Social class, familism, interest in children, and childbearing: A preliminary test of a “commitment” model of fertility

Abstract

Two recurrent concepts in fertility literature permit prediction of an inverse relationship between social class and fertility. The commitment to familism refers to the degree that couples embrace a family‐centered style of life over a consumerist or careerist style of life. Commitment to individual children refers to the emotional and material involvement of parents in each child they have. Data show that commitment to individual children is negatively related to fertility, that social class is negatively related to commitment to familism, that social class is positively related to commitment to individual children, and that commitment to familism and commitment to individual children account for relationships between class and fertility.