Socio-economic correlates of fertility behavior and attitudes in Turkey

Abstract

Toplumda değişik sosyoekonomik grupların doğurganlık davranış ve tutumlar mikro ve makro düzeyde analiz edilmiştir. Karşılaştırmalı çalışmalar doğurganlık oranlarının az gelişmiş ülekelerde gelişmiş ülkelere oranla daha yüksek olduğunu göstermiştir. Bu durum, bu konuda araştırma yapmanın önemini ortaya koymaktadır. Sosyoekonomik faktörlere göre doğurganlık davranış ve tutumları anlamlı farklılıklar göstermiştir.

Studies related to fertility compare different cultures or different socio-economic groups within the cultures at micro or macro level of analysis. Comparative studies showed that fertility rates in underdeveloped countries are higher than the fertility rates in developed countries which reveals the importance of the subject for the use of recources effectively. Moreover factors involved in explaining fertility claimed to be numerous as psychosocial, sociological, economical and historical. However in Turkey research in this field is very few and limiited to small groups of people away from giving a picture of the country. Therefore this study aimed to investigate the effects of different socio-economic factors on fertility behavior and attitudes of families in Turkey including a discussion on the theoretical evaluation of the complex relationships involved. İn this study the level of fertility behavior and attitudes were claimed to decrease with the increasing level of socio-economic correlates as education, income, occupation, family type, residence of wives and husband included in the sample. Investigation was based on the nation wide research covering a large number of families chosen with a stratified random sampling all over the country conducted by Hacettepe Institute of Population Studies in Turkey. Relationships of fertility behaviors and attitudes were also inquired. Urban rural residences and regions of respondents and age of respondents were taken as control variables. Data analysis contains various statistical measures as multiple variance analysis and correlations. Results revealed that fertility behavior and attitudes are directly asociated to variables as community type and region of the country. Finding verified most of the hypothesis that fertility masures dropped with the incrasing level of the socio-econemic correlates as education, income, residence. Womens' working status were only influential at urban areas. Another interesting finding was that decreases in attitudes with changes in socio-economic correlates were higher compared to decreases in behavior. With increase in socio-economic level changes in attitudes of women found to be higher than men. Especially education of women found to be more important in making a difference.