Offspring Gender and Family Size

Implications from a Comparison of Mexican Americans and Anglo Americans

Bibliographic Data

ID2587620
AuthorsCharles H Wood (corresponding author), Frank D Bean
Year1977
Volume39
Issue1
Pages129
Publication date1977-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Marriage and the Family (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-2445 • E-ISSN: 1741-3737
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/351069
OpenAlexW2047343456
LanguageDE
Citations received19
References cited16

The questions of whether and how offspring gender preferences affect eventual family size assume greater proportions given recent technological developments in reproductive gender control and given the trend in the United States toward preferences for smaller families. Using 1970 U.S. Census Public Use Sample data for Anglos and Mexican Americans this study examines the relationship between the gender of children already born and the likelihood of having subsequent children. The results indicate that couples with previous children of the same gender are consistently more likely to bear an additional child compared to those with a gender mix. Though present among members of both groups this relationship is more pronounced among Anglos than Mexican Americans. The effects of wifes education on the likelihood of another birth are also examined and found to be greater among couples with a gender mix than among those with children of the same gender. The relevance of these findings to the issue of what kinds of wives opt to have fewer children are discussed and the reasons why ceteris paribus the trend toward families of smaller sizes may heighten parental interest in the gender of early born children are noted. (authors)

Affect (linguistics · Ceteris paribus · Developmental psychology · Ethnic group · Family planning · Mexican americans · National Survey of Family Growth · Offspring · Population · Pregnancy · Research methodology · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Psychology

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