Ideal Number of Children in Marriage in Belgium and the U. S. A.

1967 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 360
Author(s):  
Karel Dobbelaere
2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2110160
Author(s):  
Amir Erfani ◽  
Roya Jahanbakhsh

The fertility influence of spousal intimate relationships is unknown. Drawing on the Giddens’s theory of transformation of intimacy, this study proposed a hypothesis that couples supporting egalitarian intimate relationships, with a greater risk profile attached to the relationship, and having less attachments to the external normative pressures shaping marital relations, are more likely to have low-fertility intentions and preferences. Using data from a self-administered pilot survey ( n = 375 prospective grooms and brides) designed by the authors, and employing multivariate regression models, we found that the lower attachment to external social forces in mate selection was associated with the lower ideal number of children, and those with a greater spousal relational egalitarianism and a higher risk profile attached to their relationships preferred lower number of children and were less likely to intend to have children after marriage. The study sheds new light on the determinants of low fertility.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Hongyan Qiu ◽  
Qun Zhang ◽  
Jin Zhang ◽  
Qingshan Wang ◽  
Lihong Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract In October 2015, the Chinese Government announced that the one-child policy had finally been replaced by a universal two-child policy. China’s universal two-child policy is highly significant because, for the first time in 36 years, no one in an urban city is restricted to having just one child. This cross-sectional study was conducted to explore future fertility intentions and factors influencing individual reproductive behaviour (whether to have two children) in Dalian City. A total of 1370 respondents were interviewed. The respondents’ mean ideal number of children was only 1.73, and urban respondents’ sex preference was symmetrical. A total of 19.0% of the respondents were unmarried, 64.5% were married and had childbearing experience and only 6.3% of married respondents had two children. Among the 1370 participants, 30.4% stated that they would have a second child, while 69.6% refused to have a second child in the future. Binary logistic regression analysis (Model 1) showed that the following characteristics were associated with having only one child in the future: being female, being older, having a lower education level, being born in Dalian, having a lower family income and reporting one child as the ideal number of children. Model 2 (comprising only respondents with childbearing experience) showed that respondents who were female, had a lower family income and were unable to obtain additional financial support from parents were more likely to intend to stick at one child. In addition, respondents’ ideal number of children and childbearing experiences had a significant influence on future fertility intentions. These results suggest that fertility intentions and reproductive behaviours are still below those needed for replacement level fertility in Dalian City. China’s policymakers should pay more attention to these factors (socioeconomic characteristics, economic factors, desired number of children and childbearing experiences) and try to increase individual reproductive behaviour.


Populasi ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helly Prajitno Soetjipto ◽  
Sukamdi Sukamdi

This study is intended to pursue the previous attempts in examining the relationship between low fertility regime and the case of births which had been delivered unintendedly in Yogyakarta. Using an unweighted sample of 575 married women in the Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey 1991, this study found that 75 cases out of 474 last birth children were bom unintendedly (beyond the range of ideal number of children). Most of the 75 cases were bom by women who have 2 or 3 ideal number of children and by a devoted Family Planning acceptors. Most of the women have limited accesses in education and economic activities. The case of unwantednes were found predominantly among women older than 25 years. Even though only a tentative findings, this study shed some light to the fact that Family Planning program to some extent may contribute to the rate of unwantedness. Apolicy is needed especially in reducing the risk of unwantedness among the low-income women.


1996 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Makhlouf Obermeyer

SummaryThis paper investigates the normative and behavioural dimensions of son preference in Morocco and Tunisia, using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys of the two countries. It considers three measures of son preference: (1) mothers' ideal number of children, and any preference for having more sons than daughters; (2) the desire for additional children, given their existing family; (3) reported use of contraception in relation to the existing number of children of each sex. The analyses indicate a moderate preference for sons in both countries, and suggest that this preference is somewhat stronger in Tunisia. These findings are interpreted within the cultural context of the two countries, and in particular societal notions of women's status.


