Enlighten Publications

In this section

Educational differences in fertility desires, intentions and behaviour: a life course perspective

Berrington, A. and Pattaro, S. (2014) Educational differences in fertility desires, intentions and behaviour: a life course perspective. Advances in Life Course Research, 21, pp. 10-27. (doi: 10.1016/j.alcr.2013.12.003) (PMID:26047539)

Preview

Text
124059.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
610kB

Abstract

Despite a long tradition of studying the relationship between education and fertility outcomes less is known about how educational differences in fertility intentions are formed and translated into achieved births over the life course. This paper provides new insights using data from a large cohort study and Miller’s Traits-Desires-Intentions-Behaviour framework for understanding childbearing. We examine how parental aspirations for education, educational ability in childhood, and educational attainment in young adulthood relate to: males’ and females’ fertility desires in adolescence; fertility intentions in early adulthood; and educational differences in the achievement of fertility intentions. We conclude that family building preferences expressed in adolescence, especially those for the timing of entry into parenthood are shaped by parental socio-economic background, mediated through educational ability and parental expectations for education. In young adulthood, no clear, consistent educational gradient in intended family size is found. However, there is a negative educational gradient in the likelihood of achieving intended births by age 46, especially for women. The findings indicate the importance of educational differences in employment and partnership behaviour in mediating these relationships.

Item Type:	Articles
Additional Information:	This study has been carried out at the ESRC Centre for Population Change (CPC), a joint initiative between the Universities of Southampton, St Andrews, Dundee, Edinburgh, Stirling, Strathclyde, in partnership with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the National Records of Scotland(NRS).CPCis funded by the UKEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC), grant number RES-625-28-0001. The National Child Development Study is co-ordinated by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), Institute of Education, University of London.
Keywords:	Fertility desires, fertility intentions, life course, education.
Status:	Published
Refereed:	Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:	Pattaro, Dr Serena
Authors:	Berrington, A., and Pattaro, S.
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
College/School:	College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
Journal Name:	Advances in Life Course Research
Journal Abbr.:	ALCR
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	1040-2608
Published Online:	15 December 2013
Copyright Holders:	Copyright © 2014 The Authors
First Published:	First published in Advances in Life Course Research 21: 10-27
Publisher Policy:	Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record

