Table 1_Psychological fertility motivations and short-term fertility plans among partnered Chinese adults: differences across parity groups.docx

In the overall sample, only Traditional Utility Motivation was significantly and positively associated with short-term fertility plans, whereas the overall associations of Emotional Fulfillment Motivation and Family Responsibility Motivation were not statistically significant. Further analyses showed significant parity differences in the associations of both Emotional Fulfillment Motivation and Traditional Utility Motivation with short-term fertility plans, while no significant parity differences were found for Family Responsibility Motivation.

Specifically, Emotional Fulfillment Motivation was positively associated with short-term fertility plans only among childless adults. Traditional Utility Motivation was negatively associated with short-term fertility plans among childless adults but positively associated among those with one child and those with two or more children, with the differences primarily occurring between childless adults and parents. Robustness analyses further showed that the parity differences in Traditional Utility Motivation were stable across survey weighting, household-level clustering, and the treatment of multiple respondents within the same household, whereas the parity differences in Emotional Fulfillment Motivation did not reach statistical significance in the sample with valid survey weights.</p>Discussion<p>Overall, the associations between fertility motivations and short-term fertility plans vary meaningfully by parity, highlighting the importance of understanding fertility psychology across different stages of family formation.</p>