Hispanic Familism Reconsidered: Ethnic Differences in the Perceived Value of Children and Fertility Intentions.
Familism has been described as a cultural trait that might explain why the fertility of Hispanic women remains higher than non-Hispanic White women. Still, few studies have analyzed group differences in childbearing attitudes. This paper focuses on two dimensions of childbearing orientation: social value of children and fertility intentions. Using the National Survey of Family Growth we find limited support for the idea that familism undergirds differentials in fertility between native-born Hispanics and Whites. However, for foreign-born Hispanics, there are some differences in the perceived value of children compared with Whites, and these differences could contribute to fertility differentials.
University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, carohart@isr.umich.edu , Telephone: 401-965-4213.
Caroline Sten
CS
Hartnett
Emilio A
EA
Parrado
Fertility; Hispanics/Latinos; familism; fertility intentions; value of children