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

Published: Aug 13, 2007

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

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR04698.v1

Version V1

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Project Description

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.

Citation

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

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Funding

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)

Subject Terms

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

Geographic Coverage

United States

Scope of Project

Time Period(s)

1901 -- 1978

Date of Collection

1978

Methodology

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.

Universe

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

Unit(s) of Observation

individual

Data Type(s)

survey data

Mode of Data Collection

face-to-face interview

phone interview

mailing questionnaire

Version(s)

Original Release Date

2007-08-13

Version Date

2007-08-13

Notes

The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

This study was originally processed, archived, and disseminated by Data Sharing for Demographic Research (DSDR), a project funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).