Altmetric

References

Axinn, W.G. and Barber, J.S. (2001). Mass Education and Fertility Transition. American Sociological Review 66(4): 481-505. Axinn, W.G., Clarkberg, M.E., and Thornton, A. (1994). Family influences on family size preferences. Demography 31(1): 65-79. Barber, J.S. (2000). Intergenerational influences on the entry into parenthood: Mothers' preferences for family and nonfamily behavior. Social Forces 79(1): 319-348. Barber, J.S. (2001). Ideational Influences on the Transition to Parenthood: Attitudes toward Childbearing and Competing Alternatives. Social Psychology Quarterly 64(2): 101-127. Basu, A.M. (2002). Why does Education Lead to Lower Fertility? A Critical Review of Some of the Possibilities. World Development 30(10): 1779-1790. Becker, G.S. (1981). A treatise on the family Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press. Becker, G.S. and Lewis, H.G. (1973). On the Interaction between the Quantity and Quality of Children. Journal of Political Economy 81(2): S279-S288. Bernhardt, E.M. (1993). Fertility and employment. European Sociological Review 9(1): 25-42. Berrington, A.M. (2004). Perpetual postponers? Women's men's and couple's fertility intentions and subsequent fertility behaviour. Population trends 117: 9-19. Berrington, A. and Diamond, I. (1999). Marital dissolution among the 1958 British birth cohort: The role of cohabitation. Population studies 53(1): 19-38. Billari, F.C., Philipov, D., and Testa, M.R. (2009). Attitudes, norms and perceived behavioural control: Explaining fertility intentions in Bulgaria. European Journal of Population 25(4): 439-465. Blake, J. (1981). The only child in America: Prejudice versus performance. Population and Development Review 7(1):43-54. Blossfeld, H.P. and Huinink, J. (1991). Human-Capital Investments Or Norms of Role Transition - How Womens Schooling and Career Affect the Process of Family Formation. American Journal of Sociology 97(1): 143-168. Boca, D.D., Pasqua, S., and Pronzato, C. (2005). Fertility and employment in Italy, France, and the UK. Labour 19(s1): 51-77. Bongaarts, J. (1978). A framework for analyzing the proximate determinants of fertility. Population and Development Review 4(1):105-132. Bumpass, L. and Westoff, C.F. (1969). The prediction of completed fertility. Demography 6(4): 445-454. Centre for Longitudinal Studies (2012) Target and achieved samples for NCDS sweeps. http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/page.aspx?&sitesectionid=111&sitesectiontitle=About+the+sample De Wachter, D. and Neels, K. (2011). Educational differentials in fertility intentions and outcomes: family formation in Flanders in the early 1990s. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research: 227-258. Dommermuth, L., Klobas, J., and Lappegard, T. (2011). Now or later? The Theory of Planned Behavior and timing of fertility intentions. Advances in Life Course Research 16(1): 42-53. Elder Jr, G. H. (1994). Time, human agency, and social change: Perspectives on the life course. Social Psychology Quarterly, 4-15. Ermisch, J.F. (1989). Purchased childcare, optimal family size and mother's employment: theory and econometric analysis. Journal of Population Economics 2: 79-102. Hagewen, K.J. and Morgan, S.P. (2005). Intended and ideal family size in the United States, 1970-2002. Population and Development Review 31(3): 507-527. Heiland, F., Prskawetz, A., and Sanderson, W.C. (2008). Are individuals' desired family sizes stable? Evidence from West German panel data. European Journal of Population 24(2): 129-156. Heiland, F., Prskwetz, A., and Sanderson, W. C. (2005) Do more educated individuals prefer smaller families. Vienna Institute of Demography Working Paper 2005-3. Iacovou, M. and Tavares, L.P. (2011). Yearning, Learning and Conceding:reasons men and women change their childbearing intentions." Population and Development Review 37(1): 89-123. http://www.demogr.mpg.de/Papers/workshops/010623_paper05.pdf Jefferies, J. (2001) A reluctance to embrace the one-child family in Britain? Paper presented at EUROSCO The Second demographic Transition in Europe. 23-28 June, 2001, Bad Herrenalb, Germany. Jones, E.F., Forrest, J.D., Henshaw, S.K., Silverman, J., and Torres, A. (1988). Unintended pregnancy, contraceptive practice and family planning services in developed countries. Family Planning Perspectives 20(2): 53-67. Joshi, H. (2002). Production, reproduction, and education: Women, children, and work in a British perspective. Population and Development Review 28(3): 445-474. Kneale, D. and Joshi, H. (2010). Postponement and childlessness: evidence from two British cohorts. Demographic Research, 19: 1935. Kohler, H.P., Rodgers, J.L., and Christensen, K. (1999). Is fertility behavior in our genes? Findings from a Danish twin study. Population and Development Review 25(2): 253-288. Kohler, H.-P., Billari, F.C., and Ortega, J.A. (2002). The emergence of lowest low fertility in Europe during the 1990s. Population and Development Review 28(4): 641-680. Kotte, M. and Ludwig, V. (2011). Intergenerational transmission of fertility intentions and behaviour in Germany: the role of contagion. