Volume 30 - Article 22 | Pages 641–670
Social networks and fertility
By Laura Bernardi, Andreas Klärner
This article is part of the Special Collection 16 "Theoretical Foundations of the Analysis of Fertility"
Abstract
Background: The fields of demography, sociology, and socio-psychology have been increasingly drawing on social network theories, which posit that individual fertility decision-making depends in part on the fertility behavior of other members of the population, and on the structure of the interactions between individuals. After reviewing this literature, we highlight the benefits of taking a social network perspective on fertility and family research.
Objective: We review the literature that addresses the extent to which social mechanisms, such as social learning, social pressure, social contagion, and social support, influence childbearing decisions.
Methods: We review the most recent contributions of the social networks approach for the explanation of fertility dynamics in contemporary post-industrial societies.
Conclusions: We find that all of the social mechanisms reviewed influence the beliefs and norms individuals hold regarding childbearing, their perceptions of having children, and the context of opportunities and constraints in which childbearing choices are made. The actual impact of these mechanisms on fertility tempo and quantum strongly depends on the structure of social interaction.
Author's Affiliation
- Laura Bernardi - Université de Lausanne, Switzerland EMAIL
- Andreas Klärner - Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Germany EMAIL
Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research
Co-ethnic marriage versus intermarriage among immigrants
and their descendants: A comparison across seven European countries using event-history analysis
Volume 39 - Article 17
Mixed marriages in Switzerland: A test of the segmented assimilation hypothesis
Volume 38 - Article 48
First and second births among immigrants and their descendants in Switzerland
Volume 38 - Article 11
On the normative foundations of marriage and cohabitation: Results from group discussions in eastern and western Germany
Volume 36 - Article 53
The low importance of marriage in eastern Germany - social norms and the role of peoples’ perceptions of the past
Volume 33 - Article 9
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Volume 31 - Article 34
Preface to the Rostock Debate on Demographic Change
Volume 24 - Article 6
The anthropological demography of Europe
Volume 17 - Article 18
Meanings and attitudes attached to cohabitation in Poland: Qualitative analyses of the slow diffusion of cohabitation among the young generation
Volume 16 - Article 17
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