Family Size Attitudes and Use of Contraception in Sydney: Australian, Greek and Italian Parents1

Abstract

Investigates previously reported differences in family formation between native and immigrant Australians comparing the parents on attitudes to having an only child planned family size and the use of contraception. Subjects fell into 3 categories: native Australian; immigrant Greek; immigrant Italian. The couples interviewed were in their 30s had marriages of at least 10 years duration and had parented one or more children. Of the total sample 97% rejected the idea of an only child: Greek parents for fear that the child might be lonely or that its death would deprive them of a family; Italian parents were concerned about loneliness of the child and considered more than 1 child to be necessary to constitute a family; Australian parents for fear of a lonely and/or spoilt child. Australian Catholics tended to want large families (4 or more children). Opting for a more intermediate size family were nonCatholic Australians and the Italians; Greeks were most likely to want 2 children. With the exception of a few southern European women who claimed unawareness of any method of birth control the pill was predominant as a contraceptive device among women in all 3 groups. It was by far the method of choice among Italian women. Australian women also favoured sterilization and Greek women the withdrawal method. No Greek or Italian husband had been sterilized and among the Australians the wives were more likely than their husbands to have been sterilized. It is concluded that possible explanations for differences in family size expectations between the groups include differences in socioeconomic standing increased expectations of material living as well as diminished power of restriction of the Catholic Church on immigrant Catholics.