A brief report on the Covid ‐19 pandemic and ideal family size in the United States
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18987567 |
|---|---|
| Authors | J A Behrman (0000-0002-1149-8209, Faculty Fellow Institute for Policy Research Northwestern University Evanston IL USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 85 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 645-656 |
| Publication date | 2023-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Marriage and the Family (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-2445 • E-ISSN: 1741-3737 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/jomf.12905 |
| OpenAlex | W4317401402 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 27 |
Objective This brief report explores whether the COVID‐19 Pandemic impacted ideal family size in the United States. Background Although COVID‐19 negatively impacted short‐term fertility expectations, preferences, and behaviors in the United States, it remains unknown whether the pandemic contributed to changes in family size ideals more broadly. Method The sample consists of 1823 respondents from the General Social Survey (GSS) who were originally interviewed before the COVID‐19 pandemic (in 2016 and 2018) and were re‐interviewed in the first 6 months of the COVID‐19 pandemic (in August/September 2020), a period when pandemic‐related stress and uncertainty was particularly pronounced. A within‐person fixed effects approach is utilized. Results Findings from within‐person fixed effects analyses suggested that the pandemic had no impact on the quantum of ideal family size responses. These findings were robust to alternative specifications and were similar to what was observed in a parallel analysis of how the Great Recession impacted ideal family size. Conclusion Findings pointed to stability in ideal family size in the first 6 months of the COVID‐19 pandemic in the US. Implications Future work should explore the disjuncture between short‐term fertility intentions and behaviors and longer‐term family size ideals.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Economics · Fertility · Ideal (ethics) · Pandemic · Political science · Population · Recession · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology
Do Survey Respondents Distinguish between Ideal, Desired, and Expected Fertility? An Empirical Test of Survey Design Effects
Who Can Have a Baby? Social Norms and the Right to Reproduce
Is US Fertility now Below Replacement? Evidence from Period vs. Cohort Trends
Do Resources Blunt the Impact of Covid-19 on Fertility Desires in the United States
Childbearing attitudes amid successive novel infectious disease epidemics
State-Level Immigrant Policies and Ideal Family Size in the United States
Special times? How Covid-specific concerns disrupted fertility desires in the United States during the Covid-19 pandemic
Tracking the reach of Covid-19 kin loss with a bereavement multiplier applied to the United States
Early Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic and human fertility
Economic uncertainty before and during the Covid-19 pandemic
Covid‐19 and the gender gap in work hours
Assessing the Predictive Value of Fertility Expectations Through a Cognitive–Social Model
Ideal family size among white Americans
Did fertility go up after the oklahoma city bombing? An analysis of births in metropolitan counties in Oklahoma, 1990–1999
A critique of the national fertility study
A Theory of the Value of Children
The fertility response to the Great Recession in Europe and the United States
The Impact of Covid-19 on Gender Equality
The Effects of the Great Recession on Family Structure and Fertility
Intended and Ideal Family Size in the United States, 1970-2002
Unrealized fertility
Decline in Marriage Associated with the Covid-19 Pandemic in the United States
Structural Gendered Racism Revealed in Pandemic Times
Gender, Parenting, and The Rise of Remote Work During the Pandemic
| Citations per year | 2.33 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |