Sweeney Megan M, Raley R Kelly
Department of Sociology & California Center for Population Research, University of California, Los Angeles.
Department of Sociology & Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin.
Annu Rev Sociol. 2014 Jul;40:539-558. doi: 10.1146/annurev-soc-071913-043342.
In what ways do childbearing patterns in the contemporary United States vary for white, black, and Hispanic women? Why do these differences exist? Although completed family size is currently similar for white and black women, and only modestly larger for Hispanic women, we highlight persistent differences across groups with respect to the timing of childbearing, the relationship context of childbearing, and the extent to which births are intended. We next evaluate key explanations for these differences. Guided by a "proximate determinants" approach, we focus here on patterns of sexual activity, contraceptive use, and post-conception outcomes such as abortion and changes in mothers' relationship status. We find contraceptive use to be a particularly important contributor to racial and ethnic differences in childbearing, yet reasons for varying use of contraception itself remain insufficiently understood. We end by reflecting on promising directions for further research.
在当代美国，白人、黑人及西班牙裔女性的生育模式在哪些方面存在差异？为何会有这些差异？尽管目前白人女性和黑人女性的家庭子女总数相近，西班牙裔女性的家庭子女总数仅略多一些，但我们强调，在生育时间、生育的关系背景以及生育意愿程度方面，不同群体之间仍存在持续差异。接下来，我们评估造成这些差异的关键解释。在“近因决定因素”方法的指导下，我们在此关注性行为模式、避孕措施的使用以及诸如堕胎和母亲关系状况变化等受孕后的结果。我们发现，避孕措施的使用是导致生育方面种族和族裔差异的一个特别重要因素，但对于避孕措施使用差异本身的原因，我们仍了解不足。最后，我们思考进一步研究的可行方向。
