Family Size in Industrialized Countries: An Inquiry into the Social-Cultural Determinants of Levels of Childbearing.

This paper outlines a framework for studying the social-cultural determinants of family size in 20 low mortality countries of controlled natality. Two broad hypotheses are proposed: (1) Family size varies inversely with the availability of alternatives for the satisfaction of interests presumably satisfied by having children. (2) Family size is smallest under two polar sets of conditions: (a) where the social setting maximizes the individual's expectation that his interests and those of his children will be satisfied, and (b) where the social setting minimizes this expectation. Representative social indicators for making the necessary international comparisons are enumerated, and the steps in their construction discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]