Social and Psychological Factors Affecting Fertility: I. Differential Fertility among 41,498 Native-White Couples in Indianapolis

Abstract

Limited basic data were collected in a city-wide survey of all white families. Factors surveyed included age of parents, religious affiliations, education and economic status as measured by rental value of housing unit. The influence of each of these factors on fertility is considered in detail. The average number of children born to all families per 100 wives, age 15-44 yrs., was 149, Catholics 173, Protestants 147, Jewish 110, mixed Catholic-Protestant 132-3. An inverse ratio between fertility and socio-economic status existed in all groups except those of the highest economic levels but was least marked among Catholic marriages. Catholic couples with both husband and wife college graduates were 35% more fertile than similar Protestant couples. Future articles in this series will present more detailed data on selected groups of these families.