Religious support has been identified as an important psychological resource that may enhance well-being and influence life decisions. Previous research suggests that positive psychological factors, such as gratitude and self-efficacy, may play a key role in this process by promoting adaptive coping and a sense of personal agency. However, the mechanisms underlying the relationship between religious support and tendencies to postpone parenthood remain insufficiently understood. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine whether gratitude and self-efficacy mediate this relationship using a serial multiple mediation model. The sample consisted of 216 adults aged 18–35 years (M = 25.05, SD = 3.76), predominantly women. Participants completed measures of religious support, gratitude, self-efficacy, and motives for postponing parenthood. Indirect effects were tested using a serial multiple mediation model (Model 6; Hayes) with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Correlation analyses indicated that religious support was positively associated with gratitude and negatively associated with postponed parenthood, but was not significantly related to self-efficacy. Gratitude was positively correlated with self-efficacy, whereas self-efficacy was negatively related to postponed parenthood. No significant association was found between gratitude and postponed parenthood. Mediation analysis showed that religious support was positively related to gratitude, which in turn predicted higher self-efficacy. In the final model, both religious support and self-efficacy were significant negative predictors of postponed parenthood. A small but significant serial indirect effect was observed. Overall, the findings suggest that religious support may reduce tendencies to postpone parenthood partly through increased gratitude and self-efficacy, although this indirect effect appears relatively modest.
Religious support and postponement of parenthood: The mediating role of gratitude and self-efficacy