Changing dimensions of social stratification and fertility behaviour in India
Arora, G.
Eastern Anthropologist 39(4): 297-325
1986
ISSN/ISBN: 0012-8686 PMID: 12316960 Document Number: 375709
The association between social stratification in India and fertility behavior was investigated in a survey of 428 currently married women 15- 45 years of age residing in Bhiwani City in the state of Haryana. The mean number of births was 2.84, but decreased with increasing caste status from 3.28 among lower-caste women to 2.78 among middle-cast women, to 2.67 in the upper caste. The ideal family size cited by respondents was 3.40, 2.73, and 2.71, respectively, for the 3 caste groups. An even more substantial inverse association with fertility was found for status group (derived from a scale that included income, possession of property, leisure activities, household amenities, and money spent on newspapers). The mean number of live births was 3.45, 2.67, and 2.55 for the lower, middle, and upper status groups, respectively, and ideal family size was 3.37, 2.69, and 2.48. The study further examined caste consciousness, contraceptive use, and modernization as intermediary variables in the caste/status group- fertility behavior association. Women who had a high level of caste consciousness persistently demonstrated higher fertility than their counterparts with lower levels of caste consciousness. This factor may explain the higher fertility among lower-caste women, since caste consciousness is highest in the lowest strata. Also observed were consistent declines in the number of mean births--both in the total sample and within caste groups--with increases in the level of modernization. Finally, the analysis revealed that the fertility differences among the 3 caste and status groups reflect differences in the percentage of nonusers of contraception (44.45% in the lower status group, 38.75% in the middle group, and 18.97% in the upper status group) and the difference in the percentage of users of temporary methods (13.13%, 29.52%, and 55.17%, respectively).