishing, its licensors, and contributors. All rights reserved, including text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.