Lin Li, Li Xinze, Cong Cen
School of Physical Education, Jimei University, Xiamen, China.
School of Humanities, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China.
Front Public Health. 2025 Jul 18;13:1573613. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1573613. eCollection 2025.
This study investigates the impact of sports participation on the fertility intentions of married young adults in China, utilizing data from the 2022 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). By integrating Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Family Systems Theory (FST), the study hypothesizes that sports participation enhances fertility intentions through mediation by marital and family functioning.
A sample of 1,087 valid cases was analyzed using probit regression and structural equation modeling.
The results indicate that each one-unit increase in sports participation is associated with a 0.048 higher probability of intending to have a child. Specifically, Structural equation modeling with 1,000 bootstrapped samples confirms that marital functioning mediates this relationship (indirect effect = 0.023, 13.7% of the total effect; < 0.10), family functioning mediates more strongly (indirect effect = 0.082, 48.8%; < 0.01), and the chain mediation through both subsystems accounts for 0.063 (37.5%; < 0.01).
This study underscores the importance of both marital and family subsystems in shaping fertility decisions, suggesting that policies promoting sports participation and family-centered support may effectively enhance fertility intentions among young married individuals.
本研究利用2022年中国家庭追踪调查(CFPS)的数据,调查了体育参与对中国已婚青年生育意愿的影响。通过整合自我决定理论(SDT)和家庭系统理论(FST),该研究假设体育参与通过婚姻和家庭功能的中介作用来提高生育意愿。
对1087个有效案例的样本进行了概率回归和结构方程模型分析。
结果表明,体育参与每增加一个单位,打算生育孩子的概率就会提高0.048。具体而言,对1000个自抽样样本进行的结构方程模型分析证实,婚姻功能介导了这种关系(间接效应=0.023,占总效应的13.7%;<0.10),家庭功能的介导作用更强(间接效应=0.082,占48.8%;<0.01),通过这两个子系统的链式中介作用占0.063(37.5%;<0.01)。
本研究强调了婚姻和家庭子系统在生育决策形成中的重要性,表明促进体育参与和以家庭为中心的支持政策可能有效地提高年轻已婚个体的生育意愿。