The sociocultural context of family size preference, ideal sex composition, and induced abortion in India: findings from India's National Family Health surveys.
In this study, the author examined the effect of family size preference and sex composition of living children as determinants of induced abortion among women in India by analyzing 90,303 ever-married women aged 15-49, included in India's second National Family Health Survey, conducted in 1998-99. Multivariate logistic regression methods were used to examine the association between induced abortion and possible determinants. The results indicated that a woman's desire to limit family size with preferred sex composition of children, coupled with her autonomy and the sociocultural context, largely determines her experience of induced abortion in India.
South Asia Network for Chronic Disease, Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India. sutapa.agrawal@phfi.org
Sutapa
S
Agrawal
D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D005191:Family Characteristics / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009679:Nuclear Family / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012424:Rural Population; D012744:Sex Ratio; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult