Culture, Child Preference and Fertility Behaviour: Implications for Population Growth in Cross River State, Nigeria | Chapter 01 | Perspectives of Arts and Social Studies Vol. 3
The study sought to examine the effects of culture on child preference and its implications for fertility behaviour as well as population growth in Cross River State, with a view to isolating factors which will be of importance to policy makers and planners in addressing high fertility levels. Data for the study was drawn from the 18 LGA’s of the State. A total of 1200 respondents were selected from the population of study (ever married persons). Data for the study was gathered using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques of data collection. The study found that because the society is patrilineal in nature, with descent traced only through the male patriarch, there was a strong preference for male children, which in turn affects the fertility behavior of the people. The Pearson chi-square calculated for child preference and fertility behaviour revealed a likelihood ratio of 29.49; while the result for family size and fertility was 103.14 and 199.53 for socio-cultur...