Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T17:23:50.515Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Fertility and family planning in the Irish Republic 1975

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

K. Wilson-Davis
K. Wilson-Davis
Affiliation:
Social Research Division, Stormont, Belfast
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

A survey of 600 married couples in the Irish Republic in 1975 found marked pronatalist attitudes and an overall mean family size of 3·1 children, ranging from 1·1 children for couples with marriage duration of less than 5 years to 5·1 children for couples married for 15 years or longer. Husbands and wives had the same viewson the ideal size for the average family—5·6 children; this is considerably higher than other European survey findings. Overall, 66% of wives said that they had used some formof contraception and this correlates highly with social class, age of wife, educational level and residence. Use of the pill correlates with residence and age but not with social class or education. One-third of the sample would like more information on the subject of family planning. Although very few gave religious attitudes as a reason for not using birth control in general, 13% stated that the pill was immoral.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , July 1982 , pp. 343 - 358
Copyright
Copyright © 1982, Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Askham, J. (1976) Fertility and Deprivation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Hill, R., Stycos, J.M. & Back, K.W. (1959) The Family and Population Control. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.Google Scholar
McNamara, B. (1964) The Valley of the Squinting Widows. Anvil Books, Tralee.Google Scholar
Ware, H. (1974) Ideal Family Size. Occasional Paper No. 13. World Fertility Survey, London.Google Scholar
Whelpton, P.K., Campbell, A.A. & Patterson, J.E. (1966) Fertility and Family Planning in the United States. Princeton University Press, New Jersey.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson-Davis, K. (1974) The contraceptive situation in Ireland. J. biosoc. Sci. 6, 483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woolf, M. (1971) Family Intentions. Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, HM Stationery Office, London.Google Scholar