Work–family and family–work conflict and negative attitudes toward having children: A multilevel cross-national analysis

Abstract

The relationship between work–family and family–work conflict and attitudes toward having children has been established; however, how it varies by different national cultural dimensions remains unclear. This study seeks to address this gap by examining the moderating effects of two cultural dimensions, individualism–collectivism and indulgence-restraint, across a sample of 40 countries and regions. Data from the 2012 round of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) are utilized, encompassing 30,613 participants (M = 43.33 years old; SD = 13.22). Multilevel modeling is employed to integrate individual-level and country-level factors and examine the cross-level moderating effects. The findings demonstrate that both work–family conflict and family–work conflict are positively associated with negative attitudes toward having children. Moreover, these relationships between work–family and family–work conflicts and negative attitudes toward having children are more pronounced in individualistic societies compared with collectivist societies. Furthermore, these relationships are stronger in restrained societies as opposed to indulgent societies. These results underscore the significance of addressing work–family and family–work conflict both at the policy and practice levels and emphasize the need for considering cultural dimensions.