Gender Roles and the Process of Fertility Control

Abstract

A systematic analysis of the process of family fertility control in relation to gender role norms is attempted. A subsample of couples only ever married to each other was drawn from the east north-central metropolitan areas of the U.S. 2 role norms were selected - equal - and junior-partner status. The strongest predictor of birth intentions is the equal- vs. junior-partner status. The more qualitarian the couples are the fewer children they intend to have. Those who are more qualitarian may be more strongly motivated to be successful contraceptors. Children provide certain benefits and costs and gender role norms specify the kind of costs couples are willing to bear. The more strongly a couple prefers the rewards that result from greater marital equaliterianism the less they prefer the reward of additional children. Usually a complex set of trade-offs is operating in which the general rewards and costs of modernity are set against the rewards and costs of traditionalism. At 1 end of the scale couples opt for maximizing the rewards of modernity and are likely to practice more effective contraception and have fewer children. At the other end of the scale couples are likely to be less effective contraceptors and desire and bear more children.

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