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Evidence bearing on the construct validity of "ideal family size"

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Abstract

George Gallup polled "ideal family size" in 1936 and introduced a concept which subsequently appeared in many polls and fertility surveys. Previous research shows that ideal is a poor measure of respondent's personal fertility plans or behavior and that among researchers there is little agreement about what ideal family size does measure, if anything. Construct validity analysis based on historical, trend, and cross-sectional data suggests that the late 1960s saw ideal politicized as preoccupation with the "population problem" grew. Ideal family size is now appropriately regarded as a measure of a societal pronatalist norm and not merely a projected fertility preference.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. West Virginia University, USA

    Roger B. Trent

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  1. Roger B. Trent
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Trent, R.B. Evidence bearing on the construct validity of "ideal family size". Popul Environ 3, 309–327 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01255345

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01255345

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