GHANA: The Attitudes of Urban Males Toward Family Size and Family Limitation

Abstract

Data on Ghanaian urban male attitudes toward family size and limitation obtained in a 1966 KAP survey are discussed. The differences between male and female attitudes revealed by the survey and a parallel survey on women made at the same time may have important policy implications for action programs. A significant proportion of respondents gave dont know responses. Contrary to what had been hypothesized the males did not hold more conservative views (i.e.in favor of families) than women; in fact they may have had rather more liberal attitudes than women. Supporting the view that the dont know responses of young and inexperienced men are subject to change was the finding that the groups of respondents with the highest proportions favoring small families (0-4 children) were the peers of the young and inexperienced. That is they were men at low parities aged 15-19 from the class of professionals and administrators (including some students) who lived in the urban area of Accra for less than 5 years. By contrast in general it was the older the less skilled the Moslems and animists the illiterate those in traditional unions and foreign-born Africans who least favored small families. There was no difference between Roman Catholic and Protestant respondents both of whome favored small families. When the males and females were asked why they favored large or small families a higher proportion of those who chose small in both samples had a reason for this choice. Women more frequently than not decided between small and large on the basis of family needs whereas men expressed their choice in terms of general values. The survey results imply that a target population for an action program exists among young men who are educated and highly skilled particularly those from Southern Ghana.