El Hombre y la Mujer Frente al Hijo: Diferentes Voces Sobre su Significadog.

The purpose of this paper is to enlarge our understanding of how children are valued by men and women in impoverished populations in Caracas. The objective of this study is to examine the meaning that children have for the members of different family structures. The field experience included interviews with eight families. The data was analyzed using the constant comparison method. Results show contrasting conceptions of children in terms of particular moments in people's lifetimes, and their everyday experiences. The meaning of a child is seen as an ideal related to people's experiences with their maternity and paternity. This meaning is also associated with ideological, cultural and religious patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]