Correlates of values about ideal family size in the detroit Metropolitan area

Abstract

Summary A random sample of adults in the Detroit Metropolitan Area stated what they considered to be the “ideal size” for the average American family. There was a strong consensus (90%) on an ideal of 2, 3 or 4 children. The “mean ideal” of 3.15 is above replacement needs but does not presage a return to a “large family” pattern. The differences between social strata in “mean ideal size” are very small but consistent in direction with historic fertility differentials. For women with completed families “ideal size” was greater than actual size for all social strata.