2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 299-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taqhi Azadarmaki ◽  
Mansoor Moaddel

AbstractThis paper analyzes the religious beliefs, religiosity, national identity, and attitudes toward Western culture, family, and gender relations of the publics of three Islamic countries. It is based on national representative surveys of 3000 Egyptians, 2532 Iranians, and 1222 Jordanians that were carried out in 2000-2001, as part of the World Values Surveys. We first discuss the views of the respondents concerning key indicators of religious beliefs, religiosity, identity, and attitudes toward Western culture. Then, we describe variations in such values as the ideal number of children, attitudes toward marriage and women, family ties, and trusts in major social institutions in these three countries. Next, we present age and educational differences in religious beliefs, trust in mosque, identity, trust in government, attitude toward women and gender relations. We conclude by pointing to the variation in the nature of the regime as an important determinant of the variations in the worldviews among the public in these three Islamic countries.


1999 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
SARA ANN PETERSON

Analysis of the 1992 Niger Demographic and Health Survey showed that although roughly two-thirds of both polygamous and monogamous women approve of birth control, polygamous wives are less likely than monogamous wives to discuss family size or birth control with their husband or to plan on using birth control. The study suggests that characteristics of polygamous couples have caused polygamous women to be more resistant to birth control use than monogamous women. The polygamous women tended to be married to older men who had not gone to primary school and who desired more children than monogamous husbands. The influence of marital structure is not significantly associated with intention to use birth control when the husband's age and the wife's ideal number of children were controlled for in the multivariate logistic regression model suggesting that background social factors may be more influential. In fact, educational level and age at first marriage were significantly associated with attitudes towards birth control and also with marital structure.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Zhu

Why does the birthrate in China continuously decline? Why are Chinese people unwilling to have children now even after the One-Child Policy has been abandoned? I propose that the government policy was not the single crucial factor affecting the reduction of births in China. Household income, education, and gender also may have played a role. I use the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey to analyze the relationships between these three factors and the ideal number of children. The sample size of this subset is 2,373. Ordinary least square regression reveals that the ideal number of children increases as household income increases, while increasing education reduces the ideal number of children. Gender of potential parents does not have an effect on predicting the ideal number of children. The findings support the effects of household income and education on fertility willingness but reject that of gender. This study contributes to a sociological perspective on the demography of China. It suggests from an institutional perspective which factors would need to be changed to increase individuals’ fertility willingness.


Author(s):  
Anneli Miettinen

Lifetime childlessness is expected to increase in the future. Recent research suggests that also voluntary childlessness in increasing among young adults. As childbearing decisions are increasingly based on individual preferences and choices it is believed that also those who do not favor family life with children can now more freely express their preferences. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of voluntary childlessness among Finnish young adults and factors associated with it. Data come from Finnish Social Relationships and Well-being Survey, conducted in 2008 among 25-44-year-old childless or one-child men and women. This study focuses on childless respondents (N=1244). Two types of intentional childlessness are distinguished. Persons are classified as voluntarily childless if they do not intend to have children and prefer life without children. Those, who also have no intentions to have children, but whose personal ideal number of children is above zero are defined as persons who have relinquished parenthood intentions. Childhood characteristics are found to predict voluntary childlessness more, while socioeconomic circumstances and lack of a suitable partner explain relinquished parenthood intentions. Respondents personal accounts on the reasons behind their childbearing choices support the findings from multivariate analyses.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (101) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Zanatta Coutinho

Society ascribes roles and expectations for people based on their sex. When the costs and benefits of each sex are different, people may have different motivations for having sons or daughters because children of different sexes are not substitutable. Sex preferences may then increase fertility, as women and couples who pursue a certain sex composition may progress to additional births. To understand how the social structure has been shaping sex preferences and fertility ideals, it is important to identify the characteristics of women with different preferences. Using responses to questions about an ideal number of children and their sex composition available in the Brazilian Demographic Health Survey of 1996 and 2006, this paper provides evidence that a balanced sex preference exists among most Brazilians; some evidence of a secondary daughter preference is also found. Evidence also shows that “gender indifference” has become more pronounced as fertility declines.


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