The Contraceptive Confidence Idea

An Empirical Investigation

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4268632
AutoresMáire Ní Bhrolcháin (0000-0001-5128-9164, autor correspondente)
Ano1988
Volume42
Fascículo2
Páginas205-225
Data de publicação1988-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoPopulation Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0032-4728 • E-ISSN: 1477-4747
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0032472031000143326
OpenAlexW2099709314
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas6

In this paper the hypothesis that ‘contraceptive confidence’ promotes accelerated childbearing is presented and examined. Methodological difficulties in investigating the question empirically are discussed. Because of the absence of a direct measure, a proxy indicator of ‘contraceptive confidence’ is used in multivariate analyses of maternity history data. These give results consistent with the existence of a contraceptive confidence effect. Evidence is also presented (a) of shorter second birth intervals among women who were in higher status occupations before marriage and (b) of an inverse association between educational qualifications and length of intervals after the first. These findings are construed as supporting the basic thesis regarding contraceptive confidence. The contraceptive confidence idea is discussed in the context of related work on an acceleration effect associated with women's labour-force participation. Several difficulties in interpreting the findings are considered and some implications are discussed

Confidence interval · Context (archaeology) · Fertility · Geography · Population · Proxy (statistics) · Sociology · Statistics · Demography · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Mathematics · Medicine · Psychology