Marital Beliefs and Decisions Among Young Chinese Medical Workers

Abstract

The marital status of young medical workers deserves attention due to their working situation, occupational, and personal characteristics. This study investigated the marital decisions and the influencing factors of marital decisions (i.e., marital beliefs, marital policy, work stress, social support, and demographic variables) among 500 young medical workers in China. The results found that the majority of young medical workers decide to marry and have children, and most of them choose to marry or have children before the age of 30, have only one child, and have no preference for the sex of their child. Young medical workers placed the highest importance on marital relationships among the four dimensions of marital beliefs (i.e., marital salience, marital context, traditional norms, and marital relationships). The results further showed that marital salience, marital context, gender, age, educational level, job type, census register, and satisfaction with marital policy had influences on marital decisions. In the future, attention should be paid to different groups' marital beliefs and decisions, help young medical workers improve intimate relationships, enhance awareness of the importance of marriage and childbearing, and strengthen marital welfare policies and services.