The Influence of Marriage Ideology and Economic Status: A Quantitative Study Exploring Chinese Single Mothers Remarriage Behaviors

The Influence of Marriage Ideology and Status: A Quantitative Study Exploring Chinese Single

Mothers Remarriage Behaviors

ABSTRACT

Demographic change in China is characterized by a declining population growth rate. What's

accompanied is a declining marriage rate, resulting in a fast-growing single household population,

mostly constituted by single-mother households. In this research, I collected 60 online survey

responses from Chinese single mothers. I used ordinary least squares, logistic regression models,

and multinomial logistic regression models to explore the social reasons that prompt single

mothers to remarry, an important decision these Chinese single mothers are facing. I hypothesize

that marriage culture ideology, gender labor of division ideology, and economic status play big roles

in their decision-making. The results show that the intention of remarriage is positively related to

economic status, but it is not significantly related to the extent of their desire to get remarried. The

remarriage intention is negatively related to single mothers' marriage culture ideology, and the

relationship is marginally significant. On average, the more open the marriage attitude the

respondent held, the lower the extent of intention revealed. However, the relationship between

remarriage intention and gendered division of labor is not significant. In sum, this study provides

evidence that for Chinese single mothers, their economic status and attitude towards marriage are

important for their remarriage decision. This study also provides indications for the difference in

the gendered division of labor between first marriages and remarriages, thus should be included

in the current China marriage discussion.