Social Attitudes Contributing to Postponement of Parenthood in South Africa: Is There a Gender Differential?

Nicole De Wet , University of the Witwatersrand
Chukwuechefulam Imo

South Africa has been undergoing a fertility transitions since as early as the 1950’s.South Africa’s median age at first birth has remained consistently high at 27.4 years old in 1998 to 27 years old in 2015 suggesting that South African females are able to postpone first birth.The purpose of this study is to (1) estimate the rates of positive and negative perceptions toward children and marriage among 25-30 year olds. Data for this cross-sectional study come from the 10th round of the South African Social Attitudes Survey2012. Key outcome variables include attitudes toward children and marriage.The unweighted sample for the study is 266 (28%) 30-40 year olds who have not yet had a first child. Preliminary results show that there is a positive attitude toward children among adults who do not have children and this suggests postponement instead of a non-willingness to start families.

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 Presented in Session 4. Marriage, Family, Households, & Unions