Attitudes among Tunisians toward family formation
Beaujot, R.
International Family Planning Perspectives 14(2): 54-61
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0190-3187 DOI: 10.2307/2947680Document Number: 360730
A Childbearing Behaviour Survey (CBS) was carried out to determine the attitudes and experiences of Tunisian adults in childbearing, family formation, marriage and contraception, according to age group, rural/urban residence, educational level, marital status, profession, sex and other socioeconomic variables. The survey indicates that the large majority prefer the nuclear family, believe that people should be free to choose their own spouses, and agree with the right of women to divorce and with the laws that prohibit polygamy. The leading reason for having children is to ensure support in old age. However, most disapprove of large families of 5 or 6 children and approve of small families, defined as 3 to 5 children. A family size of 4 children is considered the ideal, especially among rural residents, because that number enables parents to adequately provide for their children. Even among younger and more educated Tunisians, the ideal family size is more than 3 children. Half of Tunisian adults believe that an equal number of boys and girls represents the ideal family composition, but one-third would prefer more boys than girls. Despite the general agreement about ideal family size, Tunisian adults expect to have, on average, 4.8 children. Although some of the attitudes held by Tunisians suggested a possible reduction of average family size in the future, others suggest a limited potential for sustained fertility decline. For example, there is little support for an increased involvement of women in the labour force, and Tunisians express considerable interest in having at least one, if not two boys. Without societal changes that would include a radical structural change to alter people's reliance on their families for old age security, the government objective of 2.4 children per family by the turn of the century appears unattainable.