The Determinants of Zambian Couples’ Reproductive Goals

• In Event: 546 - Section on Sociology of Population Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Fertility in Poorer Nations

Abstract

Demographers have become interested in the social factors that influence couples’ ideas about fertility in the African region. This research agenda is driven by the growing recognition that mismatches between the reproductive ideals of African partners present obstacles to fertility decline. Most of the existing research on the issue focuses on the personal and domestic characteristics of partners. This study examined if and how community characteristics influence the fertility preferences of Zambian couples. The study examined the roles played by community-level gender equality and economic modernization in influencing consensus and conflict in the reproductive preferences of couples. The study used data from the 2001-2002 Zambian Demographic and Health Surveys to operationalize the small family size ideals and the desire to stop childbearing among Zambian married couples. Data from the 2000 Zambian Population Census, 2003 Zambia Core Welfare Indicators Survey and the 2003 Zambia Living Standard Survey were used to measure community level patterns of gender equality and the economic modernization. Multilevel multinomial logit regression was used to estimate the relationships between couple reproductive preferences and the district-level and other predictors. The results indicated that community-level characteristics are influential determinants of couple fertility goals in Zambia, but they also reveal the personal and domestic characteristics of couples as powerful predictors. The results of the study demonstrate the value of using couple attitudes to understand fertility in the African region. They also indicate the usefulness of considering community-level processes as implicated in shaping those attitudes.

Author

• Kofi D. Benefo, City University of New York-Lehman College