Factors influencing childbearing intention among married childless female nurses in Korea: a cross-sectional study...

South Korea's rapid fertility decline, shaped by intertwined psychosocial and structural factors, is more severe than that observed in other Asia-Pacific and European countries. This study aimed to identify how determinants of childbearing intention vary among married, childless female Korean nurses using quantile regression.

Married, childless female nurses younger than 45 years were recruited from seven cities in Korea. Participants (n=141) completed a self-administered survey between August and September 2024 on childbearing intention, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), self-actualization, social support, economic stability, and self-esteem. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, multiple linear regression, and quantile regression.

Participants reported moderate levels of childbearing intention and self-actualization, higher levels of HRQoL and social support, and moderate or higher levels of economic stability and self-esteem. In the multiple regression analysis, only age (B=1.67, p<.001) was a significant predictor of childbearing intention. Quantile regression revealed additional patterns: at the 60th percentile, age (B=1.89, p=.011), higher educational level (B=2.25, p=.040), and social support (B=1.06, p=.015) were significant, whereas at the 80th percentile, age (B=2.34, p=.001) and social support (B=1.41, p=.016) remained significant. These findings indicate that social support was strongly associated with childbearing intention among nurses with higher intention levels.

Determinants of childbearing intention differed according to intention level, underscoring the value of moving beyond mean-based analyses. For married, childless female nurses, individualized interventions that enhance social support and account for age, educational level, and work-family context may be more effective than uniform, population-wide approaches in supporting childbearing intention.