Gender disappointment in India: SEM modeling approach

Despite people emphasizing their luck of having healthy baby, many secretly mourn for not having a baby which they preferred leading to gender disappointment. Hence, it is critical to explore factors contributing to gender disappointment particularly girl child which is pervasive in Asian countries. The study analyzes the variation in gender disappointment among different genders and age groups using percentage analysis and also employs structural equation modeling (SEM) to determine the direct factors and moderators contributing to gender disappointment. The findings reveal that societal pressure, cultural factors, economic expectancy, and safety expectancy significantly explain the gender disappointment with girl child. Neuroticism, conscientiousness, extraversion, and intellect were found to be the most significant personality bias moderators. The findings of the study give an insight for the government in designing awareness programs and free counseling programs to persuade people with different personalities to suppress gender disappointment, thereby enhancing women’s mental health. Focusing on exploring the factors causing gender disappointment with girl babies, the role of personality in explaining gender disappointment and variation in gender disappointment between different genders and age groups makes the study unique from other research contributions. It also gives an insight for the government to create awareness programs and free counseling programs among people to eradicate these issues for the well-being of the society.