Excess and deficit fertility in the United States, 1965.

Abstract

When desired family size is larger than expected family size this has been termed deficit fertility; when desired family size is smaller than expected family size this has been termed excess fertility; and when the two coincide this has been termed congruent fertility. The source of data for this paper is the 1965 National Fertility Study. Analysis was confined to 3130 women who in 1965 were married (first marriage) who were aged 49 or younger who gave numerical responses to items concerning cumulative desired and expected family size and who were either classified as fecund by the original analysts of the data or who had been sterilized for contraceptive purposes. The women included in this analysis desired an average of 3.25 children expected to have 3.54 and already had 2.79. When desired and expected completed family size are compared 54.6% desire the same number they expect to have 27.2% desire fewer children than they expect to have and the remaining 18.2% desire more than they expect to have. (authors)