Some fertility attitudes among white women in Johannesburg

Abstract

Summary This paper analyses the replies to certain questions on ideal family size, family planning and the limitation of offspring and attitudes towards the use of contraceptives of 1,022 white married women recently interviewed in a Johannesburg fertility survey. Replies to questions on the above topics are correlated with certain sociological variables such as home language, religion, educational status, family income and occupation. The application of these controls to the sample data revealed some interesting differences in outlook with regard to family size, family planning and the use of contraceptives. Home language and religious affiliation were found to be amongst the most important variables. Generally speaking, in spite of some significant differences in fertility attitudes between certain groups composing the sample population, there appeared to be a good deal of uniformity with regard to ideal family size, family planning and the use of contraceptives.