Volume 22 - Article 8 | Pages 189–198  

Reconciling studies of men’s gender attitudes and fertility: Response to Westoff and Higgins

By Frances Goldscheider, Livia Sz. Oláh, Allan Puur

Abstract

A reflexion by Westoff and Higgins (2009) in response to a study by Puur, Oláh, Tazi-Preve and Dorbritz (2008) has been recently published in this journal. Both articles addressed the relationship between men’s gender attitudes and fertility, using different datasets and quite different measures of gender attitudes, producing divergent results. Based on that, the authors of the reflexion suggested caution regarding the conclusion of the Puur et al. analysis. We respond to their arguments here by elaborating on the theoretical underpinnings of the claim presented in the original article and thus the importance of the differences of the measures of gender attitudes applied in the two studies (gender roles in the public sphere vs. the private sphere). With this contribution, we stress the need for further research on the association of men’s gender attitudes and fertility.

Author's Affiliation

• Frances Goldscheider - Brown University, United States of America EMAIL
• Livia Sz. Oláh - Stockholms Universitet, Sweden EMAIL
• Allan Puur - Tallinna Ülikool, Estonia EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Men's childbearing desires and views of the male role in Europe at the dawn of the 21st century
Volume 19 - Article 56

Attitudes toward work and parenthood following family-building transitions in Sweden: Identifying differences by gender and education
Volume 49 - Article 30

Introduction to the Special Collection on The new roles of women and men and implications for families and societies
Volume 48 - Article 29

Longevity of World War II Estonian volunteers in the Finnish Army: A follow-up study of the impact of the post-war life course and repressions
Volume 43 - Article 39

Economic uncertainty and first-birth intentions in Europe
Volume 39 - Article 28

Co-ethnic marriage versus intermarriage among immigrants and their descendants: A comparison across seven European countries using event-history analysis
Volume 39 - Article 17

The formation of ethnically mixed partnerships in Estonia: A stalling trend from a two-sided perspective
Volume 38 - Article 38

Introduction to the Special Collection on Finding Work-Life Balance: History, Determinants, and Consequences of New Bread-Winning Models in the Industrialized World
Volume 37 - Article 26

Childbearing among first- and second-generation Russians in Estonia against the background of the sending and host countries
Volume 36 - Article 41

The forest and the trees: Industrialization, demographic change, and the ongoing gender revolution in Sweden and the United States, 1870-2010
Volume 36 - Article 6

Socioeconomic and cultural differentials in mortality in a late 19th century urban setting: A linked records study from Tartu, Estonia, 1897-1900
Volume 36 - Article 1

Partnership dynamics among migrants and their descendants in Estonia
Volume 32 - Article 56

Varying association between education and second births in Europe: Comparative analysis based on the EU-SILC data
Volume 31 - Article 27

Jobs, careers, and becoming a parent under state socialist and market conditions: Evidence from Estonia 1971-2006
Volume 30 - Article 64

Domestic gender equality and childbearing in Sweden
Volume 29 - Article 40

Intergenerational family constellations in contemporary Europe: Evidence from the Generations and Gender Survey
Volume 25 - Article 4

Should governments in Europe be more aggressive in pushing for gender equality to raise fertility? The second "YES"
Volume 24 - Article 9

Effects of education on second births before and after societal transition: Evidence from the Estonian GGS
Volume 22 - Article 28

Sweden: Combining childbearing and gender equality
Volume 19 - Article 28

First union formation in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania: patterns across countries and gender
Volume 17 - Article 10

Gender and family stability: Dissolution of the first parental union in Sweden and Hungary
Volume 4 - Article 2

Becoming a Mother in Hungary and Poland during State Socialism
Special Collection 3 - Article 9

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

Left behind single in the partnering market? Entry into cohabiting unions by women and men with low educational attainment across regions of Europe, cohorts 1960 to 1985
Volume 51 - Article 43    | Keywords: cohabitation, education, Europe, European Social Survey, event history analysis, logistic regression, marginalization, partner selection, singlehood, union formation

Educational trends in cohort fertility by birth order: A comparison of England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland
Volume 51 - Article 36    | Keywords: birth order, cohort analysis, cross-national study, England, family size, fertility, Northern Ireland, parity, Scotland, Wales

Is single parenthood increasingly an experience of less-educated mothers? A European comparison over five decades
Volume 51 - Article 34    | Keywords: age, children, cross-national comparison, education, Europe, family life course, inequality, single motherhood

Higher incomes are increasingly associated with higher fertility: Evidence from the Netherlands, 2008–2022
Volume 51 - Article 26    | Keywords: fertility, income, inequalities, Netherlands, parenthood

The transition to adulthood in Europe at the intersection of gender and parental socioeconomic status
Volume 51 - Article 23    | Keywords: Europe, Europe, event history, event history, gender, multilevel analysis, parental socio-economic status, stratification, transition to adulthood