Low-Fertility Cohorts Study, 1978: A Survey of White, Ever-Married Women Belonging to the 1901-1910 United States Birth Cohorts (ICPSR 4698)

Principal Investigator(s): Ridley, Jeanne C., Georgetown University

Summary: This study is comprised of personal interviews of white, ever-married women born between July 1, 1900, and June 30, 1910. In 1978, a national survey of 1,049 married women between the ages of 68 and 78 were interviewed between the months of March and July in order to investigate low fertility during the 1920s and 1930s and the women of childbearing age during those decades. In addition to the general purpose, the study was designed to gather information to test specific hypotheses concerning dem... (more info)

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Ridley, Jeanne C. Low-Fertility Cohorts Study, 1978: A Survey of White, Ever-Married Women Belonging to the 1901-1910 United States Birth Cohorts. ICPSR04698-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2007-08-13. doi:10.3886/ICPSR04698.v1

Persistent URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR04698.v1

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This survey was funded by:

• United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD RO1-HD15188)

Summary:   This study is comprised of personal interviews of white, ever-married women born between July 1, 1900, and June 30, 1910. In 1978, a national survey of 1,049 married women between the ages of 68 and 78 were interviewed between the months of March and July in order to investigate low fertility during the 1920s and 1930s and the women of childbearing age during those decades. In addition to the general purpose, the study was designed to gather information to test specific hypotheses concerning demographic and socioeconomic differentials in fertility, the prevalence of contraceptive practice and the methods employed, the extent to which subfecundity and sterility may have contributed to low fertility, and the timing patterns and childbearing pace of the time. The interview collected information on each respondent's family planning, contraception usage, pregnancy history, fecundity, infertility, fertility, and maternal and infant health. Besides demographic characteristics and background information about the respondents, information was also gathered on their household composition, their husband(s), marriages, and areas of residency.

Subject Terms:   birth control, family planning, family size, fathers, fertility, household composition, marriage, mothers, pregnancy, reproductive history, sexual behavior

Geographic Coverage:   United States

Time Period:  

• 1901--1978

Date of Collection:  

• 1978

Unit of Observation:   individual

Universe:   White, ever-married women born between July 1, 1900, and June 30, 1910

Data Types:   survey data

Sample:   The sampling frame was designed as a multistage probability sample of households in the coterminous United States. Excluded from the sample were women residing in institutions, women marrying for the first time after age 45, and foreign-born women who migrated to the United States after reaching age 30.

Mode of Data Collection:   face-to-face interview, phone interview, mailing questionnaire

Original ICPSR Release:  2007-08-13

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