Family Planning Decision-making: A Comparison and Analysis of Parents' Considerations

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Abstract
This paper draws upon the general approach of Behavioral Decision Theory to study parents' family planning decisions. It compares the importance of 27 value considerations to young married couples in deciding about whether or not to have another child, Parents at two stages of family growth were interviewed: 71 couples with one chi Id and 70 with two children. It was found that both groups of parents were concerned with altruism ( "g iving yourself to others"), emotional and social needs of present children, spouse's workload, ti me for oneself and with one's spouse, and economic needs. One-child parents were especially mindful of providing their single child with a companion, while two-child parents concentrated more on their own personal needs. When the ratings of importance of the value considerations were subjected to a smallest space analysis, they were fitted into a two dimensional space with two orthogonal continua: (1) Maintenance versus change of oneself and one's roles and (2) Concern for the demands of family group life versus concern for the demands of the larger community and society. Appl ications of this conceptualization for future research are suggested.

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