Suchergebnisse

Studies of contemporary attitudes about childlessness and infertility have focused mainly on highly industrialized countries, with less attention to developing countries like Turkey. This project explored attitudes about childlessness and infertility treatments and their interrelations among university students, who are often the forerunners of new attitudes and social change, in Turkey (N = 850) and the United States (Florida; N = 761). Turkish students, especially men, reported more negative attitudes about permanent childlessness and reported more positive attitudes about ethics and availability of infertility treatments. Students in Florida had more favorable attitudes toward childlessness and supported broader social access to infertility treatments (e.g., for those who were unmarried or who had chosen to delay childbearing). Women in both samples generally reported more positive attitudes about childlessness and the ethics and availability of infertility treatments than men. In addition, Turkish students who were female, from urban areas, or who aspired to a doctoral education reported more positive attitudes about childlessness than others. Regression analyses of pooled data confirmed persistent gender and country differences. In both samples, positive attitudes about childlessness were correlated with support for broader social access to infertility treatments. The results suggest that infertility treatments are viewed as a means for avoiding childlessness by those with traditional perspectives, but are seen as a mechanism for allowing for broader social access to parenthood and greater choice about reproduction among those with less traditional viewpoints.

AbstractThis study explores gender preference for children in South Korea, where a strong, traditional son preference has recently shifted to a greater preference for daughters or no preference. Using data from the 2008 Panel Study on Korean Children (PSKC; N = 1,836) and 2012 Korean General Social Survey (KGSS; N = 1,355), we examined social and attitudinal correlates of child gender preference, including kinship patterns, perceived prospects for the future, and attitudes about the value of children, including potentially gendered expectations. Logistic regressions of child gender preference showed that mothers receiving support from maternal grandparents reported lower son preference (PSKC). Attitudes about both the instrumental (social, economic) and emotional value of children were also related to son preference. In the KGSS, individuals who preferred sons reported more traditional gender attitudes, positive future prospects, and greater expectations of help in old age and were more likely to be men, older, rural, or Buddhist. There were few differences between those who favored a daughter compared to no preference. Overall, the decline in son preference appears to reflect shifts in intergenerational relations and societal changes that have redefined the meaning and value of children in the context of economic uncertainties, very low fertility, and population aging.

Data were collected from 54 primary caregivers, their husbands, and adult children who were members of multigenerational households that included a disabled person over age 65. Household characteristics were examined in relationship to perceptions of household space, burden, and satisfaction. Household characteristics did not predict either burden or satisfaction. Household conversion decreased perceptions of household space for women and for their husbands. In addition, for husbands, the more time an elder spent in shared living space, the more negative the perceptions of household space. For teenage children in the household, sharing amenities with elders resulted in more negative perceptions of household space. Results are interpreted in terms of caregiving stress and suggestions are made for home adaptations.