Objective : The objective of this research was to identify the factors behind the tendency of youth not to get married and to delay marriage by quantitatively measuring attitudes towards marriage among youth and investigating and examining the impact that information on and experience with marriage and childbirth have on attitudes towards marriage.
Methods : A unanimous questionnaire was used to perform cross-sectional research on a population of 362 male and female students at two universities in Okinawa Prefecture aged 18 to 24 years and who were never married. The Attitude Toward Marriage Scale (ATM scale) was used to assess attitudes towards marriage. Twenty four items relating to information and experience that were thought to have an impact on attitudes towards marriage based on the results of prior research were prepared and multiple regression analysis was performed regarding the relationship with those items using four models.
Results : It was determined that the percentages of youth who had information or experiences concerning marriage, childbirth, and childrearing are high regardless of whether the subjects had positive or negative attitudes. Scores on the ATM scale showed a positive relationship with items regarding information and experience such as attendance at a wedding ceremony, while there was a negative relationship with items relating to negative information and experiences such as a lack of affection from parents and advice that work should be prioritized over marriage.
Conclusion : The results suggest that when youth obtain information or have experiences relating to marriage, childbirth, or childcare that are positive, attitudes towards marriage become positive, while negative information and experiences have a negative impact on attitudes towards marriage. These results indicate the importance of establishing conditions in which youth can develop positive attitudes towards marriage and children when formulating countermeasures to the low birthrate.
