Jejeebhoy S J, Kulkarni S
Family Planning Association of India.
Stud Fam Plann. 1989 Sep-Oct;20(5):264-72.
This study compares family size preferences, ideal sex compositions, and the motivation underlying these preferences between currently married women and their husbands in a transitional rural society in India. Reasons for having children, though similar, differ in some important respects: women's family size preferences are shaped largely by their dependence on sons for old age and other support; their husbands are affected by this motive as well, but they are also influenced by a desire to continue the family line and perform ritual obligations. However, it is primarily the women who feel the constraints imposed on their time, resources, and other opportunities by large numbers of children, which affect their family size preferences negatively. Finally, both spouses are similarly concerned about the health risks to the mother imposed by frequent childbearing. The net effect of the wives' two opposing motivations results in their having family size desires almost the same as their husbands' desires. As female status improves, the old age security motive is likely to diminish, and concern with utilization of time and resources is likely to become more important, leading ultimately to a reduction in desired family size among women.
本研究比较了印度一个处于转型期的农村社会中，目前已婚女性及其丈夫对家庭规模的偏好、理想的性别构成，以及这些偏好背后的动机。生育子女的原因虽然相似，但在一些重要方面存在差异：女性对家庭规模的偏好很大程度上是由她们对儿子养老及其他支持的依赖所塑造的；她们的丈夫也受此动机影响，但他们还受到延续家族血脉和履行仪式义务愿望的影响。然而，主要是女性感受到大量子女对她们的时间、资源和其他机会所施加的限制，这对她们的家庭规模偏好产生了负面影响。最后，夫妻双方同样担心频繁生育给母亲带来的健康风险。妻子两种相互矛盾的动机的净效应导致她们对家庭规模的期望几乎与丈夫的期望相同。随着女性地位的提高，养老保障动机可能会减弱，对时间和资源利用的关注可能会变得更加重要，最终导致女性期望的家庭规模减小。
