Geographic Variation in Personality is Associated With Fertility Across the United States

Geographic Variation in Personality is Associated With Fertility Across the United States. Eleanor J. Junkins et al. Personality Science, 2021, Vol. 2, Article e7275, Dec 16 2021. https://doi.org/10.5964/ps.7275

Abstract: Levels of fertility and the shape of the age-specific fertility schedule vary substantially across U.S. regions with some states having peak fertility relatively early and others relatively late. Structural institutions or economic factors partly explain these heterogeneous patterns, but regional differences in personality might also contribute to regional differences in fertility. Here, we evaluated whether variation in extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience measured at the U.S. state-level was associated with the level, timing, and context of fertility across states above and beyond sociodemographics, voting behavior, and religiosity. Generally, states with higher levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness had more traditional fertility patterns, and states with higher levels of neuroticism and openness had more nontraditional fertility patterns, even after controlling for established correlates of fertility (r ~ |.50|). Personality is an overlooked correlate that can be leveraged to understand the existence and persistence of fertility differentials.

Keywords: personality, fertility, demography, geographic variation, Big Five

Non-Technical Summary

What is the study’s background?

People living in different regions of the U.S. make different choices about having children. In some regions, people have babies early and often, whereas in other regions, people have babies late or not at all.

Why was this study done?

This study was done to test whether regional differences in personality were related to regional differences in fertility. Researchers in the field of demography, which studies how populations differ in birth and death rates, have typically not considered that people living in different regions may have different personalities—meaning different patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are stable across time and context.

What did the researchers do and find?

Researchers in this study used data on how each U.S. state differs in its average level of five basic personality traits, known as the “Big Five”. Residents of states like Wisconsin are higher on agreeableness (warmth and consideration of other people) and conscientiousness (dutifulness and planning ahead), and they show more traditional patterns of fertility. The regional differences in personality were predictive of fertility patterns even after considering differences in religiousness and politics.

What do these findings mean?

People’s fertility behaviors are related to where they live. Part of what makes areas of the U.S. different from one another is the personality traits of the people who live there. These results have the potential to expand theoretical models of population growth and change by linking demography with personality science.