Influence of climate change concern on reproductive decision-making in Australia

Australia, like many high-income countries, has experienced a decline in fertility rates, raising concerns around the long-term implications for population stability. While economic factors influence reproductive decision-making, emerging evidence suggests that broader global issues, such as climate change, are shaping people's intentions towards having children. The aim of this study was to apply a modified theory of planned behaviour by incorporating climate change concern and socioeconomic status (SES), to investigate their additive influence on intentions to have children in Australia.

A total of 265 Australian residents aged 18-45 years (M = 27.24, SD = 7.40), either childless, or having had a child within the past 10 years, were included in the analysis. Data were analysed using a general linear model.

Control variables (age, number of children, and desired number of children) significantly predicted intentions to have children, accounting for 60.8% of the variance. After incorporating the theory of planned behaviour variables (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control), variance explained increased to 73.6%, with attitudes and subjective norms emerging as significant predictors. Climate change concern and SES did not significantly predict intention. SES did not moderate the relationship between climate change concern and intention. However, higher climate change concern was associated with a lower desired number of children (r = -.18).

Future government initiatives should prioritise improving attitudes and subjective norms regarding parenthood. Future research should investigate climate change concern in more diverse populations and consider alternative measures to more accurately capture its influence on reproductive decision-making.