Abstract
In the context of low fertility and a high proportion of persons who are not living in marital unions, it is important to study the attitudes toward having children outside of marriage. Based on a sample from Oxford and Middlesex counties in Ontario, Canada, we find that there are more positive attitudes toward having children outside of marriage for persons who have a more liberal orientation to gender division of labour and to cohabitation, those who are less religious, have smaller ideal family size, and where the first relationship was a cohabiting union. While the relation was not significant, there were also more positive attitudes toward non-marital childbearing for respondents whose parents experienced cohabitation or marital dissolution. The effect of having full-time employment differed by gender: women who had full-time employment were more likely to favour non-marital childbearing, but the opposite holds for men.
Recommended Citation
Erfani, Amir and Beaujot, Roderic
(2007)
"Determinants of Attitudes toward Having Children outside Marriage,"
PSC Discussion Papers Series: Vol. 21:
Iss.
1, Article 1.
Available at:
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/pscpapers/vol21/iss1/1
Notes
Discussion Paper no. 07-01