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Social Interaction Effects on Fertility: Intentions and Behaviors

Author

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  • Clémentine Rossier

    (Institut National d’Etudes Démographiques)

  • Laura Bernardi

    (University of Lausanne)

Abstract

The existing literature shows that the social interactions in personal networks affect individuals’ reproductive attitudes and behavior through three mechanisms: social influence, social learning, and social support. In this article, we discuss the extent to which the socio-psychological model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) takes these social mechanisms into account when used in modeling fertility intentions and behavior. We argue that by integrating all three social network mechanisms, the ability of the TPB to explain reproductive events could be enhanced in two respects. First, social influence explains why some beliefs and practices are reproduced at the individual level even in the face of macro-level changes, and social learning mechanisms are crucial to distinguish who finally adopts new behavioral beliefs and practices in response to changes at the macro level. Second, social support relationships represent a capital of services to complement institutional provision (informal child care) as well as a capital of knowledge which helps individuals navigate in a complex institutional environment, providing a crucial element to explain heterogeneity in the successful realization of fertility intentions across individuals. The integration of the three social network mechanisms into the TPB helps to address the connection between changes in what the theory indicates as background factors and variation in individual intentions and behavior. We develop specific hypotheses concerning the effect of social interactions on fertility intentions and their realization and conclude with a critical review of the existing surveys that could serve to test these hypotheses and their limits.

Suggested Citation

  • Clémentine Rossier & Laura Bernardi, 2009. "Social Interaction Effects on Fertility: Intentions and Behaviors," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 25(4), pages 467-485, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurpop:v:25:y:2009:i:4:d:10.1007_s10680-009-9203-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10680-009-9203-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Laura Bernardi & Andreas Klärner, 2014. "Social networks and fertility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(22), pages 641-670.
    2. Anne Salles & Clémentine Rossier & Sara Brachet, 2010. "Understanding the long term effects of family policies on fertility: The diffusion of different family models in France and Germany," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 22(34), pages 1057-1096.
    3. Johan Junkka, 2018. "Voluntary Associations and Net Fertility During the Swedish Demographic Transition," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(5), pages 819-848, December.
    4. Doris Hanappi & Valérie-Anne Ryser & Laura Bernardi & Jean-Marie Le Goff, 2017. "Changes in Employment Uncertainty and the Fertility Intention–Realization Link: An Analysis Based on the Swiss Household Panel," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 381-407, July.
    5. Anne-Kristin Kuhnt & Heike Trappe, 2013. "Easier said than done: childbearing intentions and their realization in a short term perspective," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2013-018, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    6. Martin Piotrowski & Erik Bond & Ann Beutel, 2020. "Marriage counterfactuals in Japan: Variation by gender, marital status, and time," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(37), pages 1081-1118.
    7. Sebastian Pink, 2018. "Anticipated (Grand-)Parental Childcare Support and the Decision to Become a Parent," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(5), pages 691-720, December.
    8. Anne Salles & Clémentine Rossier & Sara Brachet, 2011. "Family policies, norms about gender roles and fertility decisions in France and Germany," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 9(1), pages 259-282.
    9. Nicoletta Balbo & Francesco C. Billari & Melinda Mills, 2013. "Fertility in Advanced Societies: A Review of Research," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 29(1), pages 1-38, February.

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