Volume 22 - Article 30 | Pages 965–984
Examining the predictive value of fertility preferences among Ghanaian women
| Date received: | 02 Feb 2010 |
| Date published: | 26 May 2010 |
| Word count: | 4996 |
| Keywords: | fertility, fertility intentions, fertility preference, Ghana, sub-Saharan Africa |
| DOI: | 10.4054/DemRes.2010.22.30 |
Abstract
Despite extensive research, doubts remain regarding the degree of correspondence between prior stated fertility preferences and subsequent fertility behavior. Preference instability is a factor that potentially undermines predictiveness. Furthermore, if other predictors of fertility substantially explain fertility, then knowledge of preferences may contribute little to explaining or predicting individual fertility behavior. In this study, we examined these aspects of the study of individual fertility preference-behavior consistency. Using a prospective multi-wave panel dataset, we modeled the monthly likelihood of conception, taking into account the dynamic nature of preferences, and controlling for changing reproductive life cycle factors and stable socioeconomic background predictors of fertility. We demonstrate from a sample of fecund married Ghanaian women that fertility preferences retain independent predictive power in the model predicting the likelihood of conception.
Author's Affiliation
Ivy Kodzi - Ohio State University, United States of America
David Johnson - Pennsylvania State University, United States of America
John Casterline - Ohio State University, United States of America
Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research
»
Extramarital fertility in low- and middle-income countries
Volume 47 - Article 3
»
Unrealized fertility: Fertility desires at the end of the reproductive career
Volume 36 - Article 14
»
Migration and marriage: Modeling the joint process
Volume 30 - Article 47
»
What has high fertility got to do with the low birth weight problem in Africa?
Volume 28 - Article 25
»
Children's stunting in sub-Saharan Africa: Is there an externality effect of high fertility?
Volume 25 - Article 18
Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research
»
Fertility among better-off women in sub-Saharan Africa: Nearing late transition levels across the region
Volume 46 - Article 29 | Keywords: fertility, sub-Saharan Africa
»
Accuracy of wives' proxy reports of husbands' fertility preferences in sub-Saharan Africa
Volume 46 - Article 17 | Keywords: fertility, sub-Saharan Africa
»
Contraceptive use and fertility transitions: The distinctive experience of sub-Saharan Africa
Volume 46 - Article 4 | Keywords: fertility, sub-Saharan Africa
»
Childbearing intentions among Egyptian men and women: The role of gender-equitable attitudes and women’s empowerment
Volume 44 - Article 51 | Keywords: fertility, fertility intentions
»
Contemporary female migration in Ghana: Analyses of the 2000 and 2010 Censuses
Volume 39 - Article 44 | Keywords: Ghana, sub-Saharan Africa
Articles
Citations
Cited References: 38
»View the references of this article
Download to Citation Manager
Similar Articles
PubMed
Google Scholar