I Do Not Need a Second Child,But My Child Needs a Sibling: A Grounded Theory Study on the Fertility Desire for the Second Child in Chinese Post One-Child Policy Era

The desire for a second child is crucial to the effectiveness of China’s birth policies. However, it is unclear about the content or determinants of it among adults of childbearing age who were raised under the One-Child Policy period and have experienced profound birth policy and socio-cultural transformations since 1980s. Accordingly, this study employed a constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach and conducted in-depth interviews with 46 participants (15 post-80s, 15 post-90s, and 16 post-00s). The findings revealed a three-dimensional structure of multiple fertility desires, encompassing motivations to have a second child for oneself, for one’s children, and as a symbolic expression of family cohesion. Among these, child-related considerations emerged as most central. Furthermore, the study categorized self-, family-, and socio-cultural factors shaping fertility desires, with “educational involution” highlighted as particularly distinctive within Chinese families. Cohort-based similarities and differences in both the content and factors of fertility desires were also delineated.