The Influence of Birth Years on Tendency to Marry: The Moderating Role of Negative Media Information Exposure

Abstract

Previous research has primarily focused on the structure of marriage value and special groups' marriage value and its changing trends, but few have examined public intergenerational tendency to marry. This study constructs a model of moderated chain mediating effects based on social role theory and media communication theory. It explores the chain mediating role of gender roles and gender stereotypes in intimate relationships and the moderating role of negative media information exposure in the effect of birth year on tendency to marry. The results of the study show that:(a) the tendency to marry varies significantly between generations and shows a downward trend; (b)gender roles and gender stereotypes in intimate relationships play a chain mediating role between birth year and tendency to marry;(c) Negative media information exposure positively moderates the relationship between birth year and tendency to marry. Specifically, the greater the exposure to negative media messages, the stronger the negative relationship between birth year and tendency to marry; (d) Negative media information exposure does not moderate the relationship between birth year and gender roles in intimate relationships, nor does it moderate the chain mediating effect between birth years and the tendency to marry through gender roles and gender stereotypes in intimate relationships.