The influence of excessive consumption on residents’ family thriving: the roles of intergenerational poverty transmission and educational cognition

Whether excessive consumption triggers the intergenerational transmission of poverty, as well as the role of residents’ cognition in family thriving, is still unclear in the literature. By adopting the structural equation model and the hierarchical regression method, we empirically tested the impact of excessive consumption and intergenerational transmission of poverty on the family thriving. We found that: first, the stronger the excessive consumption of Chinese residents are, the less helpful for them to achieve family thriving; the stronger the intra- and inter-generational transmission of poverty of Chinese residents are, the less likely for them to achieve family thriving. Second, excessive consumption reduces residents’ demands on family thriving by promoting the degree of intra-generational or inter-generational transmission of poverty. Third, the effect of achieving family thriving by reducing the intra- or inter-intergenerational transmission of poverty is evident in highly education-cognitive people. Our research provides insight into how excessive consumption affects the intergenerational transmission of poverty and the family thriving. It also provides valuable decision support for poverty reduction in public sector.