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research: 207-226. Kravdal, O. (1992). The Emergence of A Positive Relation Between Education and 3Rd Birth-Rates in Norway with Supportive Evidence from the United-States. Population Studies-A Journal of Demography 46(3): 459-475. Kreyenfeld, M. (2002). Time squeeze, partner effect or self selection? An investigation in to the positive effect of women's education on second birth risks in West Germany. Demographic Research 7: 15-48. Kreyenfeld, M. (2010). Uncertainties in Female Employment Careers and the Postponement of Parenthood in Germany. European Sociological Review 26(3): 351-366. Laybourn, A. (1994). The Only Child: Myths and Reality. Edinburgh: HMSO. Lesthaeghe, R. (1998). On theory development: Applications to the study of family formation. Population and Development Review 24(1): 1-14. Lesthaeghe, R. and Surkyn, J. (1988). Cultural dynamics and economic theories of fertility change. Population and Development Review 14(1): 1-45. Lewis, J. (2003). Developing early years childcare in England, 1997-2002: the choices for (working) mothers. Social Policy & Administration 37(3): 219-238. Lewis, J. and Kiernan, K. (1996). The boundaries between marriage, nonmarriage, and parenthood: Changes in behavior and policy in postwar Britain. Journal of Family History 21(3): 372-387. Liefbroer, A.C. (2009). Changes in family size intentions across young adulthood: A life-course perspective. European Journal of Population 25(4): 363-386. Liefbroer, A.C. and Corijn, M. (1999). Who, what, where, and when? Specifying the impact of educational attainment and labour force participation on family formation. European Journal of Population 15(1): 45-75. Miller, W.B. (1992). Personality traits and developmental experiences as antecedents of childbearing motivation. Demography 29(2): 265-285. Miller, W.B. and Pasta, D.J. (1995). Behavioral Intentions: Which Ones Predict Fertility Behavior in Married Couples? Journal of Applied Social Psychology 25(6): 530-555. Mills, M., Mencarini, L., Tanturri, M.L., and Begall, K. (2008). Gender equity and fertility intentions in Italy and the Netherlands. Demographic Research 18(1): 1-26. Morgan, S.P. (1982). Parity-specific fertility intentions and uncertainty: The United States, 1970 to 1976. Demography 19(3): 315-334. Morgan, S.P. and Bachrach, C.A. (2011). Is the theory of planned behaviour an appropriate model for human fertility? Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 9: 11-18. Morgan, S.P. and Rackin, H. (2010). The Correspondence Between Fertility Intentions and Behavior in the United States. Population and Development Review 36(1): 91-118. Murphy, M. and Wang, D.L. (2001). Family-level continuities in childbearing in low-fertility societies. European Journal of Population 17(1): 75-96. Murphy, M. (1993). The contraceptive pill and women's employment as factors in fertility change in Britain 1963-1980: A challenge to the conventional view. Population studies 47(2): 221-243. Musick, K., England, P., Edgington, S., and Kangas, N. (2009). Education Differences in Intended and Unintended Fertility. Social Forces 88(2): 543-572. Ni Bhrolchaín, M.N. (1986). Women's paid work and the timing of births. European Journal of Population 2(1): 43-70. Ni Bhrolchaín, M., Beaujouan, E., and Berrington, A.M. (2010). Stability and change in fertility intentions in Britain 1991-2007. Population trends 141: 13-35. Oppenheimer, V.K. (1988). A theory of marriage timing. American Journal of Sociology 94(3): 563-591. Quesnel-Vallee, A. and Morgan, S.P. (2003). Missing the target? Correspondence of fertility intentions and behavior in the US. Population Research and Policy Review 22(5-6): 497-525. Rindfuss, R.R., Bumpass, L., and John, C.S. (1980). Education and Fertility: Implications for the Roles Women Occupy. American Sociological Review 45(3): 431-447. Rondinelli, C., Aassve, A., and Billari, F.C. (2010). Women's wages and childbearing decisions: Evidence from Italy. Demographic Research 22: 549-577. Rosina, A. and Testa, M.R. (2009). Couples' First Child Intentions and Disagreement: An Analysis of the Italian Case. European Journal of Population 25(4): 487-502. Schmitt, C. (2012). Labour market integration, occupational uncertainty, and fertility choices in Germany and the UK. Demographic Research 26(12): 253-292. Schmitt, C. (2012). Labour market integration, occupational uncertainty, and fertility choices in Germany and the UK. Demographic Research 26(12): 253-292. Shepherd, P. (2012) 1958 National Child Development Study user guide: Measures of ability at ages 7 to 16. http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/library-media%5Cdocuments%5CNCDS%20user%20guide%20-%20NCDS1-3%20Measures%20of%20ability%20-%20P%20Shepherd%20-%20December%202012.pdf Steenhof, L. and Liefbroer, A.C. (2008). Intergenerational transmission of age at first birth in the Netherlands for birth cohorts born between 1935 and 1984: Evidence from municipal registers. Population studies 62(1): 69-84. Testa, M. R. (2012) Women's fertility intentions and level of education: why are they positively correlated in Europe? Vienna Institute of Demography of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. European Demographic Research Paper 3. http://www.oeaw.ac.at/vid/download/edrp_3_2012.pdf Testa, M.R. and Toulemon, L. (2006). Family formation in France: Individual preferences and subsequent outcomes. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research: 41-75. Thomson, E. and Hoem, J.M. (1998). Couple childbearing plans and births in Sweden. Demography 35(3): 315-322. Van de Kaa, D.J. (1987). Europe's second demographic transition. Population bulletin 42(1). Willis, R.J. (1973). New Approach to Economic Theory of Fertility Behavior. Journal of Political Economy 81(2): S14-S64.

Deposit and Record Details

ID Code:	124059
Depositing User:	Dr Serena Pattaro
Datestamp:	15 Sep 2016 14:26
Last Modified:	28 May 2020 12:49
Date of acceptance:	5 December 2013
Date of first online publication:	15 December 2013
Date Deposited:	6 September 2016
Data Availability Statement:	Yes