In August 2023, Frederic Traylor, a graduate student in the Department of Sociology at Rutgers University – New Brunswick, attended the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association. While there, he presented his paper, “An Analysis of Environmental Attitudes and Fertility Intention” at a regular paper session entitled “Determinants of Fertility Preference and Behaviors.” This work examines the relationship between environmental and climate change concern and the number of children American adults both have had and the number they think other people should have. Climate change is changing how many children young adults are having if they have children at all. The threats of an increasingly-dangerous world, paired with the impacts of children on the planet, are potentially leading to declining fertility within developed countries. Using panel data from the General Social Survey, it finds a slight but noticeable decrease in fertility among respondents with higher levels of environmental attitudes. Members of the audience and the panel discussant all gave helpful comments on the paper, which will soon be revised for publication in an academic journal. Traylor noted, “Attending the ASA Meeting has been incredibly helpful, both for developing my research and for developing me as a researcher. The connections I’ve made with other scholars in the field have already proven invaluable. I thank the Rutgers Climate Institute for its generous support.”
Graduate student Frederic Traylor presenting his paper, “An Analysis of Environmental Attitudes and Fertility Intention,” at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.
Frederic Traylor responds to comments on his paper, alongside coauthor Youngjin Chae.
Frederic Traylor presenting his paper.
