Premium
Social Strata Differences in Mothers' Conceptions of Children in Postsocialist Hungary: An Explanation of Fertility Decisions
Author(s) -
Hollos Marida
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
ethos
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.783
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1548-1352
pISSN - 0091-2131
DOI - 10.1525/eth.2006.34.4.488
Subject(s) - fertility , developmental psychology , psychology , sociology , demography , demographic economics , economics , population
The purpose of this study was to determine if the low fertility rate in postsocialist Hungary is related to how mothers from different social strata conceptualize children and childbearing. It was hypothesized that stratum‐specific differences would be found in the way mothers see the role of children in the context of their lives and that these differences would be related to the number of children they produce. The study is based on in‐depth interviews with mothers of children between the ages of three and five who attended preschool in Budapest. The preschools were variously located and were selected as representative of different social strata in the city. Important social strata variation was found. Mothers from the four strata differed not only in how they talked about their children but also in the number of children they had and desired. The significance of these findings for cross‐cultural research and for elucidating fertility rate statistics is discussed.