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  • Title: Household fertility decisions in West Africa: a comparison of male and female survey results.
    Author: Mott FL, Mott SH.
    Journal: Stud Fam Plann; 1985; 16(2):88-99. PubMed ID: 3992613.
    Abstract:
    This study compares the responses of matched husbands and wives in monogamous and polygynous unions, in the Yoruba village of Bolorunduro in Ondo State, Nigeria, with respect to a variety of family planning and fertility-related attitudes and behaviors. The results suggest that, although the husband and wife responses on the family planning and achieved fertility items were generally similar, responses relating to prospective fertility intentions were very different between husbands and wives. The results are consistent with the notion that fertility intention orientations in this particular culture operate essentially on an individual and not a family level. Women, whether in monogamous or polygynous unions, have fertility preferences that, while normatively bound, are clearly individual preferences and not necessarily related to their husbands' desires. This study compares the responses of matched husbands and wives in monogamous and polygynous unions, in the Yoruba village of Bolorunduro in Ondo State, Nigeria, with respect to a variety of family planning and fertility-related attitudes and behaviors. The results suggest that, although the husband and wife responses on the family planning and achieved fertility items were generally similar, responses relating to prospective fertility intentions were very different between husbands and wives. The results are consistent with the notion that fertility intention orientations in this particular culture operate essentially on an individual and not a family level. Women, whether in monogamous or polygynous unions, have fertility preferences that, while normatively bound, are clearly individual preferences and not necessarily related to husbands' desires. Interviews were completed with all the locatable men and women of childbearing age in the community, amounting to 295 women aged 15-49 and 345 men over 15. This report focuses on a subset of currently married women aged 15-49 and their spouses regardless of age. Respondents were asked a battery of questions regarding their past and prospective fertility, the fertility decision-making process in their respective household units, their knowledge, attitude and practice of contraception, and their sociodemographic backgrounds and perceptions of their living standards. The extent to which: 1) husbands and wives had similar views on family planning considerations; 2) intrafamily discussion or consensus existed on a variety of issues intimately related to fertility outcomes; and 3) apparent intrafamily disagreement averaged out in the aggregate statistics, is examined. There was a high consensus between matched husband-wife pairs with regard to retrospective behavior. There were few discrepancies with regard to marriage type, number of spouses, and children ever born. The few discrepancies that existed tended to cancel each other out at the aggregate level. There was also a high level of consensus between matched husband-wife pairs on family planning attitudes and behavior.
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