Chapter 8: (De)Coupling of Marriage and Fertility Intentions: Evidence from a Survey of College Students in China

Marriage and fertility intentions are often examined separately. While Chinese society has long observed a close connection between marriage and fertility, reflected in the low prevalence of marital childlessness and nonmarital childbearing, the increasing relevance of marriage and fertility to self-actualization has fostered the rising tolerance of such options. This study aims to understand the (de)coupling of perceptions toward marriage and fertility and the social gradients behind such patterns. Using a sample of university students in China, this study examines how gender, grade, and parental education shape the de(coupling) of marriage and fertility intentions, namely, neither getting married nor having children, marital childlessness, getting married and having children, and nonmarital childbearing. Findings show that relative to getting married and having children, women and students in higher grades are more likely than men and freshmen, respectively, to report the remaining marriage and fertility intentions. Students with better-educated parents are more likely to report the two intentions involving not having children than those with less-educated parents. This study implies that fertility may take on more divergent meanings than marriage. While childbearing still indicates the importance of carrying on family lineage, it increasingly reflects a postmodern mindset that perceives having children, regardless of marital status, as a meaningful individual actualization. Given the moral and legal complexities, nonmarital childbearing is still uncommon and more likely to develop among women and more educated populations.