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Author: Osuagwu, Stella C.
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Osuagwu, Stella C.
Parental Generation Effects on the Marital Fertility of Offspring
Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1981
Cohort(s): Young Women
Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning
Keyword(s): Age at First Birth; Family Size; Fertility; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Mothers and Daughters; Parental Influences

Previous studies lend some support to the theorized intergenerational association of family sizes. This research sets out to explore factors in the background of the respondents that can help explain the association. The underlying assumption is that parents through socialization and the family by its demographic structure can influence the fertility norms and values of their daughters thereby conditioning them to reproduce the demographic set of their family of orientation. The information for the analyses is obtained from both the 1965 National Fertility Study and the 1967, 1968 and 1973 National Longitudinal Surveys. Three major hypotheses are examined, viz: (1) mother's and daughter's family sizes are positively correlated; (2) the association is stronger with no intergenerational change in life-style; and (3) daughters from affluent homes tend to have fewer children than those from non-affluent homes. The analysis shows that generally there has been an intergenerational decline in completed fertility with daughters achieving smaller family sizes than their mothers. With regards to the hypotheses tested, it is noted that: (1) there is a confirmation of the hypothesized correlation between mother's and daughter's ultimate family sizes; (2) the association is stronger if there has been no intergenerational change in life-style as defined in terms of educational attainment and of religion; (3) parents' socioeconomic status per se does not show any independent effects on daughter's expected completed fertility. Finally, it is observed that daughters tend to reproduce the size of their family of orientation. This observation may be of some use to policy formulators in reaching decisions on how best to intervene in or modify some social services that are provided by the state.
Bibliography Citation
Osuagwu, Stella C. Parental Generation Effects on the Marital Fertility of Offspring. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1981.