The More The Worse: Effects of Childcare Burdens on Parents’ Pro‐Environmental Attitudes

Chan‐Song Kim and Gi‐Woo Roh

Social Science Quarterly, 2025, vol. 106, issue 3

Abstract: Objectives We examine how parenthood shapes pro‐environmental attitudes. In particular, we discuss the dual pressure of legacy motivations and childcare burdens, gender disparities in caregiving responsibilities, and financial constraints on parents’ capacity to engage with environmental concerns. Methods We utilize the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) from 2016, 2018, and 2020. The dependent variable is the pro‐environmental attitude score, and the key independent variables include parenthood, the number of children, gender, and income. The ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions are fitted to examine the main effects as well as the interactive effects. Results Our analysis shows that the effect of the number of children on pro‐environmental attitudes is conditional upon gender and income. Fathers and high‐income parents initially show greater support for pro‐environmental policies when they have fewer children as compared to when they have no children. However, as family size grows, their support for pro‐environmental policies declines. On the other hand, mothers and low‐income parents experience monotonically decreasing support for pro‐environmental policies as they have more children. Conclusions Our analysis suggests that legacy motivations prevail at first, helping parents to have higher pro‐environmental support. But, as childcare burdens intensify, they dominate legacy motivations and lower pro‐environmental support.

Date: 2025
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