The attitude towards having children in the next time of young couples in Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

To adapt the fertility decline during the over past two decades, Ho Chi Minh City has implemented a population policy to encourage couples to have two children. This article analyzes the attitudes of young couples in HCMC towards having children in the next three years and related factors. The data were collected from a structured questionnaire with a sample size of the 120 young couples without children and the ones with a child in Thu Duc district (in Thu Duc City under Ho Chi Minh City) and Binh Chanh district. The data processing methods include the descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and exploratory factor analysis. The research results show that the attitude of young couples towards having children are formed from the four factors: (1) the status of the familial finances, (2) the health and investment for the personal and family development, (3) the familial relationships and individual emotional happiness, and (4) other factors. As having children, the familial relationships and individual emotional happiness are assessed to be changed better, and vice versa, the status of familial finances is worse. The majority of young couples in Ho Chi Minh City have a positive attitude towards having children. However, this positive attitude is not of a high level and controlled by demographic factors. The findings of the study are the suggestions for the policy interventions to create a supportive environment for young couples to have children.